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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea could deliver a “fatal blow” to the 2018 Winter Olympics if it launches a missile or stages another provocation before the event, a South Korean minister warned Thursday. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon made the remarks as reports said annual South Korea-US military exercises might be postponed to avoid coinciding with the winter games and paralympics in South Korea’s Pyeongchang. “If the North provokes again at a time when […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Wednesday voiced “grave concern” over North Korea’s test of a missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States and called for talks to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing’s proposal for North Korea to freeze weapons tests in return for the US to suspend military drills in the region was the best approach to ease tensions. Washington has rejected that approach. China hopes all […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un declared his country had achieved its long-cherished goal of full-fledged nuclear statehood after successfully testing a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday. The United States and its allies have always maintained they would never accept a nuclear North Korea, but have been forced to watch from the sidelines as Pyongyang pursued an accelerated weapons drive. But what did the latest test actually achieve […]
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) — Bali’s international airport will re-open Wednesday afternoon after a nearly three-day shutdown, Indonesian airport authorities said, as ash from a rumbling volcano that looms over the island paradise shifted direction. The eagerly awaited decision opens up a window of hope for some of more than 120,000 tourists stranded after a spike in activity at Mount Agung grounded hundreds of flights since Monday. But airport officials cautioned that the only direct international […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-In condemned North Korea’s “reckless” missile test on Wednesday, and warned that the situation on the Korean peninsula risked spinning out of control into catastrophic conflict. Addressing a hastily-convened national security meeting, Moon said the North’s latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which splashed down in waters near Japan, was a “reckless provocation” that would raise already elevated tensions to critical levels. “The situation […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister said Wednesday that the latest North Korean missile launch was a “violent act” that “can never be tolerated” after the ICBM splashed down in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). “We will never yield to any provocative act. We will maximise our pressure” on Pyongyang, Shinzo Abe told reporters. The defence minister said earlier the missile was thought to have landed within Japan’s EEZ. The Pentagon said it flew about […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired a ballistic missile Wednesday, South Korean military officials said, the first such launch in two months and just a week after the US slapped fresh sanctions on the hermit state and declared it a state sponsor of terrorism. The North has stoked international alarm over its banned nuclear missile program but before Tuesday it had not staged a missile test since September 15, raising hopes that ramped-up sanctions were having an […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — An elephant that has starred in feature films and commercials crushed its owner to death in Thailand, zoo officials said Tuesday, setting off fresh debate over the kingdom’s animal tourism industry. The accident took place Monday morning in the northern city of Chiang Mai, just after owner Somsak Riengngen unchained the five-ton elephant Ekasit. With a mahout, or handler, on his back, Ekasit took a few steps before reversing course and […]
by Yanan Wang Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Chinese general has hanged himself in his Beijing home after becoming the latest top official ensnared in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign, state media said Tuesday. Zhang Yang, the director of the state’s Central Military Commission’s political department, was being investigated over connections to two corruption-tainted former senior military officers when he committed suicide on November 23, according to the official Xinhua news agency. […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Radio signals and radar activity detected at a North Korean missile base have raised concerns the reclusive regime may be preparing a new missile test, news reports in Seoul and Tokyo said Tuesday. The North has stoked international alarm over its banned nuclear missile program, but it has not launched a missile test since September 15, raising hopes that ramped-up sanctions are having an impact. However, the South Korean […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities on Tuesday extended the closure of the international airport on the resort island of Bali for a second day over fears of a volcanic eruption. Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning local time. “The Volcanic Ash Advisory shows that the plane routes have been covered by volcanic ash, this is dangerous for the flights,” Indonesian AirNav official Wisnu Darjono said. Massive columns of thick […]
by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince vowed to “pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth” as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance. “In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of our countries… with no coordination” among national authorities, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Saudi defence minister, said […]
