BEIJING: China has urged the United States and North Korea to “hit the brakes” on threatening words and work toward a peaceful resolution of their tense standoff created by Pyongyang’s recent missile tests and threats to fire them toward Guam.
The dispute has also raised fears in South Korea, where a conservative political party on Wednesday called for the United States to bring back tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula.
In a sign of growing concern on the part of Pyongyang’s only major ally, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that the two countries should work together to contain tensions and permit no one to “stir up an incident on their doorstep,” according to a statement posted on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
“The most important task at hand is for the US and North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on their mutual needling of each other with words and actions, to lower the temperature of the tense situation and prevent the emergence of an ‘August crisis,’” Wang was quoted as saying in the Tuesday conversation.
The ministry quoted Lavrov as saying tensions could rise again with the US and South Korea set to launch large-scale military exercises on Aug. 21.
“A resolution of the North Korea nuclear issue by military force is completely unacceptable and the peninsula’s nuclear issue must be peacefully resolved by political and diplomatic methods,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.
China is North Korea’s main economic partner and political backer, although relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have deteriorated amid the North’s continuing defiance of China’s calls for restraint. In recent months, China has joined with Russia in calling for the US to suspend annual military drills with South Korea in exchange for Pyongyang halting its missile and nuclear tests as a first step toward direct talks.
On Wednesday, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, continued a visit to China following talks the day before with his Chinese counterpart that touched on North Korea. No details of the talks have been released.
Dunford on Tuesday told Fang Fenghui, chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s joint staff department, that the sides had “many difficult issues” between them but were willing to deal with them through dialogue.
On Monday, Dunford was in Seoul to meet with senior South Korean military and political officials and the local media, seeking to ease anxiety while showing his willingness to back President Donald Trump’s warnings if need be.
The United States wants to peacefully resolve tensions with North Korea, but Washington is also ready to use the “full range” of its military capabilities, Dunford said. His visit to Asia, which also will include a stop in Japan, comes after Trump last week declared the US military “locked and loaded” and said he was ready to unleash “fire and fury” if North Korea continued to threaten the United States.
North Korea’s military on Tuesday presented leader Kim Jong Un with plans to launch missiles into waters near the US territory of Guam and “wring the windpipes of the Yankees,” even as both Koreas and the United States signaled their willingness to avert a deepening crisis, with each suggesting a path toward negotiations.
The tentative interest in diplomacy follows unusually combative threats between Trump and North Korea amid worries Pyongyang is nearing its long-sought goal of being able to send a nuclear missile to the US mainland. Next week’s start of US-South Korean military exercises that enrage the North each year could make diplomacy even more difficult.
North Korea’s threats against Guam and its advancing missile capabilities, highlighted by a pair of intercontinental ballistic missile flight tests in July, have raised concern in South Korea, where some believe a fully functional ICBM in Pyongyang would undermine the alliance between Washington and Seoul.
This has led to growing calls among South Korean conservatives for the United States to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea after withdrawing them in the 1990s. The opposition Liberty Korea Party on Wednesday adopted the demand as its official party line, saying that the presence of such weapons would strengthen deterrence against the North.
During an inspection of the North Korean army’s Strategic Forces, which handles the missile program, Kim praised the military for drawing up a “close and careful plan” and said he would watch the “foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees” a little more before deciding whether to order the missile test, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. Kim appeared in photos sitting at a table with a large map marked by a straight line between what appeared to be northeastern North Korea and Guam, and passing over Japan — apparently showing the missiles’ flight route.
The missile plans were previously announced. Kim said North Korea would conduct the launches if the “Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity,” warning the United States to “think reasonably and judge properly” to avoid shaming itself, the news agency said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Washington on Tuesday, “We continue to be interested in trying to find a way to get to dialogue, but that’s up to (Kim).”
Lobbing missiles toward Guam, a major US military hub in the Pacific, would be deeply provocative from the US perspective. A miscalculation on either side could lead to military confrontation.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, a liberal who favors diplomacy, urged North Korea to stop provocations and to commit to talks over its nuclear weapons program.
Moon, in a televised speech Tuesday on the anniversary of World War II’s end and the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, said Seoul and Washington agree that the nuclear standoff should “absolutely be solved peacefully.” He said no US military action on the Korean Peninsula could be taken without Seoul’s consent.
North Korea’s military said last week that it would finalize the plan to fire four ballistic missiles near Guam, which is about 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) from Pyongyang. It would be a test of the Hwasong-12, a new missile the country flight-tested for the first time in May. The liquid-fuel missile is designed to be fired from road mobile launchers and has been described by North Korea as built for attacking Alaska and Hawaii.
China urges US, North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on threats
China urges US, North Korea to ‘hit the brakes’ on threats
Philippine president to make first visit to UAE
- Marcos’ trip marks ‘significant and symbolic milestone,’ Manila envoy says
- Philippines, UAE to sign new agreements on energy transition, artificial intelligence
Manila: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to meet his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday as he makes his inaugural trip to the Gulf nation.
The Philippines and UAE are celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations this year, with the two countries eyeing closer cooperation across many fields to mark the occasion, including in energy transition and artificial intelligence.
The working visit will be Marcos’s first to the UAE since he took office in 2022.
“The president will personally oversee the overall state of bilateral relations between the Philippines and the UAE, and witness the signing of several agreements across a wide array of areas of cooperation, such as energy transition, artificial Intelligence, judicial agreements and culture,” Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso A. Ver told Arab News on Monday.
The one-day trip marks a “significant and symbolic milestone” in bilateral ties, he added.
“Bilateral relations between the two countries have reached a historic high, and have since expanded to new and innovative forms of cooperation,” Ver said, citing collaborations in space science, agriculture and digital infrastructure as examples.
“With President Marcos’s visit, the Philippines is keen to further boost the positive, robust, and comprehensive state and trajectory of our relationship with the UAE.”
The two countries are currently negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has made “significant progress” as of early October, according to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.
Around one million Philippine nationals reside in the UAE, making it the second-largest employer of Filipino expats after Saudi Arabia.
“The president will also convey the gratitude of the Philippine government to the leaders of a nation that has tapped Filipino talent, allowing it to flourish in an environment that fosters kindness, respect, and tolerance,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.
“It is expected that these productive dialogues will lead to agreements that will deepen the ties between the two countries … While the President’s visit will be short, the goodwill and opportunities it will create will be substantial, resulting in stronger Philippine-UAE relations.”
UK would follow ‘due process’ if Netanyahu were to visit, says foreign minister
- The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
FIUGGI: Britain would follow due process if Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UK, foreign minister David Lammy said on Monday, when asked if London would fulfil the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister.
“We are signatories to the Rome Statute, we have always been committed to our obligations under international law and international humanitarian law,” Lammy told reporters at a G7 meeting in Italy.
“Of course, if there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.”
The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity.
Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.
“The states that signed the Rome convention must implement the court’s decision. It’s not optional,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.
Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.
At least eight migrants drown off Greek island of Samos
- Greek coast guard finds bodies of six minors, two women
- So far 39 people rescued, search and rescue operation continues
Greece’s coast guard has found the bodies of eight migrants — six minors and two women — who drowned off the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, authorities said on Monday.
Greek police found a further 36 people alive in the northern part of Samos, while three people, trapped in a rocky area on the island, were rescued by coast guard officers, the coast guard said.
Aircraft and vessels assisted a search and rescue operation, it added.
According to a coast guard official, authorities were alerted to the incident by a non-governmental organization and estimate that about 50 people were on board the vessel that brought them off Samos.
Greece, in the southeast corner of the European Union, has long been a favored gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
More than one million crossed from Turkiye to Greece’s outlying eastern islands in 2015-2016. Many have drowned while attempting the perilous journey on flimsy boats.
The number of arrivals later dropped before surging again last year.
So far this year, about 54,000 migrants have reached Greece, the second largest number in southern Europe behind Italy. The vast majority of them arrived by sea, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget
- The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget
- Marine Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected
PARIS: French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen on Monday threatened to back a no confidence motion that could topple the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a standoff over the budget, saying after talks both sides were entrenched in their positions.
Months of political tensions since right-winger Barnier became prime minister at the helm of a minority government appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of this summer’s elections are coming to a head over the budget which has yet to be approved by parliament.
The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget, prompting Barnier to consider brandishing the weapon of article 49.3 of the constitution which allows a government to force through legislation without a vote in parliament.
However, that could prompt Le Pen’s far right National Rally (RN) to team up in an unholy alliance with the left-wing bloc in parliament and find enough numbers to topple the government in a confidence vote.
Le Pen entered the Matignon residence of the French premier for the breakfast meeting and was to be followed later in the afternoon by hard left France Unbowed (LFI) parliamentary party leader Mathilde Panot as Barnier seeks to hear voices across the board.
“My position has not changed. No more, it seems, than that (the position) of the prime minister has changed,” Le Pen after meeting Barnier, describing him as “at the same time courteous but also entrenched in his positions.”
Asked if the RN would back a no confidence motion, she replied: “Of course.”
Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected, saying she did not believe “in this notion that ‘if this budget is rejected, if there is a no confidence motion, it will be dramatic, there will be chaos, etc’.”
Further complicating the situation is the constitutional rule in France that there must be a one year gap between legislative elections, meaning that Macron cannot call polls until the summer to resolve the crisis.
“Michel Barnier is creating the conditions for a vote of no confidence,” RN deputy leader Sebastien Chenu said on Sunday.
But he insisted that the move would not paralyze France and that Macron still had options, including resigning before his term ends in 2027, something the president has previously ruled out.
“The president has several options... reappoint the same prime minister, appoint a new prime minister, resign if he has no other solution, or call a referendum,” he added.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon had warned in an interview published in the Le Parisien daily that France risked a “Greek-style situation” if the government was brought down, referring to Greece’s 2007-2008 financial crisis.
The issue comes at a critical time for three-time presidential candidate Le Pen, who fancies having her best ever crack at the Elysee in polls due in 2027.
Le Pen, 56, and other RN defendants are currently on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament which they deny.
If convicted, she could receive a jail sentence and a ban from public office which would disqualify her from the presidential polls.
Her young lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, who is the RN party chief, is not among the accused and is seen by some as harboring his own presidential positions.
Baredella, who has just published his first book “Ce que je cherche” (“What I am Looking For”), told French television last week that “not having a criminal record is, for me, rule number one when you want to be an MP.”
While opponents dubbed him “Brutus” after the Roman politician who assassinated ex-ally Julius Ceasar, Le Pen denied any tensions with her protege, saying they had a “relationship of trust.”
Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW
- The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party
- Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police
JOHANNESBURG: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that Mozambican security forces killed at least 10 children and injured dozens more in post-election violence.
The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party in power since independence but contested by the opposition.
Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police.
One 13-year-old girl was “caught in a crowd of people fleeing tear gas and gunfire... One of the bullets hit her in the neck, and she instantly fell to the ground and died,” HRW said in a statement.
The rights group said it had documented “nine additional cases of children killed and at least 36 other children injured by gunfire during the protests.”
The authorities have not responded to HRW’s claims.
Police have also detained “hundreds of children, in many cases for days, without notifying their families, in violation of international human rights law,” HRW said.
President Filipe Nyusi, who is due to step down in January, condemned an “attempt to install chaos in our country” in a state of the nation address last week.
He said that 19 people had been killed in the recent clashes, five of them from the police force. More than 800 people were injured, including 66 police, he added.
Civil society groups recorded a higher death toll — with more than 67 people killed since the unrest began — and said that an estimated 2,000 others had been detained.
Nyusi, 65, has invited the main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, for talks.
Mondlane, who came in second after Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, 47, but claims to have won, has been organizing most of the protests.
He said he would accept the president’s offer as long as the talks were held virtually and legal proceedings against him were dropped.
The 50-year-old is believed to have left the country for fear of arrest or attack but his whereabouts are unknown.
