SEOUL: North Korea blamed US “nuclear blackmail” for soaring tensions over its weapons program following rare meetings with a senior UN official, but agreed to regular communication with the organization, state media said Saturday.
Jeffrey Feltman flew to Beijing Saturday after wrapping up a five-day visit to Pyongyang aimed at defusing the crisis, just a week after North Korea said it test-fired a new ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
His trip — the first by a UN diplomat of his rank since 2010 — saw him meet Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho and vice foreign minister Pak Myong-Kuk, and visit medical facilities supported by the UN, the North’s state news agency KCNA said.
“At these meetings, our side said the US policy of hostility toward the DPRK (North Korea) and its nuclear blackmail are to blame for the current tense situation on the Korean peninsula,” the report said.
It added that the North had agreed with the UN “to regularize communications through visits at various levels.”
The report did not mention any meetings with leader Kim Jong-Un, who has ramped up his impoverished nation’s missile and nuclear program in recent years in order to achieve Pyongyang’s stated goal of developing a warhead capable of hitting the US mainland.
Feltman, the UN’s under-secretary-general for political affairs, visited the country just after the United States and South Korea launched their biggest-ever joint air exercise.
Pyongyang reiterated its view that these maneuvers were a provocation on Saturday, accusing the drills of “revealing its intention to mount a surprise nuclear pre-emptive strike against the DPRK,” using the initials of the country’s official name.
The UN Security Council has hit the isolated and impoverished North with a package of sanctions over its increasingly powerful missile and nuclear tests, which have rattled Washington and its regional allies South Korea and Japan.
Feltman arrived in Beijing, a key transit point with the North, and left the airport without speaking to reporters.
China, Pyongyang’s sole major diplomatic and military ally, has called on the United States to freeze military drills and on North Korea to halt weapons tests.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Saturday published a speech from four days ago by foreign minister Wang Yi in which he warned that the Korean Peninsula “remains deeply entrenched in a vicious cycle of demonstrations of strength and confrontation.”
“The outlook is not optimistic,” Beijing’s top diplomat added.
Pyongyang ramped up already high tensions on the Korean Peninsula at the end of November when it announced it had successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it says brings the whole of the continental United States within range.
Analysts say it is unclear whether the missile survived re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere or could successfully deliver a warhead to its target — key technological hurdles for Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump has engaged in months of tit-for-tat rhetoric with Kim, pejoratively dubbing him “Little Rocket Man” and a “sick puppy.”
Kim has called the 71-year-old president a “dotard,” meaning a weak or senile old man — an insult that was renewed Saturday as the North condemned Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Considering the fact that the mentally deranged dotard openly called for a total destruction of a sovereign state at the UN, this action is not so surprising,” KCNA quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.
“The US will be held accountable for all consequences from this reckless, wicked act.”
The North on Saturday released photographs of Kim on the summit of the country’s highest peak, the fabled 2,750-meter (9,020-foot) Mount Paektu, which he climbed to ponder recent successes in his drive for nuclear statehood.
KCNA said the young leader, who was pictured strolling across the snow-covered peak sporting a heavy black coat, fur hat and buffed leather shoes, had climbed the “sublime mountain of revolution,” which is on the border with China.
Kim, described in the fulsome language of Pyongyang’s mouthpiece as “the peerlessly illustrious commander who controls the nature,” used the opportunity to dwell on the “emotion-charged days when he realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force without yielding even a moment.”
Mount Paektu is considered a sacred place in Korean folklore and plays a central role in the propaganda glorifying the Kim family.
Officially, Kim’s father Kim Jong-Il was born on its slopes in 1942, though independent historians say he was actually born a year earlier and in the Soviet Union, where his own father was in exile.
North Korea blames US for tensions in rare UN talks
North Korea blames US for tensions in rare UN talks
Father of murdered 10-year-old Sara Sharif attacked in UK prison — report
- Urfan Sharif suffered slashes to his face and body which are ‘non-life threatening,’ police say
- Sharif, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool were jailed for 40 and 33 years for killing 10-year-old
ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated Urfan Sharif, who was jailed last month for the murder of his 10-year-old daughter Sara Sharif in the United Kingdom, has been attacked at Belmarsh prison in southeast London, British media reported on Friday.
Sara was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors said was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence.” She suffered injuries including burns, multiple broken bones and bite marks.
Sharif and Sara’s stepmother fled to Pakistan immediately after the 10-year-old’s murder, before being arrested in September 2023 at London’s Gatwick airport after flying in from Dubai.
The 43-year-old father is understood to have suffered slashes to his face and body that require stitches, British broadcaster Sky News reported.
“Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP (His Majesty’s Prison) Belmarsh on 1 January,” Sky News quoted a prison service spokesperson as saying.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.”
The 43-year-old suffered “non-life-threatening injuries,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman told the broadcaster.
Sharif, his 30-year-old wife, Beinash Batool, who was Sara’s stepmother, were respectively jailed in Dec. for 40 and 33 years for years of horrific “torture” and “despicable” abuse that culminated in the 10-year-old’s murder.
Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of causing or allowing her death and awarded 16 years in prison.
India conveys concerns to China over hydropower dam in Tibet
- China is set to begin construction of the hydropower dam in Tibet on the Yarlung Zangbo river which flows into India
- Chinese officials say that hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies
NEW DELHI: India’s foreign ministry said on Friday that New Delhi has conveyed its concerns to Beijing about China’s plan to build a hydropower dam in Tibet on the Yarlung Zangbo river which flows into India.
Chinese officials say that hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies but India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns about the dam.
The Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra river as it leaves Tibet and flows south into India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and finally into Bangladesh.
“The Chinese side has been urged to ensure that the interests of downstream states of the Brahmaputra are not harmed by activities in upstream areas,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing.
“We will continue to monitor and take necessary measures to protect our interests,” he said.
The construction of the dam, which will be the largest of its kind in the world with an estimated capacity of 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, was approved last month.
Jaiswal said that New Delhi had also lodged a “solemn protest” with Beijing against its creation of two new counties — one of which includes a disputed area also claimed by India — last month.
“Creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India’s longstanding and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s illegal and forcible occupation of the same,” he said.
Relations between Asian giants India and China, that were strained after a deadly military clash on their disputed border in 2020, have been on the mend since they reached
an agreement in October to pull back troops from their last two stand-off points in the western Himalayas.
The two armies have stepped back following the agreement and senior officials held formal talks for the first time in five years last month where they agreed to take small steps to improve relations.
Marcos drops estranged VP Duterte from Philippine security council
MANILA: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte will no longer sit on the National Security Council after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed an order removing her office from the agency, following a bitter split between the two former allies last year.
Marcos said the reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC) was needed to “ensure that its council members uphold and protect national security and sovereignty.”
The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“At the moment, the VP is not considered relevant to the responsibilities of membership in the NSC,” Lucas P. Bersamin, Executive Secretary to the President, said in a statement.
The council’s reorganization was also aimed at guaranteeing a resilient national security institution that was able to adapt to new challenges, according to the order, which was signed on Dec. 30 and released on Friday.
The changes have also excluded former presidents from council membership and empowered Marcos to appoint “other government officials and private citizens” as needed.
Sara Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is currently facing impeachment complaints accusing her of graft, incompetence and amassing ill-gotten wealth while in office. She has denied the allegations.
Duterte has said she had contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and cousin who is the speaker of the House of Representatives if she herself were killed. She later claimed her remarks had been taken out of context.
Bangladesh revamps worker training for Saudi 2034 FIFA World Cup projects
- Govt to prepare training centers with focus on Saudi market demands
- Reskilling, upskilling services to be provided to migrants already residing in the Kingdom
DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities are revamping training for prospective migrant workers and will offer upskilling programs to those residing in Saudi Arabia to tap into the labor market ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which the Kingdom will host in 2034.
Last month, the football governing body confirmed that Saudi Arabia had won the bid to host the world’s largest sporting event.
With the bid proposing to hold games across 15 stadiums in five cities, many new migrant workers will be involved in building new sports and transport networks, as well as hotel infrastructure.
In Bangladesh, which has a major expat community in Saudi Arabia, the trend is viewed as an “opportunity” for the country’s migrant workers, according to A.Z.M. Nurul Huq, joint secretary at the employment wing of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.
“It’s a huge task, and a lot of construction works will take place targeting this World Cup event. Here lies the opportunity for us as our migrants have been working with much goodwill in many sectors of the Kingdom for many years,” Huq told Arab News.
“Saudi Arabia has to build over a dozen new stadiums, renovate existing ones and develop numerous new accommodation facilities, along with necessary infrastructure and connectivity.”
Some 3 million Bangladeshi nationals live and work in Saudi Arabia. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and also the biggest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.
Many are employed in the construction sector as masons, electricians, pipe fitters, plumbers and electricians.
“Bangladeshi migrants can be more actively employed in the construction work for the FIFA World Cup,” Huq said.
“Works are underway for providing reskilling and upskilling services to migrants who are already in the Kingdom. In this way, our workers will be able to secure their jobs and earn more.”
For the past few years, as Saudi Arabia is prioritizing efforts to improve the professional competence of employees under its Vision 2030 program, the expatriates’ ministry has been collaborating with the Kingdom’s skills verification authority, Takamol.
The agency, which manages migrant skill certification based on the needs of Saudi employers, provides Bangladesh’s 113 technical training centers with a list of the Kingdom’s latest workforce requirements.
“Our centers tailor their programs to equip workers with the necessary skills. Upon completing the training, the prospective migrants receive certification through Takamol, which is recognized by Saudi authorities,” said Shah Zulfiquer Haider, deputy secretary at the ministry’s training wing.
As demand is set to increase in line with 2034 World Cup projects, more Bangladeshi training centers will focus on the Saudi market in particular.
“We are planning to strengthen our collaboration with Takamol,” Haider said. “Currently, a dozen technical training centers are preparing skilled workers to meet Saudi Arabia’s demands. We will soon increase the number of training centers, which will produce more skilled migrants tailored to the needs of the Saudi labor market.”
Malaysia doubles patrols to find Myanmar migrant boats after nearly 200 detained
- Malaysia doubles patrols to find Myanmar migrant boats after nearly 200 detained
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s coast guard said on Friday it was doubling patrols in its waters to locate boats carrying undocumented Myanmar migrants, after almost 200 were detained on an island in the northwestern Malaysian state of Kedah.
The coast guard said police had detained 196 undocumented Myanmar migrants in the early hours of Friday after their boat came ashore on a beach on the resort island of Langkawi.
“Based on information the coast guard received, there are two more boats carrying undocumented Myanmar migrants at sea but their exact location is still unknown,” the coast guard said in a statement.
Malaysian coast guard director-general Mohd Rosli Abdullah said authorities were patrolling the northern waters off Langkawi and border areas, and had arranged for air surveillance to be conducted to locate the boats.
The coast guard is also in contact with Thai authorities to identify the movement of the boats carrying the migrants, Mohd Rosli said.
Earlier on Friday, local English daily The Star reported about 200 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar had come ashore on Langkawi. The Rohingya are a mainly Muslim minority in majority Buddhist Myanmar.
The coast guard did not specify in its statement whether the migrants were Rohingya.
Around one million Rohingya have fled, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh, to escape a Myanmar military offensive launched in August 2017, a campaign that UN investigators have described as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
Mynamar’s military rulers deny the allegations.
Malaysia, which does not recognize refugee status, has long been a favored destination for ethnic Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar or the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
But in recent years, Malaysia has turned away boats carrying Rohingya refugees and rounded up thousands in crowded detention centers as part of a crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Between 2010 and 2024, Malaysian authorities detained 2,089 undocumented Myanmar migrants attempting to enter the country by sea, the coast guard said.
