SEOUL: North Korea is considering suspending denuclearization talks with Washington after the Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump ended without agreement, one of its top diplomats said Friday.
The warning came amid concerns over the North’s satellite rocket launch site, where some rebuilding activity has been observed in recent weeks, triggering international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch.
“We have no intention to yield to the US demands in any form, nor are we willing to engage in negotiations of this kind,” the Russian news agency TASS cited vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui as saying.
Kim would soon make an official statement on the actions his country would take, Choe told reporters and foreign diplomats in Pyongyang.
Trump told a post-summit press conference in Hanoi that the North Korean leader had promised he would maintain his moratorium on missile and nuclear tests.
Any launch would send the denuclearization talks into complete disarray, after they were left stuttering when the summit ended without agreement two weeks ago.
Choe — who was present in Vietnam — blamed the US for the failure, saying Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton “created the atmosphere of hostility and mistrust” and “obstructed” Kim and Trump’s “constructive effort.”
“As a result, the summit ended with no significant result,” she added.
It is a change of tone from Pyongyang, after both sides expressed their willingness to carry on the discussion process in Hanoi.
Ankit Panda, of the Federation of American Scientists, said Kim’s unilateral declaration of the ICBM testing moratorium was “now in question.”
It could mean a decision had already been made, he tweeted, but added that it did not mean a launch was imminent.
“One play is for Kim to reaffirm the moratorium. Kim looks big,” he said. “That also keeps China happy for now.
“Another play is to renounce the moratorium, which would be risky,” as it would upset China, be “disappointing” to Trump, and “squanders the inter-Korean process.”
Seoul’s presidential office sought to play down the vice-minister’s comments, saying it was “premature to assess the current situation only with Choe’s remarks.”
South Korea will continue to work for the resumption of talks, it added.
Washington wants what administration officials have called a “big deal,” with the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction in return for the dropping of sanctions that have hit the isolated North’s economy.
“Nobody in the administration advocates a step-by-step approach,” a senior State Department official told reporters last week.
The North says it only called for the partial lifting of UN sanctions imposed 2016-17 that affect people’s livelihoods.
But Washington sees these measures as the bulk of economic sanctions that brought Kim to the table, and believes without them it would lose leverage in future talks.
Pyongyang favors a more incremental approach, with Kim proposing dismantling facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex in exchange for lifting the main sanctions — an offer Trump refused in Hanoi despite the vaunted “chemistry” between the pair.
In his New Year’s speech — a key political event in the North — Kim said he would be “compelled to find a new way for defending the sovereignty” of the state if Washington “persists in imposing sanctions and pressure.”
North Korea considering suspending nuclear talks with US
North Korea considering suspending nuclear talks with US
- Kim would soon make an official statement on the actions his country would take
- The warning came amid concerns over the North’s satellite rocket launch site, where some rebuilding activity has been observed in recent weeks
Taiwan demonstrates sea defenses against potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing
- Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes showcased in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung
- Kaohsiung is a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan’s strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan’s west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday’s exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China’s authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan’s pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.
Taliban call India ‘significant regional partner’ after Dubai meeting
- Afghan foreign ministry says the two sides discussed enhanced trade through Chabahar Port in Iran
- No foreign government, including India, has officially recognized the Taliban administration in Kabul
KABUL: The Taliban’s foreign office said they saw India as a “significant regional and economic partner” after meeting with its most senior foreign ministry official, the highest level talks with New Delhi since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday.
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that they had discussed expanding relations with Afghanistan and to boost trade through Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has been developing for goods to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.
“In line with Afghanistan’s balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner,” the statement from Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said late on Wednesday.
India’s foreign ministry said after the meeting that India was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties.
No foreign government, including India, officially recognizes the Taliban administration.
However, India is one of several countries with a small mission in Kabul to facilitate trade, aid and medical support and has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Regional players including China and Russia have signalled they are willing to boost trade and investment in Afghanistan.
The meeting could ruffle Pakistan, which borders both countries and has fought three wars in the past against India.
Pakistan and Afghanistan also have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several militant attacks that have occurred in its country have been launched from Afghan soil — a charge the Afghan Taliban deny.
Earlier this week India’s foreign office told journalists they condemned airstrikes conducted late last year by Pakistan on Afghan soil.
Tensions high in Mozambique as opposition leader due home from exile
- Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane announced last week that he would continue his demand for ‘electoral truth’ after the October vote
- The election dispute has unleashed waves of violence that have left around 300 people dead, including protesters killed in a police crackdown
MAPUTO: Security forces prevented people from reaching the airport in Mozambique’s capital on Thursday as the opposition leader Venancio Mondlane was due to arrive home from exile to push his claim that he won presidential elections.
At one of several barriers erected around the airport, security forces shot and wounded one of hundreds of mostly young people wanting to reach the airport to welcome Mondlane home, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Mondlane announced last week that he would land at Maputo’s international airport at around 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) in a bid to continue his demand for “electoral truth” after the October vote.
He claims that the election was rigged in favor of the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, Daniel Chapo, who is due to be sworn in on January 15.
The election dispute has unleashed waves of violence that have left around 300 people dead, including protesters killed in a police crackdown, according to a tally by a local rights group.
Authorities say police have also been killed and there has been looting and vandalism.
There are fears that the charismatic Mondlane could be arrested on his return, including on charges related to the weeks of protests by his supporters, many of them young Mozambicans desperate for change after 50 years under Frelimo.
Any government action against Mondlane could send Mozambique — still scarred by years of civil war — into a major crisis, analysts said.
“If the government arrests Venancio, there will be an international outcry and potentially very dangerous demonstrations,” said Eric Morier-Genoud, an African history professor at Queen’s University Belfast.
“If they don’t arrest him, he will occupy the center and Frelimo will be weakened just a few days before the inauguration of the deputies and the president.”
Mondlane’s return gives people hope, said Fatima Pinto, 20, who trained as a general medical technician.
“We young people are here fighting for our tomorrow,” she said, echoing a key complaint among the youth about not being able to find work that matches their qualifications.
Chapo, 48, takes over from President Filipe Nyusi, who bows out at the end of his two-term limit. Official results gave him 65 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent for Mondlane.
But observers said they noted irregularities.
Since he went into hiding after the October 19 assassination of his lawyer, Mondlane has rallied his supporters via social media live addresses that have been joined by thousands.
By returning, Mondlane will “reclaim the political initiative,” Morier-Genoud said, with the population “more militant than ever.”
The unrest has caused major losses to Mozambique’s economy, stopping cross-border trade. Shipping, mining and industry has also been affected while thousands of people are reported to have fled to neighboring countries.
Mondlane’s return “will either destabilize or resolve the current political crisis,” said Tendai Mbanje, analyst at the Johannesburg-based African Center for Governance.
With tensions running high, there are even fears he could be assassinated, as some of his supporters have been, Mbanje said.
“He is the current hope and future of the youths: if his life is at risk or tampered with, that will be a source of unending instability,” he said.
“On the other hand, if Frelimo would like to unite the country, it is time that they take his return as an opportunity for dialogue.”
Any attempt to harm Mondlane would unleash a “big demonstration with unpredictable consequences,” said Mozambican sociologist Joao Feijo.
“We are talking about a population that has already tasted disobedience and is not afraid of anything else,” he said.
Tailor Americo Bulule, 52, said he hoped that the security forces would allow people to go to the airport to welcome Venancio.
“There’s already been a lot of bloodshed so I’d like his arrival not to be a problem and the police to give the population access and we can go there to receive him without weapons and tear gas,” he said.
Philippine Catholic devotees mass in Manila hoping for a miracle
- Day-long procession of centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervor
- Parade commemorates arrival of the genuflecting Jesus the Nazarene from Acapulco, Mexico in the early 1600s
MANILA: Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims swarmed the streets of Manila in search of a miracle Thursday, straining to reach a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in an annual display of religious fervor.
The procession to the Philippine capital’s Quiapo Church, which started before dawn after an open-air mass, was expected to swell to more than two million participants from across the heavily Catholic country, church officials said.
Barefoot men and women in maroon shirts – the color of the robe that covers the black, wooden Jesus the Nazarene statue – scrambled to grab the rope used to draw the life-sized religious icon, believing it would bring good health.
“I prayed that my mother be healed from her heart attack,” Dong Lapira, 54, said of a previous procession where he had been bruised and jostled in his attempt to join those pulling the rope.
But he vowed to try again Thursday – this time to see his wife healed of gallstones.
“The Nazarene is very sacred. It has granted many prayers,” he added.
Some faithful frantically threw white towels to worshippers tasked with guarding the float, hoping God’s blessings might rub off on the cloth as they’re used to clean the statue’s glass case.
One of the volunteer guards, Alvin Olicia, 38, said he was unaffected by the “extreme heat or rain” he has confronted at past processions.
“I don’t feel it at all. I like my task, because through catching other’s handkerchiefs, I feel like I am connecting them to their faith and to the Nazarene.”
While authorities have banned devotees from climbing on the carriage, some still clambered over other attendees, risking life and limb to be near the religious icon.
Ester Espiritu, 76, who traveled 35 kilometers from her home in Cavite province, said just catching a glimpse of the statue would be enough.
“Even If I’m struggling to come here because of my age... I feel happy and well whenever I see the Nazarene,” said Espiritu, who added she was praying for a lingering shoulder injury.
The giant religious parade commemorates the arrival of the wooden statue of the genuflecting Jesus the Nazarene from Acapulco, Mexico in the early 1600s, shortly after the start of the Spanish colonial conquest.
Its color – which has led it to be popularly known as the Black Nazarene – was believed to have been caused by a fire aboard the Spanish galleon that was transporting it.
President Ferdinand Marcos said the annual celebration of the icon was a “testament to our people’s solidarity and camaraderie.”
“It also speaks of the immense power and compassion of God who walks with us and hears our prayers, especially in our time of need,” Marcos said in a statement.
Police said about 14,500 security personnel had been deployed along the procession’s six-kilometer route as a precaution.
Mobile phone signals were also blocked to prevent the remote detonation of explosive devices during the parade which is expected to last up to 18 hours, police said.
Emergency response teams were stationed along the route.
The Red Cross said it provided first aid treatment to more than 100 participants in the first few hours of the procession, mainly for cuts, dizziness, nausea and body weakness.
Taliban say India is a “significant regional partner” after meeting
- India’s foreign ministry said after the Delhi meeting that India was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties
KABUL:The Taliban’s foreign office said they saw India as a “significant regional and economic partner” after meeting with its most senior foreign ministry official, the highest level talks with Delhi since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday.
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that they had discussed expanding relations with Afghanistan and to boost trade through Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has been developing for goods to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan.
“In line with Afghanistan’s balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner,” the statement from Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said late on Wednesday.
India’s foreign ministry said after the Delhi meeting that India was considering engaging in development projects in Afghanistan and looking to boost trade ties.
No foreign government, including India, officially recognizes the Taliban administration.
However, India is one of several countries with a small mission in Kabul to facilitate trade, aid and medical support and has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Regional players including China and Russia have signalled they are willing to boost trade and investment in Afghanistan.
The Delhi meeting could ruffle Pakistan, which borders both countries and has fought three wars in the past against India.
Pakistan and Afghanistan also have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several militant attacks that have occurred in its country have been launched from Afghan soil — a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.
Earlier this week India’s foreign office told journalists they condemned airstrikes conducted late last year by Pakistan on Afghan soil.
