SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday hailed his country’s ties with Russia, saying the two nations were “invincible comrades-in-arms,” amid reports President Vladimir Putin will visit Pyongyang imminently.
Kim made a rare overseas trip to meet Putin in Russia’s far east last year, with Seoul and Washington subsequently claiming Pyongyang was shipping weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine, violating UN sanctions, in return for technical help with its satellite program.
Putin was expected to pay a return visit to North Korea in the coming days, after the Kremlin told Russian media in May that the trip was “being prepared.”
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported the visit could take place “as early as next week,” as part of a tour that would also include a stop in Vietnam.
Ties between North Korea and Russia have “developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms,” leader Kim wrote in a message to Putin carried in the official Korean Central News Agency Wednesday.
Their “meaningful” ties will “further consolidate the eternal milestone” in the new era, Kim added, according to KCNA.
Yonhap said that satellite images showed possible signs of a “large structure” being installed in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square.
Such activity has previously been observed when North Korea was preparing for large-scale events in the capital, such as military parades or visits by high-ranking foreign figures, according to Yonhap.
When he visited Putin last year, Kim said the North’s ties with Moscow were his country’s “number one priority.”
Analysts have also warned that ramped-up testing and production of artillery and cruise missiles by the nuclear-armed North could be in preparation for shipments to Russia for use in Ukraine.
North Korea is barred by UN sanctions from any tests using ballistic technology, but Moscow used its UN Security Council veto in March to effectively end UN monitoring of violations, for which Pyongyang has specifically thanked Russia.
North Korea has denied the allegations that it is shipping weapons to Russia, calling the claim “absurd.”
However, a pentagon report last month said Russia is using North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine, citing debris analysis.
Experts said that during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, North Korea would likely push to export more war materials to be used in the Ukraine war, in exchange for importing food and energy from Russia.
There is a “disparity in the threat perception between what’s happening in Ukraine — an actual, visible conflict — and what’s happening in North Korea — the possibility of a crisis, which may seem distant when compared to the realities of the Russia-Ukraine war,” Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst, said.
“This plays to both Putin and Kim’s advantage, obviously, as Putin, who’s currently embroiled in the war and is pressed to receive help in his war efforts, and Kim is keen to build out his weapons program further,” she added.
North Korea’s Kim hails Russia ties ahead of likely Putin visit
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North Korea’s Kim hails Russia ties ahead of likely Putin visit
- Kim Jong Un made a rare overseas trip to meet Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east last year
- Russian leader expected to pay a return visit to North Korea in the coming days
China arrests three Filipinos suspected of spying
- Announcement comes as the two countries continue to confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea
- At least five Chinese nationals were arrested on suspicion of espionage in January and another two in February by Philippine authorities
The announcement comes as the two countries continue to confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea and tensions mount over the Philippines’ security ties with ally the United States.
At least five Chinese nationals were arrested on suspicion of espionage in January and another two in February by Philippine authorities.
And the latest arrests in China come two days after Beijing’s embassy in Manila issued a travel warning to its citizens about frequent “harassment” from Philippine law enforcement agencies.
On Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities had identified one of the suspected spies as a Philippine national who had lived and worked in China long-term and had been found conducting espionage near military facilities.
The CCTV report included a video of his arrest and what appeared to be a recorded confession.
He was recruited by Philippine intelligence services to “take advantage of his long-term residence in China to conduct espionage activities in China and collect sensitive information, especially on military deployment,” state media said.
He came close to military facilities multiple times and “conducted close observation and secret photography,” CCTV added.
The three individuals had been recruited by the same Philippine spy since 2021 and received regular payment for their work, CCTV said.
They were also tasked with “assisting the Philippine spy intelligence agency in selecting and developing personnel, and expanding its intelligence network in China.”
They had provided “a large amount of military-related and confidential video materials” to Philippine agents, “causing serious harm to China’s national security and interests,” CCTV quoted a Chinese national security officer as saying.
Manila’s National Security Council spokesman Jonathan Malaya told AFP the country’s foreign ministry was “currently confirming these reports and the involvement of any Philippine national, if any.”
“We have no further comment as of this time until we are able to verify these new reports,” he added.
Asked about the charges, Beijing’s foreign ministry said it would “handle the cases in accordance with the law and will also safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant personnel.”
But spokesman Guo Jiakun also accused Manila of having “fabricated several so-called Chinese espionage cases.”
“China urges the Philippines to stop chasing shadows and pinning labels on people,” Guo said.
UK police arrest two men over alleged Hezbollah links
- Police said the investigation related to the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah which Britain outlawed in 2019
LONDON: British counter-terrorism police said on Thursday they had arrested two men accused of being linked to the banned group Hezbollah, saying their investigation involved alleged activity both overseas and in Britain.
Detectives from London’s Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) arrested a 39-year-old man in north London on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed group, preparing acts of terrorism and being involved in funding for the purposed of terrorism.
A second man, 35, was arrested in west London on suspicion of being a member of a banned organization.
“Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere,” said commander Dominic Murphy, head of the CTC.
Police said the investigation related to the Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah which Britain outlawed in 2019 when it classified it as a terrorist group. There was no immediate threat to the public, they said.
The two men were released on police bail until mid-July.
Hungary to withdraw from ICC as Netanyahu arrives despite warrant
- Hungary’s government, led by right-wing populist Orbán, extended the invitation to Netanyahu in November after the ICC, based in the Hague, Netherlands, issued the warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity
BUDAPEST: Hungary said Thursday it will begin the procedure of withdrawing from the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide.
“Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court,” Gergely Gulyás, who is Prime Minister Viktor Orbán chief of staff wrote in a brief statement. “The government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework.”
The announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, despite an international arrest warrant against him over his conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Hungary’s government, led by right-wing populist Orbán, extended the invitation to Netanyahu in November after the ICC, based in the Hague, Netherlands, issued the warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity.
Orbán, a close Netanyahu ally, has called the arrest warrant “outrageously impudent” and “cynical.” Member countries of the ICC, such as Hungary, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that and relies on states to comply with its rulings.
Tornadoes, heavy rains rip across central, southern US
- Violent storms are forecast to ravage the country for several days
Tornadoes ripped across a wide swath of central and southern United States on Wednesday, destroying homes and businesses and bringing down power lines and trees.
The National Weather Service said there had been at least 15 reports of tornadoes in at least four states by late Wednesday.
Eight people have been injured across Kentucky and Arkansas, including one critically injured in Kentucky’s Ballard County, local officials said.
Late Wednesday, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency across the state due to the storms, which also brought hail and torrential rain.
The NWS said millions of people were under alerts for tornadoes and flash floods and that dangers would continue into early Thursday.
Violent storms are forecast to ravage the country for several days, the NWS said, with Wednesday just “the beginning of a multi-day catastrophic and potentially historic heavy rainfall event.”
“The word for tonight is ‘chaotic,’” said Scott Kleebauer, a NWS meteorologist. “This is a large expanse of storms migrating slowly to the east, stretching from southeast Michigan down into southeastern Arkansas.”
The town of Nevada, Missouri, was hit by a tornado. Writing on social media, the state’s Emergency Management Agency said it caused “major damage to several businesses, power poles were snapped and several (empty) train cars were flipped onto their sides by the powerful storm!“
The NWS issued tornado and flash flood warnings for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
It called the rain threats for Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi in the coming days a “generational flood event” with some locations forecast to see as much as 15 inches (38.1 cm) of rain by the weekend, which could cause rivers to burst their banks and cause “catastrophic river flooding.”
More than 400,000 customers had their power knocked out across the storm-hit area, according to PowerOutage.us.
Boat carrying migrants capsizes near Greek island
- Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty
- The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea
ATHENS: A broad search and rescue operation was underway early Thursday near the eastern Greek island of Lesbos after a boat carrying migrants capsized while heading to the island from the nearby Turkish coast, Greece’s coast guard said.
Weather in the area was reported to be good, and it was unclear what caused the boat to overturn early Thursday morning. The coast guard said 23 people have been rescued. There was no immediate information on the survivors’ nationalities or the type of vessel they had been using.
There were no specific reports of missing people, but a sea and land search and rescue operation was continuing, with three coast guard vessels, an air force helicopter and a nearby boat searching for potential further victims.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies.
The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea, and many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece.
