Putin, Kim Vow Stronger Russia-North Korea Ties — State Agency

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged letters indicating stronger bilateral relations amid Moscow’s international isolation over its war in Ukraine, North Korean state media reported Monday.

The letters follow Pyongyang’s recognition of two Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and the country’s reported readiness to send workers to the breakaway regions to aid in their reconstruction.

Putin told Kim that Moscow and Pyongyang would “continue to expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts,” according to the state news agency KCNA.

Kim noted in his letter to Putin that Russian-North Korean strategic and tactical cooperation has “put on a new high stage in the common front for frustrating the hostile forces' military threat and provocation.”

Pyongyang typically uses the term “hostile forces” to refer to the United States and its allies.

Putin’s message on the anniversary of the end of Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula — marked as Liberation Day by North Korea — contained similar language to the one he sent Kim last year.

In the 2021 letter, Putin expressed confidence that the sides would further promote mutually beneficial cooperation following Kim’s first Russia visit in 2019.

The Kremlin has not yet commented on Putin’s reported letter to Kim.

North Korea last month became the third state after Russia and Syria to officially recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, collectively referred to as the Donbas.  

Donetsk People’s Republic leader Denis Pushilin hailed North Korea’s recognition as a “triumph of diplomacy” for the breakaway region and expressed hope for “active and fruitful cooperation” with its newly acquired Asian partner.  

Russia’s Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora has said North Korean workers would be an “asset” in “the serious task” of restoring the destroyed social, infrastructural and industrial facilities in the Donbas during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Russia, North Korea to 'expand' relations: Putin to Kim Jong-un

Fast News

Moscow and Pyongyang to expand bilateral relations, Russian President Putin tells North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un in a letter, says North Korean state media.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, April 25, 2019. (Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the two countries will "expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts," Pyongyang's state media has reported.

In a letter to Kim for North Korea's liberation day, Putin said that closer ties would be in both countries' interests, and would help strengthen the security and stability of the Korean peninsula and the Northeastern Asian region, North Korea's KCNA news agency said.

Source: Reuters

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Kim Jong-un's sister warns South Korea of 'retaliation' over Covid

North Korea's Kim Yo-jong blames Seoul's propaganda leaflets for the country's Covid outbreak even as Pyongyang declares "shining victory" against the disease.

"It is very worrisome that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, sloppy brochures and items into our region," says Kim Yo-jong. (Reuters Archive)

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accused the South of causing a Covid outbreak in the country and warned of "retaliation", as Pyongyang declared "victory" over its outbreak.

Despite a ban that took effect in 2021, South Korean activists have for years flown balloons containing propaganda leaflets and US dollars over the border, which Pyongyang has long protested against.

On Thursday, Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, blamed these activities for the country's Covid outbreak, saying they were a "crime against humanity", the official Korea Central News Agency reported.

She said that many countries –– and the World Health Organization –– have acknowledged "the danger of spreading an infectious disease through contacting contaminated objects", according to the report.

"It is very worrisome that South Korea is sending leaflets, money, sloppy brochures and items into our region," she said.

Yo-jong warned that Pyongyang was considering "a strong retaliatory response", adding that if the balloons continued, "we will respond by eradicating not only the virus but also the South Korean authorities".

South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs expressed regret.

"We express strong regrets over North Korea repeatedly making groundless claims over the route of the Covid and making very disrespectful and threatening remarks," the ministry said in a statement.

'Shining victory' against Covid

North Korea has previously said that "alien things" near the border with the South caused the Covid outbreak in the isolated country, a claim that Seoul has rejected.

Seoul last month said there have been "no officially verified cases of Covid infections via post or materials".

Yo-jong's comments come as her brother declared a "shining victory" in the battle against Covid-19 after officials reported no new cases of the virus for nearly two weeks.

North Korea has one of the world's worst healthcare systems, with poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid-19 treatment drugs or vaccines, experts say.

Even Kim Jong-un apparently suffered from Covid, according to Yo-jong's comments.

Kim "was suffering from high fever during the days of this quarantine war, but he could not lie down for a moment as he was thinking about the people he was responsible for", his sister said.

Source: AFP

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Death toll rises from flooding in South Korea, torrential rains lessen

At least nine people were killed and seven others missing in South Korea after intense downpours flooded major roads, metro stations and homes in the heaviest rainfall the country has ever recorded.

At least 17 people have been injured, and seven are missing. (Reuters)

Torrential rains that slammed South Korea's capital have diminished after killing at least nine people and damaging about 2,800 homes and other buildings.

More rain was forecast for Wednesday, but less than the heavy downpours on Monday and Tuesday that submerged some streets and buildings, trapping people in flooded apartments and stranding cars.

At least five people had been killed in Seoul as of early Wednesday, as well as three in the neighbouring Gyeonggi Province and one in Gangwon Province, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

At least 17 people have been injured, and seven are missing.

Flooding in some buildings around the glitzy Gangnam district continued on Tuesday, while subway stations and several roads there had been blocked.

READ MORE: In pictures: Record rainfall floods South Korean capital, several dead

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=false[/embed]

Widespread damage

Data showed at least 2,800 public and private facilities had been damaged across South Korea, and more than 1,100 households had been displaced. 

Most highways and subway lines had been cleared by Wednesday.

The accumulated rainfall in Seoul since midnight on Monday stood at 52.5 centimetres as of Wednesday morning, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). 

In neighbouring Yangpyeong County, total rainfall hit 53.25 centimetres.

The KMA expects rain to continue in most parts of the country, with especially heavier rain in Chungcheong Province.

However, the agency predicted rainfall would gradually subside in many parts of the greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will preside over a meeting on Wednesday to discuss damage and countermeasures against flooding. 

Separately, the government and the ruling People Power Party are expected to hold an emergency meeting to discuss fiscal support for damage recovery.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Rains in S. Korea turn Seoul's roads to rivers, leave 7 dead

SEOUL, South Korea -- Heavy rains drenched South Korea’s capital region, turning the streets of Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district into a river, leaving submerged vehicles and overwhelming public transport systems. At least seven people were killed and six others were missing.

Commuters slowly returned to work Tuesday morning after emergency crews worked overnight to clean up much of the mess. But there were concerns about further damage as torrential rain was forecast for the second day in a row.

While most of the Seoul metropolitan area’s subway services were back to normal operations, around 80 roads and dozens of riverside parking lots remained closed due to safety concerns.

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for public employers and private companies to adjust their commuting hours and urged aggressive action in restoring damaged facilities and evacuating people in danger areas to prevent further deaths. Moon Hong-sik, spokesperson of Seoul’s Defense Ministry, said the military was prepared to deploy troops to help with recovery efforts if requested by cities or regional governments.

The rain began Monday morning and intensified through the evening hours. Nearly 800 buildings in Seoul and nearby cities were damaged while more than 400 people were forced to evacuate from their homes, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.

People were seen wading through thigh-high waters Monday night in streets near the Gangnam subway station, one of Seoul’s most bustling business and leisure districts, where passenger cars, taxis and buses were stuck in mud-brown waters. Commuters evacuated as water cascaded down the stairs of the Isu subway station like a waterfall. In the nearby city of Seongnam, a rain-weakened hillside collapsed into a university soccer field.

Rescue workers failed to reach three people who called for help before drowning in a basement home in the Gwanak district of southern Seoul Monday night. Another woman drowned at her home in the nearby Dongjak district, where a public worker died while clearing up fallen trees, likely from electrocution. Choi Seon-yeong, an official from the Dongjak district ward office, said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the water was electrified because of a damaged power source or equipment the man was using.

Two people were found dead in the debris of a collapsed bus station and a landslide in the nearby city of Gwangju.

Four people went missing in southern Seoul’s Seocho district, which is also home to the private residence of Yoon, who, according to his office, spent hours on the phone receiving briefings and issuing instructions overnight as the rain flooded some of the streets near his high-rise apartment complex.

“The heavy rainfall is expected to continue for days … we need to maintain our sense of alert and respond with all-out effort,” Yoon said during a visit to the government’s emergency headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. He directed officials’ attention to areas vulnerable to landslides or flooding and to reducing the dangers of roads and facilities already damaged.

The country’s weather agency maintained a heavy rain warning for the Seoul metropolitan area and nearby regions on Tuesday and said the precipitation may reach 5 to 10 centimeters an hour (2 to 4 inches) in some areas. It said around 10 to 35 centimeters (4 to 14 inches) of more rain was expected across the capital region through Thursday.

More than 43 centimeters (17 inches) of rain were measured in Seoul’s hardest-hit Dongjak district from Monday to noon Tuesday. The per-hour precipitation in that area exceeded 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) at one point Monday night, which was the highest hourly downpour measured in Seoul since 1942.

Rainstorms also pounded North Korea, where authorities issued heavy rain warnings for the southern and western parts of the country. The North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper described the rain as potentially “disastrous” and called for measures to protect farmland and prevent flooding on the Taedong river, which flows through the capital, Pyongyang.

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Reuters reveals South Korea doubles down on risky 'Kill Chain' plans to counter North Korea nuclear threat

Politics

25 July 2022, 8:26 pm. 1 minute

Reuters revealed South Korea is pouring resources into its strategy of deterring any North Korean nuclear attack by preparing for preemptive strikes, if necessary. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has publicly given new emphasis to the so-called “Kill Chain” system to counter a North Korean nuclear attack.

Article Tags

Topics of Interest: Politics

Type: Reuters Best

Sectors: Government & Public Services

Regions: Asia

Countries: North KoreaSouth Korea

Win Types: Exclusivity

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Customer Impact: Important Regional Story

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North Korea 'paves the way' for new nuclear tests

"Work at Punggye-ri nuclear test site paves way for additional nuclear tests for development of nuclear weapons," says a UN report prepared by independent sanctions monitors.

International talks aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have largely stalled since 2019. (Reuters Archive)

North Korea made preparations for a nuclear test during the first six months of this year, according to an excerpt of a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters news agency.

"Work at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site paves the way for additional nuclear tests for the development of nuclear weapons," independent sanctions monitors reported to the UN Security Council North Korea sanctions committee.

"The DPRK continued to develop its capability for the production of fissile material at the Yongbyon site," the monitors wrote, referring to North Korea's formal name - the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Yongbyon is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors.

North Korea's UN mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

The United States has long been warning that North Korea is ready to carry out a seventh nuclear test and says it will again push to strengthen UN sanctions on Pyongyang if it takes place.

The UN monitors also said investigations had shown Pyongyang was to blame for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto assets in at least one major hack. The monitors have previously accused North Korea of carrying out cyber attacks to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

"Other cyber activity focusing on stealing information and more traditional means of obtaining information and materials of value to DPRK's prohibited programmes, including WMD (weapons of mass destruction), continued," the monitors wrote.

READ MORE: UN chief warns of 'nuclear annihilation'

Evading sanctions

North Korea has for years been banned from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the UN Security Council, which has strengthened sanctions on Pyongyang over the years to try and cut off funding for those programs.

"DPRK made preparations at its nuclear test site, although it did not test a nuclear device. In the first half of 2022, the country continued the acceleration (which began in September 2021) of its missile programmes," the monitors said.

They said North Korea launched 31 missiles combining ballistic and guidance technologies, including six intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) tests and two missiles that it explicitly described as ballistic weapons.

North Korea continued illicit imports of oil and exports of coal, evading sanctions, the monitors said.

International talks aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs have largely stalled since 2019.

In recent years China and Russia have been pushing for an easing of sanctions on North Korea on humanitarian grounds –– and in the hope, that Pyongyang can be convinced to return to negotiations.

The UN monitors reported that while challenging to assess accurately, "there can be little doubt that UN sanctions have unintentionally affected the humanitarian situation" in North Korea.

READ MORE: Kim vows to 'strengthen' North Korea's nuclear weapons

Source: Reuters

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South Korea develops e-tattoo to track users health

Fast News

The tattoo's ink is non-invasive and made from particles based on gallium, a soft, silvery metal also used in semiconductors or in thermometers.

Water sprays on arm are seen with an electronic tattoo (e-tattoo) for the wettability test at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea, July 26, 2022. (Reuters)

South Koreans may soon be able to carry a device inside their own bodies in the form of a bespoke tattoo that automatically alerts them to potential health problems, if a science team's project bears fruit.

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in the city of Daejeon southwest of Seoul have developed an electronic tattoo ink made of liquid metal and carbon nanotubes that functions as a bioelectrode.

Hooked up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) device or other biosensor, it can send a readout of a patient's heart rate and other vital signs such glucose and lactate to a monitor.

The researchers eventually aim to be able to dispense with biosensors.

"In the future, what we hope to do is connect a wireless chip integrated with this ink, so that we can communicate, or we can send signal back and forth between our body to an external device," said project leader Steve Park, a materials science and engineering professor.

Such monitors could in theory be located anywhere, including in patients' homes.

The ink is non-invasive and made from particles based on gallium, a soft, silvery metal also used in semiconductors or in thermometers. Platinum-decorated carbon nanotubes help conduct electricity while providing durability.

"When it is applied to the skin, even with rubbing the tattoo doesn't come off, which is not possible with just liquid metal," Park said.

Source: Reuters

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North Korea reports no new fever cases for first time since Covid outbreak

North Korea said earlier this month it was on a path to "finally defuse" its first publicly declared coronavirus crisis even as Asian neighbours experience a resurgence in infections driven by Omicron subvariants.

The official KCNA news agency says 99.99% of its 4.77 million fever patients since late April have fully recovered, but because of an apparent lack of testing, it has not released any figures on people who tested positive for the virus. (Getty Images)

North Korea has not reported any fever cases for the first time in more than two months since it confirmed its first Covid-19 infections in May.

"There were no new fever patients reported" over a 24-hour period from Thursday evening, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday, marking the first time the isolated country had reported no new cases since it began tallying numbers in May.

While it has maintained a rigid coronavirus blockade since the start of the pandemic, experts have said that massive Omicron outbreaks in neighbouring countries meant it was only a matter of time before Covid snuck in.

North Korea has recorded nearly 4.8 million infections since late April, KCNA said, adding "99.994 percent" of them had fully recovered with just 204 patients under treatment.

Apparently due to a lack of testing capacity, North Korea refers to "fever patients" rather than "Covid patients" in case reports.

READ MORE:North Korea claims close to end of Covid crisis amid fresh surge in Asia

Zero cases

The country has one of the world's worst healthcare systems, with poorly-equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid-19 treatment drugs or mass testing ability, experts say.

Pyongyang announced its first coronavirus cases on May 12 and activated a "maximum emergency epidemic prevention system", with leader Kim Jong Un putting himself front and centre of the government's response.

North Korea has not vaccinated any of its roughly 25 million people, having rejected jabs offered by the World Health Organisation.

The North said in late May it started seeing "progress" in controlling the outbreak but experts have cast doubts on the claim, citing the country's crumbling health infrastructure and unvaccinated population.

There have been widespread outside doubts about the accuracy of North Korean statistics as its reported fatalities are too low and its daily fever cases have been plummeting too fast recently.

There were three reported cases on Friday and 11 on Thursday — from a peak of about 400,000 a day in May.

WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said last month he assumed the situation in North Korea was "getting worse not better", though he acknowledged Pyongyang had provided very limited information.

South Korea previously offered to send vaccines and other medical aid to the North to help it deal with its coronavirus outbreak. Pyongyang has not officially responded.

READ MORE: North Korea's Kim blasts officials for failing to deal with Covid

Source: AP

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Kim Jong Un threatens to use nukes amid tensions with US, South Korea

While Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that he would use them first against the superior militaries of the US and its allies, observers say.

Kim's military has test-launched nuclear-capable missiles that place both the US mainland and South Korea within striking distance. (AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned he’s ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media has said.

Kim’s speech on Wednesday to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War was apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country amid pandemic-related economic difficulties.

“Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said in his speech, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

While Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that he would use them first against the superior militaries of the US and its allies, observers say.

Kim accused the United States of “demonising” North Korea to justify its hostile policies.

He said US-South Korea military drills targeting North Korea show the US's “double standards” and “gangster-like” aspects because it brands North Korea’s routine military activities — an apparent reference to its missile tests — as provocations or threats.

Kim also alleged the new South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters" who have gone further than previous South Korean conservative governments.

Since taking office in May, the Yoon government has moved to strengthen Seoul's military alliance with the United States and bolster its capacity to neutralise North Korean nuclear threats including a preemptive strike capability.

READ MORE: North Korea's Kim convenes conference to boost 'monolithic' party rule

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO5XQf9Zgw4[/embed]

Tensions spiral

Moon Hong-sik, a deputy spokesperson at the South Korean Defence Ministry, reiterated on Thursday an earlier position that South Korea has been boosting its military capacity and joint defence posture with the United States to cope with escalating North Korean nuclear threats. 

In April, Kim said North Korea could preemptively use nuclear weapons if threatened, saying they would “never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent."

Kim's military has also test-launched nuclear-capable missiles that place both the US mainland and South Korea within striking distance.

US and South Korean officials have repeatedly said in the past few months that North Korea is ready to conduct its first nuclear test in five years.

Kim is seeking greater public support as his country’s economy has been battered by pandemic-related border shutdowns, US-led sanctions and his own mismanagement.

Experts say North Korea will likely intensify its threats against the United States and South Korea as the allies prepare to expand summertime exercises.

In recent years, the South Korean and US militaries have cancelled or downsized some of their regular exercises to support now-stalled US-led diplomacy aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear program in return for economic and political benefits.

North Korea has said it won't return to talks with the United States unless it first abandons its hostile polices on the North, in an apparent reference to US-led sanctions and US-South Korean military drills.

READ MORE: South Korea to lift ban on North Korean media despite tensions

Source: AP

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