North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a parachuting drill of military sharpshooters and vowed to build an “invincible army,” displaying more defiance even as the US and South Korea called off their own exercises to create space for nuclear diplomacy.
The report yesterday by the Korean Central News Agency came hours after US President Donald Trump in a tweet urged Kim to “act quickly, get the deal done,” while hinting at another summit, writing, “See you soon!”
North Korea has publicized two military drills in three days. A report on Saturday said Kim urged combat pilots to prepare against enemies “armed to the teeth” while he attended a flight demonstration.
The Korean Central News Agency published photos that showed Kim posing with North Korean air force sharpshooters and soldiers who used white parachutes to land on a training field.
Kim, while supervising the drill, said it is “necessary to wage a drill without notice under the simulated conditions of real war” to improve his military’s war readiness and to build it into an “invincible army,” the agency said.
RUSSIA VISIT
In related news, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui traveled to Russia yesterday, the Russian embassy in Pyongyang said.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that the visit could involve discussions on negotiating an agreement with the US.
Choe has been at the forefront of negotiations that the US hopes would lead to North Korea’s dismantling its nuclear and missile programs, in exchange for lifting punishing international sanctions.
North Korean state media made no mention of Choe’s trip to Russia.
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora saw off Choe at Sunan International Airport for her visit to Russia yesterday, the embassy said in a post on its Facebook page. It did not mention why Choe was visiting Russia.
Kyodo, without citing sources, said Choe could be looking to discuss the US negotiations on her trip to Russia.
Russia has been involved in efforts to press North Korea to disarm and was for years involved in the so-called six-party talks, which collapsed in 2008.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese