North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the US is his nuclear-armed nation’s “principal enemy,” state media reported yesterday, as he threw down the diplomatic gauntlet to the incoming administration of US president-elect Joe Biden.
The declaration comes less than two weeks ahead of Biden’s inauguration and follows a tumultuous relationship between Kim and outgoing US President Donald Trump.
Kim and Trump first engaged in a war of words and mutual threats, before an extraordinary diplomatic “bromance” that featured headline-grabbing summits and declarations of love by the US president.
Photo: AFP / KCNA VIA KNS
Little substantive progress was made, with the process deadlocked after their February 2019 meeting in Hanoi broke down over sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in return.
North Korea should focus on “containing and subduing the US, the fundamental obstacle to the development of our revolution and our foremost principal enemy,” Kim told the five-yearly congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
“The real intention of its policy toward the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] will never change, whoever comes into power in the US,” it quoted him as saying, without specifically mentioning Biden.
“The check has come due on the Singapore and Hanoi Summits,” Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment wrote on Twitter. “And the Biden administration gets to pick up the tab.”
The change of leadership in Washington presents a challenge for Pyongyang, which has previously called Biden a “rabid dog,” while he characterized Kim as a “thug” during the presidential debates.
The US is expected to return to more orthodox diplomatic approaches under Biden, such as insisting on extensive progress at working-level talks before any leaders’ summit would be considered.
Kim “sees a stalemate that won’t change anytime soon,” said Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest.
The Biden administration was unlikely to react strongly to Kim’s comments as they were “only words,” said Cho Seong-ryoul of the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul.
“But if the North carries them into action with provocation or launches, I expect it to respond severely,” Cho added.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS