SEOUL: US President Joe Biden and South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol said after meeting Saturday that they will consider expanded military exercises to deter the nuclear threat from North Korea at a time when there’s little hope of real diplomacy on the matter.
Yoon affirmed in remarks at a news conference that their shared goal is the complete denuclearization of North Korea. The US and South Korea issued a joint statement that said they were committed to a “rules-based international order” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The statement likely sets the stage for how the US and its allies will address any challenges with North Korea.
The statement may draw an angry response from North Korea, which had defended its nuclear weapons and missile development on what it perceives as US threats and long described the U.S-South Korea military exercises as invasion rehearsals, although the allies have described the drills as defensive.
Yet Biden also reiterated his offer of vaccines to North Korea as the coronavirus spreads at a dangerously fast speed through that country. He also said he’s prepared to meet with Kim Jong Un provided the North Korean leader is “sincere” and “serious.”
“Yes, we’ve offered vaccines, not only to North Korea but China as well,” Biden said. “We’re prepared to do that immediately. We’ve gotten no response.”
The division of the Korean peninsula after World War II has led to two radically different countries. In South Korea, Biden is touring factories for computer chips and next-generation autos in a democracy and engaging in talks for greater cooperation. But in the North, there is a deadly coronavirus outbreak in a largely unvaccinated autocracy that can best command the world’s attention by flexing its nuclear capabilities.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew to South Korea, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US has coordinated with Seoul and Tokyo on how they’ll respond should the North conduct a nuclear test or missile strike while Biden is in the region or soon after. Sullivan also spoke with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi earlier in the week and urged Beijing to use its influence to persuade the North to cease the tests.
As part of a five-day visit in Asia, Biden spent Saturday developing his relationship with Yoon, who assumed office little more than a week ago.
In advance of the meeting, there have been worries in Seoul that Washington is slipping back to the Obama administration’s “strategic patience” policy of ignoring North Korea until it demonstrates seriousness about denuclearization, an approach that was criticized for neglecting the North as it made huge strides in building its nuclear arsenal.
The US president opened Saturday by laying a wreath at Seoul National Cemetery, wearing white gloves and a somber expression as he also burned incense and then signed a guest book. Biden then greeted Yoon at the People’s House for a nearly two-hour meeting and brief public remarks. The pair will also hold a joint news conference and attend a leaders’ dinner at the National Museum of Korea.
In addition to North Korea, both leaders emphasized economic security and growing trade relations as two Korean industrial stalwarts — Samsung and Hyundai — are opening major plants in the US
Biden faces growing disapproval within the US over inflation near a 40-year high, but his administration sees one clear economic win in the contest with China for influence in the Pacific. Bloomberg Economics Analysis estimates that the US economy will grow faster this year than China for the first time since 1976, a forecast that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre credited to Biden’s spending on coronavirus relief and infrastructure that led to faster job growth.
The national security event that is galvanizing broader discussions between the two countries has been Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war that has led to an unprecedented set of sanctions by the US and its allies.
South Korea joined the US in imposing export controls against Russia and blocking Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system. Its participation was key to stopping Russia’s access to computer chips and other technologies needed for weapons and economic development.
At the start of the administration, many White House officials thought that Kim’s nuclear ambitions would prove to be perhaps the administration’s most vexing challenge and that the North Korean leader would aim to test Biden’s mettle early in his time in office.
Through the first 14 months of Biden’s administration, Pyongyang held off on missile tests even as it ignored efforts by the administration to reach out through back channels in hopes of restarting talks that could lead to the North’s denuclearization in return for sanctions relief.
But the quiet didn’t last. North Korea has tested missiles 16 separate times this year, including in March, when its first flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 demonstrated a potential range including the entire US mainland.
The Biden administration is calling on China to restrain North Korea from engaging in any missile or nuclear tests. Speaking on Air Force One, Sullivan said Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping could hold a phone call in the coming weeks.
Biden has fiercely criticized Beijing over its human rights record, trade practices, military harassment of the self-ruled island of Taiwan and more. And while Biden has made clear that he sees China as the United States’ greatest economic and national security competitor, he says it is crucial to keep the lines of communication open so the two powers can cooperate on issues of mutual concern. North Korea is perhaps highest on that list.
White House officials said Biden won’t visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean peninsula during his trip — something that’s become standard for presidents during Seoul visits dating back to Ronald Reagan. Biden visited the DMZ in 2013 as vice president. Sullivan said the president’s decision to skip the stop this time wasn’t driven by security concerns.
Instead, Biden on Sunday will visit the Air Operations Center’s Combat Operations Floor on Osan Air Base, south of Seoul. The US sees it as one of the most critical installations in Northeast Asia.
US, South Korea open to expanded military drills to deter North Korea
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US, South Korea open to expanded military drills to deter North Korea

- One mission will be reassuring South Korea about the US commitment to countering North Korea’s Kim Jong Un
EU almost on track to reach 2030 climate goal

- The analysis shows governments have upped their efforts to curb emissions in the last two years
- Brussels faces a political backlash from some countries demanding the EU weaken its green agenda
The EU is on course to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 54 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels – just shy of its legally-binding goal of a 55 percent cut, the Commission said in an analysis of existing policies in the EU and its member countries.
The analysis showed governments have upped their efforts to curb emissions in the last two years, even as Brussels faces a political backlash from some countries demanding the EU weaken its green agenda.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with crop-wrecking floods and deadly wildfires linked to climate change hitting EU nations with increasing frequency.
But with industries reeling from high energy prices after Russia slashed gas deliveries in 2022, and the prospect of US tariffs, the EU faces mounting calls from governments to soften green measures for struggling businesses.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the EU would invest more in clean technologies to ensure industries can prosper from Europe’s green transition.
“Emissions are down 37 percent since 1990, while the economy has grown nearly 70 percent, proving climate action and growth go hand in hand. Now we must build on this momentum,” Hoekstra said.
By 2023, the EU had reduced its emissions by 37 percent from 1990 levels, the latest available data show.
The Commission cited strong progress in the energy sector, with renewable sources covering 24 percent of EU energy consumption in 2023.
Agriculture and transport are among the sectors lagging behind, it said.
Farmers staged months of protests across Europe last year, criticizing EU green policies. The agriculture sector has largely escaped EU climate measures, and Brussels weakened some environmental rules for farmers in response to the protests.
The environmental impact of land use – which includes farming and forestry – has also been exacerbated by record-breaking wildfires, which deplete the land’s ability to store carbon. The EU’s “sink” of carbon stored in natural ecosystems like grasslands and forests is now not expected to improve by 2030, the Commission said.
The EU’s 2030 climate goal is one of the most ambitious among major economies worldwide. The Commission is preparing to propose a 2040 climate target, but has delayed the proposal for months amid political pushback.
Germany’s Merz to meet Zelensky in Berlin on Wednesday

- Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit will focus on ‘German support for Ukraine and efforts to secure a ceasefire’
- Berlin visit comes days after Russia launched some of its heaviest missile and drone attacks on Ukraine
BERLIN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit Germany on Wednesday for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged strong backing for Kyiv in its fight against Russia.
Zelensky’s visit will focus on “German support for Ukraine and efforts to secure a ceasefire” with Russia to end more than three years of war, spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement.
During their Berlin talks from noon (1000 GMT), Zelensky and Merz were also expected to discuss EU efforts to levy more sanctions on Moscow amid a lack of progress so far toward ceasefire and eventual peace talks.
After a joint press conference with Merz, Zelensky was due to meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was to greet him with military honors at his Bellevue Palace.
The Berlin visit comes days after Russia launched some of its heaviest missile and drone attacks of the conflict on Ukraine, and as US President Donald Trump has voiced growing frustration with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Conservative Merz, since taking office on May 6, has vowed to continue strong backing for Ukraine in concert with Paris, London and Warsaw.
He has also pushed to ramp up German defense spending to create Europe’s “strongest conventional army.”
Taking over from center-left leader Olaf Scholz, he has changed the tone in Berlin and voiced harsh criticism of Putin who, Merz charged this week, “obviously sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness.”
Merz, speaking last week in Lithuania – where Germany is building up a tank brigade to help guard NATO’s eastern flank – declared that “there is a threat to us all from Russia.”
Australia whistleblower who exposed war crime allegations loses bid to reduce prison sentence

- The three Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal judges unanimously rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer’s appeal against the severity of a five years and eight months prison sentence
- The documents became the source of a series of Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports in 2017 called the “Afghan Files.”
MELBOURNE: Australian army whistleblower David McBride, who leaked allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan to the media, lost a court bid to have his prison sentence reduced on Wednesday.
The three Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal judges unanimously rejected the 61-year-old former army lawyer’s appeal against the severity of a five years and eight months prison sentence imposed a year ago.
The judges also rejected McBride’s argument that as a military officer he had sworn an oath to Queen Elizabeth II and therefore had sworn duty to act in the “public interest.”
“To the contrary, the oath obligued the appellant (McBride) to discharge his duties ‘according to the law,’” the judges said in a written summary of their ruling.
McBride said through his lawyers that Australians would be outraged by the Court of Appeal decision.
“It is my own conscience and the people of Australia that I answer to. I have kept my oath to the Australian people,” McBride said in the lawyers’ statement.
McBride pleaded guilty last year to three charges, including theft and sharing with journalists documents classified as secret. He faced a potential life sentence.
Rights advocates complain that McBride remains the only person to be imprisoned over allegations of war crimes committed by elite Australian special forces troops in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.
A military report released in 2020 recommended 19 current and former soldiers face criminal investigations over 39 unlawful killings in Afghanistan.
Former Special Air Service Regiment soldier Oliver Schulz was charged in March 2023 with murdering an unarmed Afghan in 2012. Schulz pleaded not guilty to the war crime and has yet to stand trial.
Former SAS Cpl. Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living veteran, lost an appeal two weeks ago against a civil court ruling that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans.
Roberts-Smith said he would appeal his loss in the High Court. He has not been criminally charged.
McBride’s lawyers also said they would take their appeal to the Hight Court.
“We believe that only the High Court can properly grapple with the immense public interest and constitutional issues at the heart of this case,” the lawyers’ statement said.
“It cannot be a crime to expose a crime. It cannot be illegal to tell the truth,” the statement added.
Whistleblower’s lawyers call for a government pardon
The lawyers also called on Attorney General Michelle Rowland, who was appointed after the Labour Party government was re-elected on May 3, to recommend McBride be pardoned.
“It is now time for the attorney general to show leadership. To show Australians that this Labor government will no longer jail whistleblowers,” the lawyers said.
Rowland did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The documents became the source of a series of Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports in 2017 called the “Afghan Files.” The reports detailed allegations against Australian soldiers including the unlawful killing of men and children.
The appeal court judges noted in their summary that McBride began taking home copies of hundreds of secret documents after becoming “dissatisfied with what he perceived to be vexatious over-investigation of alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers.”
McBride declined to have further dealings with a journalist after the reporter revealed he intended to use the classified information for a story exposing war crime allegations, the judges said.
McBride can be considered for parole after he has served two years and three months, meaning he must remain behind bars until at least August next year.
Trump says Putin ‘playing with fire’ as sanctions pressure grows

- Donald Trump’s latest broadside showed his frustration with the stalled ceasefire talks
- Diplomatic efforts to end the war have intensified, but Vladimir Putin has been accused of stalling peace talks
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned Vladimir Putin Tuesday that he was “playing with fire,” taking a fresh jab at his Russian counterpart as Washington weighs new sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Trump’s latest broadside showed his frustration with stalled ceasefire talks and comes two days after he called the Kremlin leader “absolutely CRAZY” following a major drone attack on Ukraine.
Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, insisted it was responding to escalating Ukrainian strikes on its own civilians and accused Kyiv of trying to “disrupt” peace efforts.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war have intensified in recent weeks, but Putin has been accused of stalling peace talks.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Trump did not specify what the “really bad” things were.
But the Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported that the Republican was now considering fresh sanctions as early as this week.
Trump told reporters on Sunday he was “absolutely” weighing such a move.
The White House said Trump was keeping “all options” open.
“This war is Joe Biden’s fault, and President Trump has been clear he wants to see a negotiated peace deal. President Trump has also smartly kept all options on the table,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Biden, Trump’s Democratic predecessor, imposed sweeping sanctions after Russia’s invasion. Trump has so far avoided what he says could be “devastating” sanctions on Russian banks.
But Trump’s recent rebukes mark a sharp change from his previous attitude toward Putin, of whom he often speaks with admiration.
His frustration at his failure to end a war he said he could solve within 24 hours boiled over at the weekend after Russia’s drone barrage killed at least 13 people.
“I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump posted.
Russia has kept up attacks despite a phone call eight days ago in which Trump said Putin had agreed to immediately start talks.
Moscow did not react to Trump’s comments on Tuesday, but it earlier sought to blame Ukraine for the impasse.
“Kyiv, with the support of some European countries, has taken a series of provocative steps to thwart negotiations initiated by Russia,” the Russian defense ministry said.
Civilians including women and children were injured in what it said were Ukrainian drone strikes. Russian air defenses destroyed 2,331 Ukrainian drones between May 20 and 27, it said.
Fresh drone attacks were also reported overnight to Wednesday.
Russian authorities said almost 150 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted, including 33 heading toward Moscow.
Ukraine said it was Russia that had targeted civilians.
“We need to end this eternal waiting — Russia needs more sanctions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Tuesday on Telegram.
US lawmakers have stepped up calls for Trump to slap sanctions on Russia.
Veteran Republican Senator Chuck Grassley called for strong measures to let Putin know it was “game over.”
Two other senators, Republican Lindsay Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, also called for heavy “secondary” sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, gas and raw materials.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox News that the next peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, if they happen, would likely take place in Geneva after Moscow rejected the Vatican as a venue.
The aim would then be to get Trump, Putin and Zelensky together “and hammer this thing out,” he added.
The Swiss government would not confirm that it would host the talks.
“Switzerland remains ready to offer its good offices,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “in contact with all parties.”
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks in more than three years in Istanbul in early May.
Indonesian and French leaders meet for defense and trade talks

- Emmanuel Macron is on a week-long trip to Southeast Asia focused on strengthening regional ties
- Military cooperation between Indonesia and France has grown in recent years
JAKARTA: French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday in a visit aimed at boosting defense and trade cooperation as part of his roughly week-long trip to Southeast Asia focused on strengthening regional ties in an increasingly unstable global landscape.
Macron arrived in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, on Tuesday evening with French First Lady Brigitte Macron for a three-day visit to Southeast Asia’s largest economy. It was the second stop in his tour of the region after Vietnam, where Macron signed a deal to sell Hanoi 20 Airbus planes.
“We are very excited to meet again with my brother, President Prabowo,” Macron told reporters shortly after arriving at Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma air force base late Tuesday, “He is a great friend of mine and the relationship with your country is a very strategic and friendly one.”
Military cooperation between Indonesia and France has grown in recent years, while Subianto was serving as Indonesia’s defense minister.
The two leaders met last November on the sidelines of the 2024 G20 Summit in Brazil, where they discussed Indonesia’s plans to buy fighter jets and submarines from France.
Indonesia finalized an order for 42 French Dassault Rafale fighter jets in January 2024, and the first delivery is expected in early 2026. The country also announced the purchase of two French Scorpene Evolved submarines and 13 Thales ground control interception radars. Five of the radar systems are expected to be installed in the country’s new capital, Nusantara.
Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the two leaders will oversee the signing of letter of intent for the procurement of strategic weapons systems including fighter planes and submarines.
“The essence of this (visit) is to strengthen defense cooperation between Indonesia and France,” Sjamsoeddin told reporters after welcoming Macron and his wife at the air force base on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Subianto hosted Macron and Brigitte in a ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta before the two leaders led a bilateral meeting.
Indonesia has embarked on a drive to upgrade and modernize its arsenal and strengthen its domestic defense industry.
Subianto has crisscrossed the globe since he was appointed as defense minister in 2019, traveling to China, France, Russia, Turkiye and the United States in a bid to acquire new military weapon systems as well as surveillance and territorial defense capabilities.
The Indonesian Air Force currently operates a mix of fighter jets made in various countries, including the United States, Russia and Britain. Some of those aircraft have reached or will soon reach their end-of-life phase and need to be replaced or upgraded.
During the visit, Macron is also scheduled to meet with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn to discuss regional issues, and to give public lectures at Jakarta State University.
On Thursday, Macron and his wife are expected visit Borobudur, a 9th century Buddhist temple in the center of Indonesia’s Java island and to visit a military academy before heading to Singapore, where he will speak at Asia’s top defense conference, the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.