SEOUL: A top South Korean official said Monday that North Korea is increasingly targeting the South with its nuclear arms program, and urged China and Russia to persuade the North not to conduct a widely expected nuclear test.
Unification Minster Kwon Youngse’s comments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un re-emphasized his nuclear ambitions in a key military meeting last week and approved unspecified new operational duties for front-line army units.
Experts say North Korea could be planning to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along its tense border with South Korea. During a prolonged stalemate in nuclear diplomacy, North Korea has spent much of the past three years expanding its arsenal of short-range solid-fuel missiles that are potentially capable of evading missile defenses and striking targets throughout South Korea, including US bases there.
US and South Korean officials say that North Korea has all but finished preparations for its first nuclear test since September 2017, when it claimed to have detonated a thermonuclear warhead designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles. North Korea may use its next nuclear test to claim that it has acquired the ability to build small nuclear warheads that can be placed on short-range missiles or other new weapons systems it has demonstrated in recent months, analysts say.
Kwon, who oversees South Korea’s relations with North Korea, said at a news conference that the North is exploiting a favorable environment to push ahead with weapons development and overturn the regional status quo as the US-led West remains distracted over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said North Korea’s nuclear ambitions pose a “very serious and fundamental threat” to South Korea and that Seoul is preparing stern countermeasures in response to a possible North Korean nuclear test. He didn’t elaborate.
“North Korea’s transition in weapons development from long-range ballistic missiles to short-range ballistic missiles, from strategic nuclear weapons to tactical nuclear weapons, is obviously targeted toward South Korea,” Kwon said.
“It seems clear that North Korea is simultaneously pursuing an ability to attack the United States and to attack South Korea,” he said.
Kwon said North Korea could go ahead with a nuclear test at “any time.”
While the US government has vowed to pursue additional sanctions against North Korea if it conducts another nuclear test, the possibility of meaningful new punitive measures remains unclear because Russia’s war in Ukraine has deepened divisions among permanent members of the UN Security Council. China and Russia have vetoed US-sponsored proposals that would have increased sanctions on North Korea over some of its recent ballistic missile tests.
Kwon, who served as South Korea’s ambassador to China from 2013 to 2015, expressed hope that Beijing and Moscow will react differently to a North Korean nuclear test since both have maintained public support for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
“If North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test at a time when the global security situation is as instable as it is now, the country will face enormous criticism from international society, and the response will be more than just words,” Kwon said.
North Korea has conducted more ballistic tests in the first half of 2022 than it has in any previous entire year, firing around 30 missiles, including its first tests of ICBMs in nearly five years. Kim has punctuated the tests with repeated comments that North Korea would use nuclear weapons proactively if threatened or provoked, which experts say is an escalation in its nuclear doctrine.
The US government has reaffirmed its commitment to defending allies South Korea and Japan with its full range of military capabilities, including nuclear, but there are concerns in Seoul that North Korea’s ICBMs could make Washington hesitant in the event of another war on the Korean Peninsula.
Experts say North Korea’s unusually heavy testing activity this year underscores Kim’s intent to advance his arsenal as well as pressure the United States into accepting North Korea as a nuclear power, thereby strengthening its position in negotiating economic and security concessions.
Talks have stalled since early 2019 because of disagreements over a relaxation of crippling US-led sanctions against North Korea in exchange for North Korean disarmament steps.
Seoul urges China, Russia to prevent North Korean nuclear test
https://arab.news/mn9pf
Seoul urges China, Russia to prevent North Korean nuclear test
- Experts say North Korea could be planning to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along its tense border with South Korea
Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
- Students on several campuses are protesting against Israeli actions in Gaza
DUBAI: Maya Abdallah’s message is clear: she will not eat until her university — the University of California, Los Angeles — hears her out on her cause, the crisis in Gaza.
The 23-year-old film student is Palestinian-Lebanese and is on hunger strike, protesting against her university’s funding of Israeli businesses that allegedly invest in manufacturing weapons being used by Israeli forces on the people of Gaza.
“I want to open a renegotiation for divestment … billions of dollars are spent on things like the gas that’s going into the Israeli tanks, to the manufacturers of the weapons used against the people of Gaza,” Abdallah said.
UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher said in an official statement in 2024 that the university had $32 billion in assets in various companies, $3.3 billion of that in groups with ties to weapons manufacturers and $163 million in the investment firm BlackRock.
Abdallah is not alone. Although she is currently the only student at UCLA on hunger strike, students at other universities in California are also striking, including California State University Dominguez Hills and California State University Long Beach.
Hoping to be heard by policymakers and officials at their institutions, these students are now on Day 21 of their strikes.
So far, San Francisco State University and University of San Francisco have announced in official statements their divestment from companies such as Palantir and GE Aerospace who allegedly supply weapon systems and technology to the Israeli military.
“I didn’t just come up with the idea of a hunger strike. I saw students across California do it, and I wanted to contribute, even if I was the only one at UCLA,” Abdallah said.
Her strike began on May 9. Abdullah, who is subsisting only on liquids, said it has been harder than she anticipated, but she is willing to push herself.
“This isn’t easy. I’m exhausted, I’m hungry, and sometimes I’m scared. But none of that compares to what Palestinians in Gaza are facing right now. I remind myself of that every single day,” she said.
Abdallah said the hardest part of the strike is the mental strain of starving herself.
“More than the toll starvation takes on your body, it’s what it does to your brain. I can’t imagine the people who’ve suffered the loss of family members, left their homes, and felt abandoned in every way; now also going without food and dealing with that added stress. For me, there’s food around me. I could end my strike and eat. That’s not an option for them,” she said.
In addition to studying film, Abdallah is a social media entertainer turned activist, with more than two million followers on various platforms.
“I’ve tried protesting and raising awareness, but this was one of the things I hadn’t tried yet … when you’re fighting for such a cause, you have to try literally everything in your toolbox,” she said.
On the ninth day of her strike, Abdallah collapsed during a protest on campus and was rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance.
In a video she posted on her social media accounts, Abdallah said that first responders discovered her heart rate was 40 percent higher than the average person.
Since then, Abdallah is back home resting and is still actively fighting for her cause on campus and on social media.
The UN in 2024 reported that more than 80 percent of educational institutes in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.
“There are no universities left in Gaza, and yet our university is helping fund that destruction. It’s disgusting hypocrisy,” she added.
Abdallah said her university was aware of her strike, and that campus police as well as social workers are in contact with her, yet no official acknowledgement of her strike has been made. Even after she was admitted to hospital, Abdallah said no one from the university responded to check on her.
A UCLA spokesperson told Arab News the university supports freedom of expression of different points of view.
“We strongly urge all Bruins to peacefully express themselves and exercise their first amendment rights in ways that are safe. We will continue to make support available to all students through UCLA’s Student Health Services and other campus offices,” the spokesperson said.
Many people online have criticized Abdallah for her decision to strike, claiming that it will not lead to any meaningful outcome. But she said she does not care.
“An ‘indefinite hunger strike’ is ridiculous. She’s only harming herself. Ridiculous actions,” said a commenter on Instagram. Another said she was “A spoiled rich girl doing spoiled rich girl stuff. Your university owes you nothing but an overpriced gender studies degree. Grow up girl.” Another said “you go girl! Starve yourself. That’ll free Gaza.”
After a surge of student protests and encampments on university campuses in April 2024 to raise awareness about the crisis in Gaza after the Israeli military aggression on Gaza intensified in 2023, UCLA released a statement saying it would not divest from Israel.
“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel. While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” according to the statement on UCLA’s official website.
Abdallah, who was on campus during the 2024 protests and encampments, described the situation as brutal but she felt motivated to see so many people fight for her cause.
“I felt pure joy that I have literally never felt at any other time in my life. To see so many people care about the thing that I’ve been begging people to care about my entire life,” she said.
But that feeling soon turned to sadness after experiencing brutality and pressure to stop. Abdallah recalled being attacked by a group of counter-strikers who she said got very aggressive and released mice into the encampments and set off fireworks.
Abdallah said it took a long time for law enforcement officers and police to arrive on the scene and the violence escalated.
“I was there the night the cops stormed and broke it up. They came in with rubber bullets and the batons. I was so traumatized,” she said.
At the time of the encampments, The Guardian reported that demonstrators told local media that police were “creating chaos” as they tried to peacefully demonstrate with “hands up”, and video footage showed chaotic scenes of baton-carrying police used flash-bang stun grenades to disperse protesters.
Abdallah said police were called several times during the violent night raids led by counter-protesters on the encampments but no one showed up.
A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom last year criticized the “limited and delayed campus law enforcement response”" to the unrest as “unacceptable.”
Arab News asked UCLA officials for a statement regarding the alleged police brutality that occurred on campus, but they have yet to reply.
Bangladesh court begins first trial of Hasina-era officials
- Court in Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection to the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year
- It is the first formal charge in any case related to killings in last year’s student-led uprising that ended Hasina’s iron-fisted rule of 15 years
DHAKA: Bangladesh began the first trial on Sunday at a special court prosecuting former senior figures connected to the ousted government of Sheikh Hasina, the chief prosecutor said.
The court in the capital Dhaka accepted a formal charge against eight police officials in connection to the killing of six protesters on August 5 last year, the day Hasina fled the country as the protesters stormed her palace.
The eight men are charged with crimes against humanity. Four are in custody and four are being tried in absentia.
“The formal trial has begun,” Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s domestic International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told reporters.
“The prosecution believes that this prosecution will be able to prove the crimes done by the accused,” he said.
It is the first formal charge in any case related to the killings during last year’s student-led uprising, which ended Hasina’s iron-fisted rule of 15 years.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a brutal campaign to silence the protesters, according to the United Nations.
The list of those facing trial includes Dhaka’s former police commissioner, Habibur Rahman, who is among those being tried in absentia.
Hasina also fled by helicopter to India, her old ally.
She remains in self-imposed exile, defying Dhaka’s extradition request to face charges of crimes against humanity.
The launch of the trials of senior figures from Hasina’s government is a key demand of several of the political parties now jostling for power as the South Asian nation awaits elections that the interim government has vowed will take place before June 2026.
Islam said the eight men were accused of “different responsibilities,” including the most senior for “superior command responsibility, some for direct orders.. (and) some for participation.”
He said he was confident of a successful prosecution.
“We have submitted as much evidence as required to prove crimes against humanity, both at a national and an international standard,” he said.
Among that evidence, he said, was video footage of the violence, as well as voice recordings of Hasina in “conversations with different people where she ordered the killing of the protesters using force and lethal weapons.”
The ICT was set up by Hasina in 2009 to investigate crimes committed by the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s war for independence in 1971.
It sentenced numerous prominent political opponents to death over the following years and became widely seen as a means for Hasina to eliminate rivals.
Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea
- Vessel loaded with 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil
- Strong water currents off Kerala complicate pollution response, expert says
NEW DELHI: India’s southern state of Kerala was on high alert Sunday after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off its coast.
The Indian Ministry of Defense said the 184-meter MSC Elsa 3 container ship was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam on Saturday when it issued a distress call.
All 24 members of the vessel’s crew — which included nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines — were rescued by the Coast Guard and the Navy.
“The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide,” the ministry said.
It did not specify what other hazardous substances were onboard, but calcium carbide becomes dangerous on contact with water, producing acetylene gas, which is flammable and explosive.
The vessel was also loaded with more than 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil.
Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants. They are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued a public warning on Saturday, when the ship started losing containers in the Arabian Sea. The authority’s secretary told reporters that “there is a chance the cargo, including containers and oil, will wash ashore.”
The Indian Coast Guard has deployed spill detection systems.
“ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill mapping technology are conducting aerial assessment of the affected area,” it said. “As of now, no oil spill has been reported.”
What complicates pollution response is strong currents off the coast of Kerala, which, if leakage occurs, may move the spill toward the south, to Alleppey and Kollam districts, Prof. Biju Kumar, dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Kerala, told Arab News.
“These are the best fishing grounds, as far as Kerala is concerned. Any kind of oil spill will have consequences that will affect marine life. The major issue will be the fish fauna,” he said.
“The major threat is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are the most toxic component in any oil. They may be absorbed by plankton, which is a major food source for the commercially available fish … The PAH will remain in the water for a longer time. It essentially means that we need long-term monitoring if it happens.”
Kerala on alert as toxic cargo ship sinks in Arabian Sea
- Vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide
- All 24 members of the vessel’s crew, including nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Philippines, were rescued
NEW DELHI: India’s southern state of Kerala was on high alert Sunday after a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying hazardous cargo sank off its coast.
The Indian Ministry of Defense said the 184-meter MSC Elsa 3 container ship was en route to Kochi from Vizhinjam on Saturday, when it issued a distress call.
All 24 members of the vessel’s crew — which included nationals of Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and the Philippines — were rescued by the Coast Guard and the Navy.
“The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide,” the ministry said.
It did not specify what other hazardous substances were onboard, but calcium carbide becomes dangerous on contact with water, producing acetylene gas, which is flammable and explosive.
The vessel was also loaded with more than 84 metric tons of diesel and 367 metric tons of furnace oil.
Diesel and furnace oil are both classified as marine pollutants. They are toxic to marine life and can contaminate coastal ecosystems.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued a public warning on Saturday, when the ship started losing containers in the Arabian Sea. The authority’s secretary told reporters that “there is a chance the cargo, including containers and oil, will wash ashore.”
The Indian Coast Guard has deployed spill detection systems.
“ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill mapping technology are conducting aerial assessment of the affected area,” it said. “As of now, no oil spill has been reported.”
What complicates pollution response is strong currents off the coast of Kerala, which if leakage occurs may move the spill toward the south, to Alleppey and Kollam districts, Prof. Biju Kumar, dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Kerala, told Arab News.
“These are the best fishing grounds, as far as Kerala is concerned. Any kind of oil spill will have consequences, which will affect marine life. The major issue will be the fish fauna,” he said.
“The major threat is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are the most toxic component in any oil. They may be absorbed by plankton, which is a major food source for the commercially available fish ... The PAH will remain in the water for a longer time. It essentially means that we need long-time monitoring if it happens.”
Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel on Gaza
- Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says the international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza
- Madrid is hosting 20 countries alongside international organizations on Sunday with the aim of stopping the war
MADRID: The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain’s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to its offensive.
Countries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
A two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, sparking fears of famine.
Aid organizations say the trickle of supplies Israel allowed to enter in recent days falls far short of needs.
Madrid will host 20 countries as well as international organizations on Sunday with the aim of “stopping this war, which no longer has any goal,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told France Info radio.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,” he said.
A previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.
Sunday’s meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares said “we must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war.”
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Palestinian militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 54,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.
