North Korea tells South Korea president to ‘shut his mouth’ after offer of aid
North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, said on Friday, August 19, that South Korea’s president should “shut his mouth” after he reiterated that his country was willing to provide economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament, Reuters reported. Her comments mark the first time a senior North Korean official has commented directly on what South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called an “audacious” plan – first proposed in May and which he talked about again on Wednesday at a news conference to mark his first 100 days in office. “It would have been more favorable for his image to shut his mouth,” Kim Yo-jong said in a statement released by state news agency KCNA, calling Yoon “really simple and still childish” to think that he could trade economic cooperation for the North’s honor and nuclear weapons. “No one barters its destiny for corn cake,” she added. South Korea’s Unification Minister, who handles relations with the North, called Kim’s comments “very disrespectful and indecent.” While Yoon has said he is willing to provide phased economic aid to North Korea if it ended nuclear weapons development and began denuclearisation, he has also pushed to increase South Korea’s military deterrence against North Korea. South Korea has has resumed long-suspended joint drills with the United States, including major field exercises due to begin next week. On Wednesday a US State Department spokesman said Washington supports Yoon’s policies, but Kim said the joint drills show that the allies’ talk of diplomacy is insincere. “We make it clear that we will not sit face to face with him,” she said of Yoon. Experts say South’s latest economic plan is similar to proposals by previous leaders, including those during the summits between the then-US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, suggesting the North was unlikely to accept the offer, according to Reuters. “Yoon’s initiative adds to a long list of failed offers involving South Korean promises to provide economic benefits to North Korea…. These were the same assumptions that were behind a succession of failed efforts to jump-start denuclearization talks,” Scott Snyder, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said in a blog post on Thursday, August 18. North Korea test fired two cruise missiles into the sea on Wednesday, the first such test in two months. It came after the country declared victory over COVID-19 last week, Reuters reported.
Ukraine war: Damage to nuclear plant would be suicide - UN chief
UN Secretary General António Guterres has said he is "gravely concerned" about fighting near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, BBC reported.
He made the comments during a summit with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lviv.
"Any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide," Mr Guterres warned.
The meeting was the first between the UN chief and Mr Zelensky since Russia launched its invasion in February.
Mr Erdogan echoed the UN chief's concerns, telling reporters that he was worried about the danger of "another Chernobyl" disaster erupting at the plant.
In recent weeks the area around the facility, which Russia seized in March, has come under heavy artillery fire, with both Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks.
Moscow is accused of turning the facility into an army base, with all three leaders urging the Russians to demilitarise the zone as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, local sources in the Russian occupied Crimean Peninsula reported a number of large explosions near the Belbek military airport.
The appeals come as Ukrainian staff, who are working at the plant under Russian direction, warned of a potential nuclear catastrophe at the facility, saying in the past two weeks it has become "the target of continuous military attacks".
"What is happening is horrific and beyond common sense and morality," staff wrote in a Telegram post (in Ukrainian).
"Ukrainian intelligence officers believe that the Russians are preparing a provocation at the [facility]," Ukraine's Centre for Information security tweeted.
"Following their extensive shelling... [Russian forces] could 'raise the stakes' and stage a real terrorist attack on Europe's largest nuclear facility," it said.
The BBC has been unable to verify the claims.
Shortly before these tweets, Mr Zelensky warned that "the world is on a verge of nuclear disaster" and condemned what he called "Russia's irresponsible actions and nuclear blackmailing".
Despite the concern, the site is said to be far more secure than the Chernobyl plant - the site of the worst nuclear incident in history.
There were reports ahead of the summit that Mr Erdogan would offer to arrange a summit between Mr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Turkish leader maintains a close working relationship with Mr Putin, and speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Erdogan said he believed the war would "come to the end at the negotiating table".
While Mr Zelensky welcomed the leader's visit and Turkey's "powerful message of support", he flatly rejected suggestions that it could be in a position to broker peace talks, BBC reported.
Mr Zelensky told reporters that he was "very surprised" to hear from Mr Erdogan that Moscow was "ready for some kind of peace".
"There is no trust towards the Russian Federation," Mr Zelensky said, saying that Russia must withdraw its troops, first and foremost.
The leaders were expected to discuss expanding the Turkey-UN sponsored grain deal between Russia and Ukraine - the only diplomatic breakthrough of the conflict so far.
On Thursday, Kyiv said a 25th cargo ship had left Ukraine under the deal which saw Russia agree to end its blockade of Black Sea ports.
Mr Guterres hailed the agreement and urged Russia and Ukraine to adopt the "spirit of compromise" that brought it about.
"From day one, the parties have worked professionally and in good faith to keep the food flowing," Mr Guterres said. "I appeal for this to continue and for them to overcome all obstacles in a spirit of compromise and permanently settle all difficulties."
Elsewhere, in eastern Ukraine Kharkiv Governor Oleh Synehubov said that 17 people had died after Russian shelling hit several residential buildings in the city.
And in Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said that while a clash with the collective West is possible, a direct nuclear conflict with the US and Nato would not be in Russia's interests.
"Russian military doctrine allows a nuclear response only in response to aggression using weapons of mass destruction, or when the very existence of the state is threatened," Ivan Nechayev said, according to BBC.
House endorses bill to amend Citizenship Act without any changes
The House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed the bill to amend the Citizenship Act, which was sent back to the Parliament by President Bidya Devi Bhandari for reconsideration, without any changes. The bill to amend the Citizenship Act was endorsed by majority votes. Of the total 195 lawmakers present in the Parliament, 135 voted in favor of the bill while 60 voted against it. Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota called for a vote on the Citizenship Bill after the main opposition party CPN-UML demanded a division of votes. Now, the the Bill will be sent to the National Assembly for endorsement. After it gets endorsed from the National Assembly, the Bill will be sent to the President for certification.
Lawmakers draw government's attention on waste management issue
Lawmakers members have expressed concern over the pressing issue of waste management in the Kathmandu Valley and sought the government's prompt response to address it. Airing their views in the zero hour of today's lower house session, Amrita Thapa Magar said garbage piles in the town have posed a grave threat to public health and made life challenging. Major cities in the country are getting their beauty and essence ruined due to lack of proper waste management, according to the lawmaker. Kalika Khatun insisted on the segregation of wastes. Anjana Bisankhe demanded broader discussions on the Citizenship Bill for necessary amendments to ensure its wider acceptance. Krishna Gopal Shrestha said the Bill was sent back to the House for reconsideration by the President as a severe loophole was assessed in the document. He advised the House to go for serious discussions on the issue. Khem Prasad Lohani said it was the constitutional right of the President to send the Bill back to the House for reconsideration.
