World
North Korea threatens ‘offensive action’, condemns US-South Korea security talks
North Korea’s defence minister No Kwang Chol threatened on Saturday to take “more offensive action” as he condemned U.S. security talks with Seoul and the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier in South Korea.
A day earlier, North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, after denouncing on Thursday fresh U.S. sanctions against North Korean individuals and entities that Washington said were involved in cyber-related money-laundering schemes, Reuters reported.
South Korea’s defence ministry on Saturday condemned the missile launch, while saying the North’s criticism of the U.S.-South Korea meeting was regrettable.
No criticised a recent visit by U.S. and South Korean defence chiefs to the border between North and South Korea, as well as their subsequent security talks in Seoul, alleging they were conspiring to step up deterrence efforts towards the North and to integrate their nuclear and conventional forces.
“This is a stark revelation and an unveiled intentional expression of their hostile nature to stand against the DPRK to the end,” No said, referring to the country’s formal name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday the core of the alliance with Seoul will remain focused on deterring North Korea, although Washington will look at flexibility for U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to operate against regional threats.
No also said the visit of the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington to South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan this week following U.S.-South Korean joint air drills with Seoul had escalated tensions on the peninsula.
“We will show more offensive action against the enemies’ threat on the principle of ensuring security and defending peace by dint of powerful strength,” No said, according to North Korean state media KCNA.
South Korea’s navy said the carrier’s visit was to replenish supplies and grant leave for the crew.
While visiting South Korea last week, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his willingness to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. No meeting took place, but Trump said he was willing to return to the region to meet Kim.
Last week, North Korea also test-fired cruise missiles to the west of the Korean peninsula just as Trump and other leaders were set to gather in South Korea for regional meetings.
Regarding the latest missile launch, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on Saturday that it “does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies”.
“The missile launch highlights the destabilising impact” of North Korea’s actions, it added.
World
Shooting at Kentucky State University kills one, suspect in custody
The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.
A shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday left one person dead and another in critical condition, according to police, who said the suspected assailant was taken into custody, Reuters reported.
Local police in Frankfort, the state capital, and county sheriff’s deputies made the arrest and secured the campus soon after reports of an active shooter, authorities said on social media. The Frankfort Police Department did not provide further details.
A spokesperson for Kentucky State University, a historically Black school, declined comment, but said the school – which had an enrollment of 1,700 students as of the fall of 2023 – would release a statement later on Tuesday.
The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.
World
Powerful 7.6 earthquake hits northern Japan, tsunami warnings issued
At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck northern Japan late Monday night, prompting tsunami advisories and an unprecedented alert for a potential “mega quake” along the country’s Pacific coast.
The quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture at a depth of 54 kilometers. Authorities initially issued tsunami warnings for Iwate Prefecture as well as coastal areas of Hokkaido and Aomori.
USGS has recorded the quakes magnitude at 7.6. However, Japanese officials have stated it was a 7.5 magnitude quake.
At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.
As of 1:00 a.m., officials confirmed six injuries in Aomori, with residents hurt by falling objects or during attempts to evacuate. More than three hours after the quake, the tsunami warnings were downgraded to advisories, though authorities continue to urge residents to stay clear of the shoreline.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has issued a rare alert warning that a much larger earthquake could follow. A potential mega quake—magnitude 8 or higher—could generate tsunamis along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido down to Chiba.
Residents in the affected areas have been urged to review evacuation routes, prepare emergency supplies, secure household furniture, and ensure access to food, water, and portable toilets. Officials say people along the Pacific coastline should remain on high alert for the next week, although no formal evacuation recommendation is currently in place.
This is the first time Japan has issued an alert under this category since it was created in 2022.
Morikubo Tsukasa, a disaster preparedness official with the Cabinet Office, said: “Based on global earthquake statistics, there is a possibility that a large-scale earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher could occur as a follow-up along the Japan Trench or Chishima Trench off Hokkaido. It is unclear whether such an event will happen, but everyone should take precautions to protect their lives.”
World
Ukraine to share revised peace plan with US on Tuesday, Zelenskiy says
Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:
Ukraine will share a revised peace plan with the U.S. on Tuesday that is aimed at ending Russia’s war, after talks in London between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of France, Germany and Britain.
As the war nears its four-year mark, Kyiv, under pressure from the White House to agree quickly to a peace settlement, wants to balance out a U.S.-backed draft that was widely seen as favourable to Moscow.
Monday’s hastily arranged meeting among British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelenskiy was aimed to strengthen Ukraine’s hand.
Zelenskiy told reporters after the meeting that the revised plan comprised 20 points, but that there was still no agreement on the issue of giving up territory – which Moscow has pushed for.
“The mood of the Americans, in principle, is for finding a compromise,” he said. “Of course, there are complex issues related to the territory, and a compromise has not yet been found there.”
He repeated his oft-stated position that Ukraine cannot give up any part of its land.
Zelenskiy later flew to Brussels, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said in social media posts that any peace deal had to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and guarantee its long-term security.
Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, described his meeting with the two EU institution chiefs, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, as “good and productive. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner.”
Earlier, a British government source had said Monday’s meeting would focus on using the value of Russian assets frozen in the West.
Leaders from Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden urged the European Union to move quickly with a stalled proposal to use those assets to provide funds for Ukraine.
Starmer, Macron, Merz and Zelenskiy are also aiming to get U.S. security guarantees to help deter any further attacks from Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The publication of a U.S. ceasefire plan last month has gone some way to focus the minds of European leaders, who fear that Kyiv could be forced to accept many Russian demands, which some say could destabilise the continent.
But although U.S. officials said they were in the final stage of reaching an agreement, there has so far been little sign that either Ukraine or Russia is willing to sign the framework deal drawn up by Trump’s negotiators.
“We stand with Ukraine and, if there was to be a ceasefire, it has to be a just and lasting ceasefire,” Starmer said after welcoming the leaders to his Downing Street residence.
Macron and Merz also expressed their determination to press on with a firm plan, at a time the German chancellor described as “decisive … for all of us”.
Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:
“There are some things we can’t manage without the Americans, things we can’t manage without Europe; that’s why we need to make some important decisions.”
Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in a video address late on Sunday that a “new diplomatic week” was starting.
“First and foremost, security issues, support for our resilience, and support packages for our defence. First and foremost, air defence and long-term funding for Ukraine. Of course, we will discuss a shared vision and common positions in the negotiations,” he said.
Ukraine is enduring one of its toughest periods of the war. Russian troops are grinding forward in the east, and Ukrainian cities and towns are suffering hours of power cuts due to intensified Russian strikes on the energy grid and other crucial infrastructure.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner brought a revised plan to Moscow last week, then held several more days of talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami, which ended on Saturday with no breakthrough.
Zelenskiy called the discussions constructive but not easy. Trump said on Sunday he was “disappointed” with Zelenskiy, accusing him of not having read the latest proposals backed by the U.S.
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