The visit falls on what is believed to be the North Korean leader’s 35th birthday. The four-day stay suggests that a second summit with the US president is in the making. According to observers, North Korea and China are seeking a common strategy.
Four border outposts simultaneously assaulted by more than 100 militants. The fighting has intensified since the beginning of last December. The rebels claim more autonomy for the ethnic group. Over 2,500 civilians displaced.
The mystery of Jo Song-gil’s disappearance deepens. North Korea’s charge d'affaires was already set to leave his post in November. He came in May 2015. For observers, Italy is trying to avoid tensions with North Korea. Warmongers threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The nuns from of the Sisters of Charity remember and “are grateful to the missionaries who with their blood planted the seeds of faith in Christ in the heart of Laotians”. Christmas celebrations are held in Nasay, a village whose residents were once all animist and are now almost all Catholic.
Jo, 48, asked for protection last month and is now "held in a safe place". He was head of the North Korean delegation since September 2017, when Italy expelled Ambassador Mun Jong-nam for the sixth nuclear test in the North.
North Korea’s leader focuses his address on the economy, not nuclear weapons. For defector former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho, negotiations can progress if US accepts limits on nuclear weapons, not total denuclearisation.
About 150 casinos are now in operation, up from 98 in 2017. In the coastal province of Sihanoukville alone there are 88. The law bans Cambodians from entering casinos. For PIME missionary, “it is difficult to assess the consequences of the trend because all this has happened so fast”.
The North Korean leader acknowledges the two Koreas have escaped the danger of war and have “established ties of harmony and trust that are irreversible.". Kim regrets not being able to visit Seoul, whilst for the South Korean president, “There will be a lot of difficulties going forward. But our hearts will be opened to each other.”
Some 15 sea turtles were rescued in the tsunami-hit Sunda Strait. The Ujung Kulon National Park has fewer than 70 rhinos and is not far from the Anak Krakatau volcano. The authorities are scrambling to find a new habitat.
The trend began in the late 1970s thanks to Saudi Arabia. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Rohingya militants developed close ties with Bangladeshi, Afghan and Pakistani groups. Today's main Rohingya military organisation has its roots in Karachi.
The search and rescue operations for victims will continue until the state of emergency is lasted. The toll of the disaster has been updated: 426 victims, more than 7 thousand injured and over 40 thousand displaced persons.
North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju noted "drawbacks made by some farms and units in the past”. North Korea, which will have to import 641,000 tonnes of food next year, is one of 40 countries – 31 in Africa – in need of external assistance.
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