NORTH KOREA
Putin hails ‘heroic’ troops
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as “heroic” in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korean state news agency KCNA reported yesterday. In a letter marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, Putin recalled how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan’s occupation. “The bonds of militant friendship, goodwill and mutual aid, which were consolidated in the days of the war long ago remain solid and reliable even today,” Putin said in the letter. “This was fully proved by the heroic participation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea soldiers in liberating the territory of the Kursk Region from the Ukrainian occupationists,” he said, adding that the two countries would continue to “act jointly and effectively defend their sovereignty and make a significant contribution to establishing a just and multi-polarized world order.”
Photo: AFP
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul to revive agreement
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said his government would restore the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA) with North Korea, which suspended certain military activities along the border to reduce the risk of clashes. The pact — signed by then-South Korean minister of defense Song Young-moo and his North Korean counterpart, No Kwang-chol, during a 2018 inter-Korean summit — banned live-fire drills, set no-fly zones and removed some guard posts. It collapsed after repeated breaches, North Korea’s 2023 spy satellite launch and hostile exchanges, culminating in a full suspension under former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol. Lee, elected in June, has sought to re-engage Pyongyang by halting anti-North leaflet balloons and dismantling propaganda loudspeakers. North Korean officials have recently dismissed Seoul’s conciliatory gestures, and analysts doubt near-term progress. It is unclear whether Pyongyang will respond positively to Lee’s overtures.
HAITI
Contractors to be deployed
The security firm of former US Navy Seal Erik Prince is to soon deploy nearly 200 personnel from various countries to Haiti as part of a one-year deal to quell gang violence there, a person with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. The deployment by Vectus Global is meant to help the government of Haiti recover vast swaths of territory seized in the past year and now controlled by heavily armed gangs, they added. The company, which provides logistics, infrastructure, security and defense, is run by Prince, a major donor to US President Donald Trump. Prince previously founded the controversial security firm Blackwater.
CHINA
Senior diplomat detained
A deputy to a prominent Chinese diplomat being questioned by authorities was also detained, three people with knowledge of the matter said, a further sign of uncertainty in the top echelons of China’s diplomacy. Sun Haiyan (孫海燕), a senior diplomat and former ambassador to Singapore, was detained earlier this month at about the same time as Liu Jianchao (劉建超), widely seen as a potential foreign minister candidate, was taken in for questioning, two of the people said. Sun, the first woman to serve as vice minister of the Communist Party’s International Department, was detained by Chinese authorities in connection with the questioning of Liu, the sources said.