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Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
South Korea, US to carry out major joint military exercises
South Korea and the United States will launch their annual large-scale joint military exercises this month to bolster their readiness to counter North Korean threats, in a move likely to irritate Pyongyang amid a prolonged stalemate in diplomacy. Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two military drills held in South Korea annually, typically involves thousands troops in computer-simulated command post training and combined field exercises. The two allies have also had a joint exercise earlier this year in March. The 10-day exercise, set to start on 18 August, may trigger angry reactions from North Korea, who call these drills 'invasion rehearsals' and often uses them as a pretext to dial up military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing their nuclear programme. North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul's calls to resume diplomacy, which derailed in 2019, aimed at winding down the country's nuclear ambitions. Pyongyang has since made Russia its top foreign policy priority, sending large amounts of troops and military equipment to support Moscow in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Some 18,000 South Korean soldiers will take place in this year's exercise, according to military spokesperson Lee Sung Joon, who announced the figures during a joint press conference with US Forces Korea, who did not disclose how many US troops will participate. Both Lee, and US Forces Korea Public Affairs Director Ryan Donald downplayed speculation that South Korea's new liberal government, led by President Lee Jae Myung, sought to downsize the exercise to foster an environment where a resumption of diplomacy can emerge. Lee and Donald say this year's exercises are similar in scale to previous years. Lee however noted that half of the originally 40 planned drills will be postponed to September, due to weather conditions. The threat posed by North Korea's growing nuclear and advanced missiles programmes will be a key focus area of this year's exercise. The drills will also incorporate lessons from recent conflicts, including Russia's war in Ukraine and the Israel-Iran conflict, to enhance readiness to effectively and timely respond to any threat that may arise.
LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
Lebanon: Hezbollah ignores cabinet decision to disarm it
Hezbollah said Wednesday, August 6, that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group "as if it did not exist", accusing the cabinet of committing a "grave sin". Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by the end of the year. The plan is to be presented to the government by the end of August for discussion and approval, and another cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday to continue the talks, including on a US-proposed timetable for disarmament. Hezbollah said the government had "committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy". The decision is unprecedented since Lebanon's civil war factions gave up their weapons three and a half decades ago. "This decision undermines Lebanon's sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence... Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist," the Iran-backed group said in a statement. 'Serves Israel's interests' The government said its decision came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of full-blown war. Hezbollah said it viewed the government's move as "the result of dictates from US envoy" Tom Barrack. It "fully serves Israel's interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence", the group said. Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. It emerged weakened politically and militarily from its latest conflict with Israel, its arsenal pummelled and its senior leadership decimated. Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah and other targets despite the November truce, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group is disarmed. An Israeli strike on the southern town of Tulin on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another, the health ministry said. Israel also launched a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon, wounding at least two people according to the health ministry. The Israeli military said it struck "weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure which stored engineering tools that allowed for the re-establishment of terrorist infrastructure in the area". Hezbollah said Israel must halt the attacks before any domestic debate about its weapons and a new defence strategy could begin. 'Pivotal moment' "We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression," the group said. Hezbollah is "prepared to discuss a national security strategy", but not under Israeli fire, it added. Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. Try for free Two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally, the Amal movement, walked out of Tuesday's meeting. Hezbollah described the walkout as "an expression of rejection" of the government's "decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation". The Amal movement, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, accused the government of "rushing to offer more gratuitous concessions" to Israel when it should have sought to end the ongoing attacks. It called Thursday's cabinet meeting "an opportunity for correction". Hezbollah's opponent, the Lebanese Forces, one of the country's two main Christian parties, said the cabinet's decision to disarm the militant group was "a pivotal moment in Lebanon's modern history – a long-overdue step toward restoring full state authority and sovereignty". The Free Patriotic Movement, the other major Christian party and a former ally of Hezbollah, said it was in favour of the army receiving the group's weapons "to strengthen Lebanon's defensive power". Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview that any decision on disarmament "will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself". "We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions," he added, noting that the group had "rebuilt itself" following setbacks during its war with Israel.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Trump says Putin meeting over Ukraine war likely to happen 'very soon'
Donald Trump said Wednesday he could meet with Vladimir Putin"very soon," following what the US president described as highly productive talks in Moscow between his special envoy and the Russian leader. The potential summit was discussed in a call between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that, according to a senior source in Kyiv, included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Germany and Finland. "There's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon," Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked when he would meet the Ukrainian and Russian leaders. He gave no indication where the meeting with Putin might take place. It would be the first US-Russia leadership summit since former president Joe Biden met with his counterpart in Geneva in June 2021. The New York Times and CNN, citing people familiar with the plan, said Trump plans to sit down with Putin as early as next week, and then wants a three-way meeting with the Russian leader and Zelensky. Trump's phone call with Zelensky came after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian leadership in Moscow earlier in the day for talks described by the Kremlin as "productive" -- with Trump's deadline looming to impose fresh sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine. "Great progress was made!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that afterward he had briefed some European allies. "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come," he said. Minutes later, however, a senior US official said that "secondary sanctions" were still expected to be implemented in two days' time. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Witkoff was returning with a ceasefire proposal from Moscow that would have to be discussed with Ukraine and Washington's European allies. He also cast caution on the timeline for a Trump-Putin meeting, saying there was "a lot of work ahead," adding it could be "weeks maybe." Long process Trump, who had boasted he could end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office, has given Russia until Friday to make progress towards peace or face new penalties. Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a ceasefire, with the two sides far apart in their demands. Russia has escalated drone and missile attacks against its neighbor, a US and European Union ally, to a record high and accelerated its advance on the ground. 01:36 "A quite useful and constructive conversation took place," Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including AFP, after the three-hour meeting with Witkoff. The two men exchanged "signals" on their positions, Ushakov said, without elaborating. Zelensky confirmed his call with Trump and confirmed European leaders had taken part, although he did not name them. Sanctions threat Trump has voiced increasing frustration with Putin in recent weeks over Russia's unrelenting offensive. The White House has not officially outlined what action it would take against Russia, but Trump told reporters it plans to impose "a lot more secondary sanctions" targeting Russia's key trade partners, possibly targeting China. Earlier in the day he had ordered steeper tariffs on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. Without explicitly naming Trump, the Kremlin on Tuesday slammed "threats" to hike tariffs on Russia's trading partners as "illegitimate." Russia's campaign against Ukraine since February 2022 has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed swaths of the country and forced millions to flee their homes. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory and renounce US and EU support if it wants the fighting to stop. Kyiv is calling for an immediate ceasefire, and Zelensky last week urged his allies to push for "regime change" in Moscow. Nuclear rhetoric The Witkoff visit came as Moscow-Washington tensions are running high. Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, and that they were now "in the region." Moscow then said that it was ending a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear-capable intermediate-range missiles, suggesting that it could deploy such weapons in response to what it alleged were similar US deployments within striking distance of Russia. Ukrainian emergency services reported on Wednesday that at least two people were killed and 12 others wounded in Russian shelling of a holiday camp in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
