South Korean court orders arrest of wife of jailed former President Yoon
Investigators said the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kim Keon Hee late Tuesday.
The investigation into Kim is one of three special prosecutor probes launched under Seoul's new liberal government targeting the presidency of Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office in April and rearrested last month over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
While Yoon's self-inflicted downfall extended a decades-long run of South Korean presidencies ending badly, he and Kim are the first presidential couple to be simultaneously arrested over criminal allegations. (AP)
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Hindustan Times
25 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump wearing knee pads? Truth behind viral photo shared by Piers Morgan
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are all set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday afternoon. Trump boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland earlier in the day and was en route to the meeting. President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, en route to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.(AP) Trump spotted with knee pads? Amid this, journalist Piers Morgan shared a photo of Trump on X (formerly Twitter), writing, 'As President @realDonaldTrump lands in Alaska, I wish him the very best of luck in trying to secure an end to the horrendous war in Ukraine. It's refreshing to see a U.S. president who genuinely prefers peace to war.' The wasn't the message that grabbed attention, but the image accompanying it. The photo showed Trump waving from the door of Air Force One, but with digitally added red knee pads. Although Morgan quickly deleted the post, screenshots spread rapidly across social media, sparking memes. One person wrote, 'Brilliant. Trump meeting with Putin is hard on the knees." Another user added, 'Trumps gonna be on his knees the entire time.' A third person wrote, 'Those are the heavy duty knee pads.' Another commented, 'He has on knee pads. Thats as close to athleticism as this man has ever gotten.' Piers Morgan clarifies Morgan later clarified the mistake, replying to one screenshot: 'I saw the pic on my feed and mistakenly believed it was a live one, and didn't spot the mocked up kneepads. I couldn't understand why so many people were laughing and raging about it. Then I realised, deleted it and reposted with another pic. My words remained the same.' He added in a separate comment 'I didn't see the kneepads on that pic, so just deleted and reposted with a different pic!' Also Read: US Russia Summit Alaska Live Updates: Trump says 'would walk' if Alaska meeting with Vladimir Putin doesn't go well Creator speaks out The image was photoshopped by the X account @PaulleyTicks, who reacted after the picture went viral: 'This is hilarious; Piers Morgan mistakenly posted MY Photoshop of Trump with knee-pads.' 'This is NOT real, MAGAts - it's called PARODY. Thank you," @PaulleyTicks added.
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Putin hails North Korean troops as ‘heroic' in letter to Kim Jong-un
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as 'heroic' in a letter to leader Kim Jong Un, North Korean state media reported Friday (August 15, 2025). In a letter marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, Mr. Putin recalled how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan's colonial 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,' Mr. Putin said in a letter revealed by North Korean state media. 'This was fully proved by the heroic participation of the DPRK soldiers in liberating the territory of Kursk Region from the Ukrainian occupationists,' he said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 'The Russian people will keep forever the memories of their bravery and self-sacrifice,' he said. Mr. Putin added that the two countries would continue to 'act jointly and effectively (to) defend their sovereignty and make a significant contribution to establishing a just and multi-polarised world order'. KCNA later published Mr. Kim's reply to Mr. Putin in which the North Korean leader praised the two countries' relationship as 'the stablest comradeship and a comprehensive strategic companionship'. Russia and North Korea have been forging increasingly closer ties, including signing a mutual defence pact last year when Mr. Putin visited the reclusive state. In April, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed a contingent of its soldiers to the front line in Ukraine, alongside Russian troops. South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have said Pyongyang sent more than 10,000 soldiers to Russia's Kursk region in 2024, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said. 'Excellent soldiers' The letter from Mr. Putin came alongside a visit by a Russian delegation to Pyongyang, where the speaker of the Duma thanked Kim for sending 'excellent soldiers' to Ukraine, KCNA said. Vyacheslav Volodin's delegation arrived on Thursday (August 14, 2025) and was received by a military honour guard for a visit marking 'the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation'. Also read: North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia in Ukraine conflict, KCNA says Mr. Volodin thanked Mr. Kim for 'dispatching excellent soldiers to the Kursk liberation operations for driving out the Ukrainian aggressors', according to KCNA. He added that Russia would never forget the North Korean troops 'who fought at the cost of their lives in Russia'. Mr. Kim said the delegation's visit would promote the 'development of the DPRK-Russia relations'. He also said he had a phone call with Mr. Putin two days ago, agreeing to expanded bilateral cooperation and 'closer contact and communication between the state leaderships'. The call came three days ahead of Friday's (August 15, 2025) summit between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump, the first between a sitting U.S. and Russian president since 2021, as Mr. Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia's more than three-year war in Ukraine.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Russia–US peace talks: From Bill Clinton to Joe Biden – list of presidents who met Vladimir Putin
Former US presidents (AP images) Vladimir Putin is no stranger to high-level talks with US presidents. Over his decades as Russia's leader serving either as president or prime minister he has held high profile meetings with five American presidents. On Friday, he will meet Donald Trump in Alaska. This meeting is considered one of the most critical since the Russia-Ukraine conflict and their controversial 2018 summit in Helsinki, Finland. It will be their first meeting of Trump's second term. Trump has made ending the conflict a top priority, setting an August 8 deadline for Putin to agree to a ceasefire or face tough sanctions. That deadline has passed without an agreement. The Alaska meeting will also mark Putin's first visit to the United States since 2015 and his eighth overall as president, as reported by ABC News. Putin has met every US president since Bill Clinton, but such meetings have become less common in recent years, particularly after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, military intervention in Syria in 2015 and interference in the 2016 US election. No US president has visited Russia since Barack Obama attended the G20 summit in St Petersburg in 2013. Bill Clinton: Vladimir Putin and Bill Clinton first met when Putin was serving as Russia's prime minister. However, their first official summit took place in June 2000 in Moscow, as Clinton's presidency was nearing its end and Putin had just assumed the presidency. The meeting, held nearly a decade after the end of the Cold War, centered largely on arms control. Speaking at a press briefing, Clinton said of Putin, "I think he is fully capable of building a prosperous, strong Russia while preserving freedom and pluralism and the rule of law. It's a big challenge. I think he's fully capable of doing it." Putin, in turn, described Clinton as a 'very experienced politician'. "In my mind, we've established now not only good business ties, but also personal relations. For me, President Clinton is a person who is a very comfortable and pleasant partner in negotiations," Putin said. George W Bush : George W Bush and Vladimir Putin held their first summit in Slovenia in June 2001. After the meeting, Bush called it 'an important step in building a constructive, respectful relationship with Russia.' When asked if he could trust Russia, Bush said that he found Putin 'very straightforward and trustworthy '. Putin described their discussion as 'very interesting and positive'. The two leaders went on to meet several more times, including a 2002 visit to Moscow where they signed a treaty to reduce their countries' nuclear arsenals. Putin also made multiple trips to the US, visiting Bush's ranch in Texas and his family home in Kennebunkport, Maine. However, relations strained over the years, particularly after Russia opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Tensions grew in 2008 during the Beijing Summer Olympics, when Bush confronted then–Prime Minister Putin over Russia's military assault on neighboring Georgia. Barack Obama: During the early years of Barack Obama's presidency, Vladimir Putin served as Russia's prime minister. Obama first met Putin in July 2009 in Moscow, alongside then–Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. At the time, Obama said he wanted to engage not only with his official counterpart but also with Putin and 'all other influential sectors in Russian society' to better understand the needs and concerns of the Russian people. Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. The following year, the White House canceled a planned Moscow summit, citing Russia's 'disappointing decision' to grant asylum to US national security leaker Edward Snowden and the lack of progress on the bilateral agenda. R elations worsened further after Russia's 2014 invasion and illegal annexation of Crimea, as well as Moscow's military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Washington had called to step down. Obama and Putin did not hold a formal meeting again until September 2015, when they met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This was Putin's last visit to the US before the planned Alaska summit. Donald Trump - 1st term: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin first met as presidents in July 2017 during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. One of their most notable and controversial summits came a year later in Helsinki, in July 2018, where the two leaders held a private meeting for nearly two hours with only interpreters present. After the press conference, while standing next to Putin, Trump appeared to believe Putin's denial of election interference instead of US intelligence reports. '[Putin] just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be,' Trump said. He added, 'I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.' When asked why Trump should believe Moscow's denial, Putin replied, 'You can trust no one,' dismissing US intelligence conclusions as 'utter nonsense.' He also admitted he wanted Trump to win the 2016 election because the Republican candidate spoke about restoring US-Russia relations. The remarks sparked widespread bipartisan criticism in Washington. The next day, Trump walked back his statement, saying he had misspoken and meant to say, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia.' Later in 2018, Trump canceled a planned meeting with Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina, citing Russia's refusal to release Ukrainian Navy ships and sailors seized near Crimea. Joe Biden : Joe Biden has met with Vladimir Putin once during his presidency in Geneva in June 2021. Biden requested for the high-stakes meeting amid growing concerns over Russia's military aggression toward Ukraine. After more than three hours of talks, Biden described the meeting as 'positive'. Putin called the discussion 'quite constructive' but insisted that Russia's actions in Ukraine were not America's concern.
