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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kim Jong Un's sister says war games show South Korea has ‘dual personality'
North Korea has rejected South Korean president Lee Jae Myung 's latest efforts to improve ties, saying Pyongyang will never treat Seoul as a diplomatic partner. Kim Jong Un 's sister, Kim Yo Jong, accused Mr Lee of hypocrisy for calling for dialogue while joining US-South Korea military drills, which North Korea sees as invasion rehearsals. The Western allies argue the drills are necessary to prepare for North Korean aggression. On Friday, Mr Lee urged Pyongyang to rebuild trust by reviving the 2018 inter-Korean military pact that reduced border tensions through buffer zones and no-fly areas. The deal collapsed after both sides abandoned it – North Korea first, and South Korea later in 2024 amid rising hostilities. Since taking office in June, Mr Lee has tried to ease tensions with Pyongyang – rolling back propaganda loudspeakers at the border, promising not to pursue forced unification, and now proposing a revival of the 2018 military pact. He has also urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue and remains firm on denuclearisation. ' Lee Jae Myung is not the sort of man who will change the course of history,' Ms Kim said, according to the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) news agency. 'At this moment, the Lee Jae Myung regime is repeating the predecessors' gibberish of 'defensive drill' even after staging the reckless US-ROK war drill for aggression directly threatening the security of the DPRK,' she added. ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, the official name for South Korea, and DPRK refers to the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 'This is the part clearly illuminating the dual personality of the Seoul authorities who are carrying two faces under one hood.' South Korea and the United States launched joint military exercises this week, testing upgraded responses to North Korea's expanding nuclear arsenal. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of South Korea's two major annual exercises, was to bring together 21,000 troops – including 18,000 South Koreans – for computer-simulated command operations and field training. And while the allies later delayed half of Ulchi Freedom Shield's 44 planned field drills until September, US military officials rejected South Korean media claims that the cutback was intended to create space for diplomacy with Pyongyang, saying the changes were due to extreme heat and flood-damaged training sites. 'They continue to tediously talk about peace and improved relations, being well aware that it is impossible to realise them, because they have an ulterior motive to finally shift the responsibility for the DPRK-ROK relations failing to recover onto the DPRK,' Ms Kim said. On Monday, Kim Jong Un also denounced the South Korea–US military drills and pledged to accelerate the expansion of his nuclear arsenal while touring a new warship equipped with nuclear-capable systems. State media later quoted his sister, Ms Kim, branding South Korea a 'top-class faithful dog' of Washington and declaring that Seoul 's hopes of mending inter-Korean ties 'will never' be realised. In a statement last week, North Korean defence minister No Kwang Chol said the exercises reflected the allies' posture of 'military confrontation' with Pyongyang and warned that its forces were prepared to respond to 'any provocation going beyond the boundary line'. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high, with Pyongyang rejecting Mr Lee's overtures for dialogue as relations have deteriorated in recent years amid Mr Kim's weapons buildup and closer alignment with Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, North Korea also denied removing propaganda broadcast speakers on the border with South Korea, with Ms Kim labelling the claim a 'red herring'. In a statement published in the KCNA news agency, Ms Kim said: 'We have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them.' Meanwhile, Ms Kim said at the Tuesday meeting: 'They also know that the DPRK-ROK relations desired by them will never come back. If they don't know, they will be idiots.' She added: 'Clarifying once again on this occasion, the Republic of Korea cannot be a diplomatic partner of the DPRK.'
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
China set to debut new advanced weaponry at massive military parade
China is set to showcase its latest generation of military technology, including advanced unmanned underwater vehicles, during a major parade scheduled for next month. Pictures leaked on Chinese social media showed preparations are already underway in Beijing, where the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will show off a lineup of new land and water-based weapons systems on 3 September to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender. The parade is likely to be one of the largest in China's history, potentially eclipsing the 2015 parade marking the 70th anniversary. That event involved more than 12,000 soldiers and included international contingents from Russia, Belarus, Mongolia, Cambodia and others nations. Beijing has conducted two large-scale rehearsals this month, on the weekends of 9-10 and 16-17 August, attended by 22,000 and 40,000 people respectively when troops, police and spectators are included. Analysts say next month's parade will be an opportunity for the Chinese government to send a clear signal to its rivals and show off the fruits of an unprecedented programme of military modernisation. Though the event will largely be shunned by Western leaders, many other foreign officials are expected to travel to Beijing to attend after the conclusion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in late August. Xi Jinping, the president and head of the military, will deliver a speech on the occasion, which will feature 'new-type combat capabilities,' including hypersonic weapons and a range of electronic gear, Beijing has announced. Hundreds of aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers as well as ground equipment, some of which have never been seen in public before, will be featured in the parade, military officials said at a press conference. From trucks fitted with devices to take out drones, new tanks and early warning aircraft to protect China's aircraft carriers, military attaches and security analysts say they are expecting China to display a host of new weapons and equipment at the parade. China has the world's largest standing military, with more than 2 million personnel, and an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of missiles, aircraft carriers, and fighter aircraft. Navy power China is likely to display at least two types of extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XLUUVs), according to leaked photos from the parade rehearsals. The vessels, estimated to be around 60ft long, were seen being carried across the city on massive transport vehicles, Naval News reported. Their torpedo-shaped hulls and pump-jet propulsion systems revealed that the underwater vehicles were built to be stealthy. Images showed one of the sea drones being marked as 'AJX002', while another type was photographed only under wraps. Six of the drones were reportedly spotted during the rehearsal. Four matched the AJX002 profile, while two appeared slightly larger. The AJX002 features four lifting lugs along its hull, indicating that it is crane-assisted. China operates the world's largest XLUUV program with at least five distinct types already in the water, Naval News reported. Armoured Vehicles The PLA will showcase its Type 99A main battle tank, which was developed as a replacement for the second-generation Type 88 tank, according to South China Morning Post. The development process for the Type 99 series, also known as the ZTZ-99, began in 1989 based on the design of the Soviet-era T-72 chassis. Weighing at around 55 tonnes, Type 99A tanks are the most advanced variant of the Type 99 series and have been deployed by the PLA since 2011. It features an upgraded 105mm main gun, an enlarged turret, a four-sided radar, and an integrated propulsion system. The main battle tank operates with a crew of three and measures up to 36ft in length. The Type 99A main battle tank is equipped with an advanced targeting system that allows the gunner to engage one target while the commander independently tracks the next, the SCMP reported. Its upgraded fire-control system features a third-generation thermal imager, meteorological sensors, and a ballistic computer—enabling precise engagement of targets at ranges up to 5km. Hypersonic and ballistic missiles A intercontinental ballistic missile system and hypersonic anti-ship missiles are among the advanced weaponry the Communist government will display at the parade. Photos on Chinese social media captured a new anti-ship missile from the YJ series being taken across the city for the parade rehearsals. The new YJ-15 missile was spotted along with the YJ-17, YJ-19 and YJ-20 hypersonic missiles. These sightings indicate China is advancing rapidly in hypersonic weapons technology, a field that has drawn global attention for its ability to evade traditional defence systems. Also visible in the images was a new transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle carrying a large, tarp-covered missile canister, which could be a new ballistic missile system. The anti-ship missiles and weapons with hypersonic capabilities will be particularly closely watched as the US and its allies prepare to counter China in any future regional conflict. Loyal Wingman An uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), believed to be a Collaborative Combat Aircraft or loyal wingman drone, was spotted on the streets of Beijing during the rehearsals. Experts say the UCAV, which was spotted at the back of a truck, resembles either the Chinese FH-97 or the American YFQ-42A. Andreas Rupprecht, a Chinese military aviation expert, said that the scale of rehearsals alone already exceeds expectations. 'Just focusing on the aviation segment and what China is expected to showcase – the rehearsals for the parade alone are already exceeding everything one could have expected,' he told news outlet Defence Blog. The Victory Lap The 70-minute-long Victory Day parade, comprising 45 contingents of troops, will be surveyed by President Xi at Tiananmen Square alongside Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to reports. Authorities have stepped up security in downtown Beijing since the first rehearsals this month, setting up checkpoints, diverting road traffic and shutting shopping malls and office buildings. In Asia, World War Two ended on 2 September with the surrender of Japan after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Chinese Communist Party historians say China's casualties in the 1937-1945 Second Sino-Japanese War were 35 million. The Japanese occupation caused the displacement of as many as 100 million Chinese people and significant economic hardship, as well as the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, during which an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 victims were killed.
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai's lawyer defends basic rights in trial's final stretch
HONG KONG, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The lawyer for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai argued on Wednesday that supporting individual rights is not a crime in the final stretch of a closely watched and years-long national security trial. Lai, 77, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He faces a maximum life sentence. The trial is widely seen as a test for judicial independence in the financial hub under national security laws that were imposed by China in 2020 in response to mass pro-democracy demonstrations. Lai, a longstanding critic of the Chinese Communist Party, is one of the most high-profile figures to face prosecution under the law. His trial has been condemned by some countries like the United States as politically motivated. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities say Lai is being given a fair trial. Lai's lawyer Robert Pang, who began his final legal submission on Wednesday, said Lai had been defending and exercising basic rights. "It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights," Pang told the three-judge panel that is expected to deliver a verdict later this year once this current round of final legal submissions is concluded after around one week. "It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country, because ... you can't force someone to think in one way or another," Pang added. One of the judges, Esther Toh, said that this was not what the prosecution argued. "It's not wrong not to love the government, but if you do that by certain nefarious means, then it's wrong," Toh said. Pang also disputed the prosecution's citing of 161 articles published by the Apple Daily between April 1, 2019 and June 4 2021 as seditious, saying they were "insufficient to draw any inference" of a conspiracy. The prosecution alleges that Lai colluded with overseas officials including those in the first Trump administration to impose sanctions or conduct hostile activities against Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, including trade embargoes. Earlier on Wednesday, the prosecution wrapped up its final submission, saying there was "overwhelming evidence" to show Lai was the "mastermind" of the alleged conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. It added that Lai had done nothing to stop illegal activities engaged in by other co-conspirators and through advocacy groups critical of China, such as "Stand With Hong Kong" and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). Lai, whose health is fragile according to his family, was provided with a heart monitor and medication after the court was told that he had suffered heart "palpitations". Over 320 people have been arrested under the national security laws so far, including prominent activist Joshua Wong who is serving a 4-year, 8-month prison term for subversion, and now faces a fresh security charge.
