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N.Korea still pursuing nuclear, missile programmes: UN report

N.Korea still pursuing nuclear, missile programmes: UN report

Kim Jong-unWashington : A confidential UN report has accused North Korea of continuing to develop nuclear and missile programmes in violation of international sanctions.

The report was prepared by independent experts who submit their findings every six months to the UN North Korea Sanctions Committee of the Security Council, CNN reported on Saturday.

The report also says North Korea is defying sanctions through diplomats and others based overseas and continues to sell conventional weapons to fuel violence.

The revelation comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in Singapore for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) ministerial meeting, told reporters that he was an advocate of keeping pressure on Pyongyang as the country has yet to take any concrete steps to dismantling its nuclear program.

“I’ve also emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea, to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by chairman Kim (Jong-un),” he said.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the gathering of southeast Asian diplomats, Pompeo said he had called for “the complete shutdown of illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum destined for North Korea”.

—IANS

Top Nuclear Envoys of South Korea, Japan hold talks on North Korea

Top Nuclear Envoys of South Korea, Japan hold talks on North Korea

nuclear and missileSeoul : Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held talks in Seoul on Thursday about the issue involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)’s nuclear and missile programs.

Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi at the foreign ministry building of South Korea in Seoul.

The two envoys exchanged in-depth opinions on ways to maintain the stable management of the Korean Peninsula situations and contain the North’s provocations through diplomatic efforts including dialogue and sanctions, Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The bilateral meeting came a day after Lee and Kanasugi had a trilateral meeting also attended by top U.S. nuclear envoy Joseph Yun. On Thursday, a vice ministerial-level meeting was also held in Seoul between the three allies.

Lee and Kanasugi agreed to make more efforts to encourage North Korea to return to a path to denuclearization.

They also agreed to more frequently and closely meet to achieve a common goal of the complete dismantlement of the North’s nuclear program in a peaceful manner, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.

The Seoul meeting between chief negotiators of South Korea and Japan for the currently stalled disarmament talks came amid rising tensions on the peninsula following the North’s sixth nuclear test in September and the exchange of strident rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington.

—NNN-XINHUA

Nuclear, defence cooperation key to future India-Japan ties: Jaishankar

Nuclear, defence cooperation key to future India-Japan ties: Jaishankar

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar

New Delhi : Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to India later this month for the annual bilateral summit, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said that the future of India-Japan ties lies in nuclear and defence cooperation.

“Cooperation in civil nuclear energy and in defence are two domains that portend the future direction of our ties,” Jaishankar said while addressing the India-Japan Colloquium here.

“The difference that Japan can make to our nuclear industry can be quite substantive,” he said.

“Japan’s openness to supply India with military technology reflects the high level of confidence that the two countries have developed in each other.”

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan in November last year for the bilateral summit, the two sides signed an agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy, among other accords.

In Modi’s earlier visit to Japan in 2014 for the annual summit, the bilateral partnership was upgraded to Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Jaishankar said that “the growing convergence of views between Japan and India has the capacity to drive Asia’s economy and development and stimulate the global growth”.

“In this regard, the two countries have agreed to cooperate closely to promote connectivity, infrastructure and capacity-building in the regions that occupy the inter-linked waters of the Indo-Pacific,” he stated.

Stating that a broader modernisation of the Indian economy and society was very much in Japan’s larger interest, he said: “This would help create a more multi-polar Asia that, in turn, enables a more multi-polar world. From India’s perspective, as the first successful modernising example in Asia, Japan offers capabilities and practices that are particularly relevant to India at this juncture.”

According to the Foreign Secretary, Indian flagship development programmes such as Make in India, Digital India, Skill India and Startup India provide significant new opportunities for further collaboration between the businesses of India and Japan.

“There is immense potential for Japan’s technology, best practices and resources being harnessed to accelerate India’s growth,” he said.

“The enthusiasm of Japanese businesses is reflected in their growing presence in India and in the expansion of their activities.”

India-Japan bilateral trade in 2016-17 stood at $13.61 billion, a decrease of 6.21 per cent from 2015-16, when the figure was $14.51 billio.

As of October 2016, there were 1,305 Japanese companies operating in India, a growth of 6 per cent compared to 1,229 in October 2015.

Jaishankar also highlighted the role of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) in expediting the rapid modernisation of other Asian nations and said its relevance to constructing a more efficient infrastructure was particularly noteworthy.

“Japan is already working with India in priority infrastructure in India like the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and various Metro rail projects,” he said.

“The Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor is the next one on the horizon. The flagship project of our relationship, of course, is the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Railway.”

Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Abe’s forthcoming visit would demonstrate “concretely” that India and Japan were ready to move their relationship forward with determination.

—IANS