Seoul, July 27 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said “kindred” relations with China will be “firmly” carried forward as he visited a monument symbolising bilateral ties, state media reported on Saturday, amid suspected signs of strain between the traditionally friendly countries.

On Friday, Kim visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, which was erected to commemorate China’s participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and paid tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers during the war, a day ahead of the 71st anniversary of the armistice that ended the conflict, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“He expressed the belief that the North Korea-China friendship established as the ties of kindred would be firmly carried forward and developed along with the immortal spirit of the martyrs,” the KCNA said in an English-language dispatch.

The Korean War, which started with an invasion by North Korea, ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953. North Korea celebrates the armistice signing date as Victory Day, claiming it won what it calls a liberation war against US-led aggression, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim’s visit came as the North has appeared to be aligning closer to Russia and away from China, with the North’s leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement during their summit in Pyongyang last month.

Earlier this month, the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling party, did not carry any articles on the anniversary of the signing of the friendship treaty between North Korea and China as it had done so on the anniversary date in the past.

Separately, Kim also visited a cemetery of North Korean soldiers who died during the Korean War in Pyongyang on Friday, along with elderly war veterans, according to the KCNA.

“It is the sacred mission and duty of our generation to reliably defend our ideology and social system, safeguarded by the victorious wartime generation at the cost of blood, and build a people’s paradise,” Kim was saying in another English-language KCNA report.

Kim has visited the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery every year around the time of the anniversary of the armistice signing.

The North’s leader also visited the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mt. Taesong later that day, where forces who fought against Japan’s 1910-45 rule of the Korean Peninsula under his late grandfather Kim Il-sung remain buried.

It marked the first time Kim visited the cemetery on the occasion of the armistice signing anniversary in an apparent effort to emphasise their importance.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 27 (IANS) Japan’s former gold mine, associated with Korea’s wartime forced labour, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Saturday, South Korea’s foreign ministry said, after Tokyo agreed to reflect the entire history of the location.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) reviewed and decided on the inscription of the mine — the world’s largest producer of gold in the 17th century — on Sado Island during its meeting in New Delhi, Yonhap news agency reported.

Both South Korea and Japan are among the 21 member states of the rotating committee this year. While a two-thirds majority of the entirety of the UNESCO WHC’s member states is required for a site to be listed, decisions are typically made by consensus.

South Korea protested Tokyo’s push to enlist the mine, arguing that Japan initially intended to omit the part of its history involving thousands of Koreans who were forced to toil there during World War II when Korea was under Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

It is estimated that over 2,000 Koreans were forcibly mobilised to work under harsh conditions at the Sado mine.

South Korea later agreed to the inscription of the mine on the condition that Japan faithfully carries out recommendations by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to the UNESCO WHC, and takes other measures, the ministry said in a release.

Earlier this month, ICOMOS recommended referring the nomination of the Sado mine back to Japan, calling for a more comprehensive explanation of its entire history. In its original submission, Japan limited the mine’s timeline to the Edo period (1603-1868), excluding the modern history during which war atrocities were committed.

“The government has engaged in serious negotiations with the Japanese government over the past few months based on the ICOMOS recommendations to reflect the ‘entire history’ and our position,” the ministry said.

Some of the conditions include Japan developing a comprehensive interpretation and exhibition that reflects the entire history of the Sado mine, including sincere memorials for all workers, especially Korean labourers.

The conditions also specifically state that Japan must “bear in mind” to faithfully carry out the recommendations and closely work with South Korea in the future, the ministry said.

To demonstrate its commitment to these promises, Japan has already installed new exhibits at the Sado mine site to commemorate the harsh working conditions and sufferings of Korean labourers, the ministry said.

Japan will also hold annual memorial services for the Sado mine workers on Sado Island during July-August every year, the ministry said. The date and location for this year’s memorial service are currently being coordinated.

“While there have been memorial services organised by Japanese civic groups in the past, the significance of the promised memorial service this time is that Japanese government officials will also participate,” the ministry said.

Despite the decision, concerns remain about whether the Japanese government will keep its promise and how prominently the forced labour aspect will be featured in Japan’s exhibits.

In 2015, Japan’s Hashima Island was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At that time, Japan agreed to establish an information centre on the island to commemorate the wartime forced labour victims on the island, but it later set up the information centre at its government building in Tokyo.

–IANS

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Manila, July 27 (IANS) Divers have noticed “minimal” oil leaks from a Philippine tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel that sank in Manila Bay on Thursday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday.

PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said divers inspected the tanker MT Terra Nova on the sea floor and saw oil leaking from the valves, Xinhua news agency reported.

“There were minimal leaks from the valves, but as observed, the leaks are not alarming yet,” Balilo said at an online press conference, adding that the leaks are still “manageable” at this point.

“There is no cause for alarm. Unlike the oil spill in 2023, this one is small and manageable,” Balilo said, referring to the massive oil spill from the MT Princess Empress carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil that sank off Mindoro province last year.

The PCG has been checking the number of valves and the quantity of oil that has leaked so far. The agency said it hopes to start siphoning fuel oil from the tanker on Sunday and that the extraction will take at least seven days.

“One thing is sure: the fuel cargo tanks are still intact,” Balilo said, adding that the PCG has deployed oil spill booms and sprayed dispersant in areas with oil slicks.

The tanker would eventually be removed from the area due to the danger it poses to vessels and fishing boats passing the maritime route, according to Balilo.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 27 (IANS) South Korea’s top diplomat called for sending a “united message” against North Korea’s nuclear development program at a foreign ministerial gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the call during the ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane, noting that North Korea is causing uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula and the region through its provocations and military cooperation with Russia, Yonhap news agency reported.

“Member states need to send a stern and united message that North Korea’s nuclear development will not be tolerated,” Cho said during the ASEAN-led meeting that also involves South Korea, Japan and China.

Cho also said that the three-way cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing serves to promote cooperation among ASEAN Plus Three members, hailing the three countries’ trilateral summit in Seoul in May, which marked the first such meeting in more than four years.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described ASEAN Plus Three as a channel to lead cooperation in Northeast Asia, noting opportunities for cooperation despite changes to the international situation and challenges to the future of Northeast Asia.

ASEAN Plus Three, which launched in 1997, consists of the 10 ASEAN members, as well as South Korea, Japan and China, and has served as a framework to promote regional cooperation.

–IANS

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Ankara, July 27 (IANS) Turkish forces launched airstrikes in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq, destroying 25 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the country’s defence ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said in a statement that the airstrikes were aimed at thwarting attacks against Turkish security forces and ensuring the country’s border security, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday, it added that the targets, including caves, shelters, bunkers, depots and other facilities, were used by the PKK in the Gara, Qandil and Asos regions of northern Iraq.

According to the statement, a significant number of militants were “neutralised” in this operation.

Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralise” in their statements to imply the alleged “terrorists” have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.

The Turkish security forces often conduct cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region holding hideouts and bases of PKK militants, from where they carry out attacks against Turkey.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.

–IANS

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