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THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2020
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea threat-
ened to bolster its military presence
in and around the Demilitarised Zone
(DMZ) yesterday, a day after blowing
up its liaison ofice with the South,
prompting sharp criticism from
Seoul.
In a series of denunciations of
South Korea, the nuclear-armed
North rejected an offer from Presi-
dent Moon Jae-in to send envoys
for talks. North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un’s powerful sister Kim Yo-
jong called it a “tactless and sinister
proposal”, the oficial
KCNA
news
agency reported, and she issued
an extensive diatribe condemning
Moon as apparently “insane”.
Seoul retorted with unusually
stern criticism, calling her remarks
“senseless” and “very rude”.
“We warn we will no longer tol-
erate the North’s unreasonable acts
and words,” said Blue House spokes-
man Yoon Do-han, calling Pyong-
yang’s disclosure of Moon’s offer of
envoys “unprecedently senseless”.
And its Defence Ministry said
the North’s threats would violate
several inter-Korean agreements.
“The North will surely pay the price
if such actions are taken,” it said in
a statement.
The row prompted Seoul’s Unii-
cation Minister Kim Yeon-chul to of-
fer his resignation yesterday, saying
he “takes responsibility” for the wors-
ening of inter-Korean relations.
The demolition of the liaison of-
ice in the Kaesong Industrial Zone
- just across the border in Northern
territory - came after Pyongyang
vehemently condemned Seoul for
anti-Pyongyang lealets sent by
defectors into the North. Activi-
ties at the ofice had already been
suspended for months due to the
coronavirus pandemic.
Relations between the neigh-
bours have been at a standstill since
the collapse of a summit last year be-
tween the nuclear-armed North and
the United States (US) in Hanoi over
sanctions relief and what Pyongyang
would be willing to give up in return.
Analysts said the North may now
be seeking to manufacture a crisis to
increase pressure on the South to ex-
tract concessions.
In a statement carried by the of-
icial
KCNA
news agency, a spokes-
man for the North’s military said it
would deploy regiment-level units to
the Mount Kumgang tourist area and
the Kaesong complex.
The two zones are sites of long-
shuttered joint inter-Korean projects
and tourists from the South visited
the scenic Mount Kumgang until a
North Korean soldier in 2008 shot
dead a woman who strayed off
a path.
At the Kaesong complex - where
the liaison ofice stood until Tuesday
- South Korean companies employed
North Koreanworkers, paying Pyong-
yang for their labour in a lucrative ar-
rangement for the authorities.
The North’s military spokesman
also said guard posts that had been
withdrawn from the DMZ under a
2018 agreement would be re-estab-
lished to “strengthen the guard over
the front line”.
Military exercises in the border
area would resume, he added, and
it would prepare to send lealets to
the South.
Since early June, North Korea is-
sued a series of vitriolic condemna-
tions of the South over the lealets,
which defectors regularly send, usu-
ally attached to balloons or loated
in bottles.
The lyers criticise North Korean
leader Kim Jong-un for human rights
abuses and his nuclear ambitions.
Moon, who has long backed en-
gagement with the nuclear-armed
North, has been called unrealistic by
his critics for his dovish approach.
On Monday the left-leaning
president gave a speech calling for
Pnter-Korean dialogue and stress-
ing the importance of peace on
the peninsula.
But the North’s Kim Yo-jong
called the speech “disgusting” and
“shameless and impudent”, adding
Moon “seems to be insane though
he appears to be normal outwardly”.
The two Koreas remain technical-
ly at war after hostilities in the Korean
War ended with an armistice in 1953
but not a peace treaty.
North Korea threatens to beef up military
presence around DMZ
Photo provided by the North Korean government shows the demolition of an inter-Korean liaison of ice building in Kaesong, North Korea. PHOTO: AP
Nepal to deport five foreigners arrested at coronavirus protest
KATHMANDU (AFP) - Five foreign-
ers from Australia, China and the
United States (US) will be deported
from Nepal and barred from return-
ing for two years after protesting
against the government’s handling
of the coronavirus crisis, oficials
said yesterday.
The ive were among seven
foreigners detained last Saturday
when hundreds of people deied a
nationwide lockdown to take part in
the peaceful demonstration. They
demanded better virus testing,
quarantine facilities for returning
migrant workers and transparency
from the government.
They were being deported for
joining a political rally in “a breach
of tourist visa rules”, Nepal’s Immi-
gration Department chief Ramesh
Kumar KC told AFP. “They will be
sent to their respective countries
when international lights resume.
They have also been banned from
entering the country for two years,”
he added. Nepal suspended interna-
tional lights until July 5.
Of the group, three Chinese and
an American were additionally ined
NPR10,000, while an Australian was
slapped with a NPR20,000 penalty
for also taking photos.
A Norwegian woman arrested
was ined NPR5,000 but avoided
being deported as she is married to
a Nepali.
A Canadian arrested was let off
after being found not to have taken
part in the rally.
Nepal imposed a nation-
wide lockdown in late March
and has gradually eased it since
then, but large gatherings are
still banned and public transport
remains suspended.
The government warned pro-
testers they could face six months
in jail if they held rallies during
the lockdown.
Singapore
reports 247 new
COVID-19 cases
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