North Korea's Kim says US acting in 'bad faith'
Vladivostok: Kim Jong Un has accused the US of acting in "bad faith" in talks on its nuclear arsenal, North Korean state media said Friday as he left Russia following his first summit with President Vladimir Putin.
Kim's armoured train departed the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok a day after talks that saw Putin back the North's need for "security guarantees" in its standoff with the United States.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim told Putin the US had adopted a "unilateral attitude in bad faith" at a summit with US President Donald Trump two months ago in Hanoi.
"Peace and security on the Korean peninsula will entirely depend on the US future attitude, and the DPRK will gird itself for every possible situation," Kim was quoted as saying.
The Kim-Trump summit broke down in late February without a deal, after cash-strapped Pyongyang demanded immediate relief from sanctions but the two sides disagreed over what the North was prepared to give up in return.
Russia has called for the sanctions to be eased, while the US has accused it of trying to help Pyongyang evade some of the measures -- accusations Moscow denies.
Just a week ago, Pyongyang demanded the removal of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from the stalled nuclear talks, accusing him of derailing the process.
On Thursday, Putin emerged from the meeting saying that like Washington, Moscow supported efforts to reduce tensions and prevent nuclear conflicts.
But he also insisted that the North needed "guarantees of its security, the preservation of its sovereignty".
It was "what the North has been saying all along" said Kim Keun-sik, professor of North Korean Studies at Kyungnam University, adding that Putin's support for Pyongyang's stance was the "biggest prize" Kim won in Vladivostok.
Putin flew on to another summit in Beijing the same day, while Kim stayed in Vladivostok and had been due to take part in a series of cultural events.
But the mercurial North Korean kept officials in suspense about his post-summit plans.
A wreath-laying ceremony was delayed by two hours on Friday morning, with an honour guard kept waiting and the red carpet rolled up.
Kim eventually showed up and the wreath was laid. Solemn music played as he stood, hat in hand wearing a black double-breasted waistcoat.
Russian media had reported that Kim would be visiting the city's aquarium and seeing a ballet, but the visit was apparently cut short.
Kim instead turned up at the train station in the afternoon and, after a final departure ceremony with a military band, boarded his train and left around 3:30 pm (0530 GMT).
Regional governor Oleg Kozhemyako told journalists that Kim had also been to a restaurant that his father had previously visited.
The North Koreans ate Russian food and listened to "traditional Russian folk songs that they know very well and love," Kozhemyako said.
"He promised to come back, he liked the city, he liked the region; we tried to do everything," Kozhemyako said The summit saw both leaders saying they were looking to strengthen ties that date back to the Soviet Union's support for the founder of North Korea, Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Kim said he hoped to usher in a "new heyday" in ties between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The North Korean strongman invited Putin to visit "at a convenient time" and the invitation was "readily accepted", KCNA said.
"Kim met Putin because he wanted to show he had someone on his side," said Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
"Kim is seeking the upper hand for future talks with the US and meeting foreign leaders like Putin can help him do that." But Washington was unlikely to be swayed, he added, with analyst Kim also doubting the US would be "surprised or alarmed".
The meeting was Kim Jong Un's first with another head of state since returning from the summit with Trump.
It followed repeated invitations from Putin after Kim embarked on a series of diplomatic overtures last year.
Since March 2018, the North Korean leader has held four meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, three with South Korea's Moon Jae-in, two with Trump and one with Vietnam's president.
Soon after his first election as Russian president, Putin sought to normalise relations with Pyongyang and met Kim Jong Il -- the current leader's father and predecessor -- three times, including a 2002 meeting also held in Vladivostok.
China has since cemented its role as the isolated North's most important ally, its largest trading partner and crucial fuel supplier, and analysts say Kim could be looking to balance Beijing's influence.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
