Pompeo heads back to North Korea with historic deal in play
Washington, Oct 5 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads back this weekend to North Korea as the contours of a potentially historic deal begin to take shape, even if Kim Jong Un's regime publicly stays firm in demands.
The top US diplomat will pay his fourth visit this year to the one time US pariah as he looks to arrange another summit between Kim and President Donald Trump, who has declared himself "in love" with the strongman.
Pompeo arrives Saturday in Japan, a treaty-bound US ally which has been privately uneasy about Trump's rapid reconciliation with the totalitarian state, before he meets Sunday in Pyongyang with Kim.
Just a year after Trump threatened to wipe out North Korea, Pompeo is hopeful that diplomacy can coax Kim to give up the regime's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
"This is a long-term problem. This has been outstanding for decades. We've made more progress than has been made in an awfully long time," Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday.
Pompeo has repeatedly declined to be drawn out publicly on the shape of an eventual agreement. The United States has called for a comprehensive accord and rigorous enforcement of sanctions on North Korea in the meantime.
South Korea -- whose left-leaning president, Moon Jae-in, helped pave the way for Trump's diplomacy and who will meet Pompeo in Seoul after he visits Pyongyang -- gave a preview of what a deal may look like.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, in an interview with The Washington Post, said that the North could agree to dismantle Yongbyon, its signature nuclear site.
In exchange, the United States would declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War -- which closed with an armistice rather than a full-blown peace treaty -- but North Korea would stop short of delivering an exhaustive list of its nuclear facilities, she said.
Kang told the newspaper that the tradeoff would mark "a huge step forward in denuclearization." North Korea has publicly not budged on its positions. State media ahead of Pompeo's visit said a peace treaty "can never be a bargaining chip," saying an end to war "is not just a gift from one man to another."
Douglas Paal, a former senior US official on Asia policy, said the South Korean proposal could appeal to Trump, who has made clear his eagerness for a second summit soon with Kim.
"The package is something that Trump can announce after he lands in Pyongyang. That's my projected outcome at this point, although it has not been confirmed," said Paal, the vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Trump in June met Kim in Singapore in the first-ever summit between the countries. No sitting US president has visited North Korea, which according to human rights groups remains one of the most repressive countries on Earth.
Paal said Trump likely sensed political opportunity in a breakthrough with North Korea, with congressional elections seen as tough for his Republican Party due on November 6.
When the average US voter "no longer hears the president saying 'fire and fury' but hears him saying peace, they believe he has actually made progress towards it, even if arms control people say we've made no progress of a material nature at all," Paal said.
North Korea, ruled by three generations of Kims, has pursued both nuclear weapons and diplomacy with the United States for decades.
It reached an agreement in 1994 to freeze nuclear work in exchange for normalization with the president Bill Clinton's administration. The deal broke down a decade later, although George W. Bush also pursued talks late in his presidential term.
Pompeo closes his trip Monday in China, which is North Korea's political and economic lifeline.
The Beijing stop could be tense as it comes days after Vice President Mike Pence delivered a blistering speech accusing China of military aggression, commercial theft, rising human rights violations and electoral intervention against Trump.
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KMC Mangaluru team led by Dr. Haroon files patent for absorbent pads for elderly women
Aims to address urinary incontinence in elderly women
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Mangaluru: Kasturba Medical College (KMC) has filed a patent application for “Absorbent Pads” designed to address urinary incontinence among elderly women, a condition that remains largely underreported despite its widespread impact.
Urinary incontinence does not command urgency like a heart attack, nor does it evoke the same collective response as more visible illnesses. However, for those living with it, the burden is constant, intimate, and often isolating.
There is a gradual and often unspoken impact on daily life. It begins with hesitation, declining invitations, avoiding travel, and choosing silence over conversation. Over time, this can lead to withdrawal, where fear of embarrassment starts shaping everyday decisions. For many elderly women, dignity becomes tied to small, often invisible compromises, including limiting outings or adjusting routines.
What makes this condition particularly poignant is not just its prevalence, but its invisibility. It is endured, not expressed. Accepted, not addressed.
It is in this context that the recent innovation assumes importance. The team at KMC, which includes clinicians such as Dr Haroon Hussain, has approached the issue not merely from a technical standpoint but from the perspective of lived experience.
The proposed solution, biodegradable, antimicrobial absorbent pads with improved fluid control and reduced irritation, aims to go beyond basic functionality, addressing comfort, safety, and dignity.
The development also reflects the role of academic institutions in addressing everyday health challenges. When research focuses not only on major diseases but also on conditions that affect quality of life, it reinforces the broader purpose of healthcare.
However, experts note that innovation alone cannot fully address the issue. Urinary incontinence continues to be underreported, often dismissed as an inevitable consequence of ageing. Many women do not seek medical help, not due to a lack of solutions, but because of stigma and discomfort associated with discussing the condition.
This creates a paradox, a widespread issue that is often experienced in isolation.
Medical professionals emphasise that greater awareness and open conversations are essential. Families must learn to speak about such issues without embarrassment. Healthcare providers must create spaces where patients feel heard without judgment.
The significance of this innovation lies not only in its technical aspects but also in what it brings into focus, that even the most private discomforts deserve public attention.
The patent application was filed by a team comprising Dr. Haroon Hussain, Dr. Sameena, Dr. Ritu Raval of Manipal Institute of Technology, Syed Ayaan Hussain Rizvi, and Suzanne Riya Dsouza.
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