Pyongyang's actions at odds with denuclearization: Pompeo
Kuala Lumpur, Aug 3 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday called North Korea's actions to continue building missiles inconsistent with its promise of dismantling its nuclear weapons.
"Chairman Kim (Jong-un) made a commitment to denuclearize. The world demanded that (he) do so in the UN Security Council resolutions," Pompeo told journalists accompanying him during his flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
"In so far as they behave inconsistently with it, they violate one of the resolutions of the UN Security Council," he was quoted as saying by Efe news.
Pompeo's statements came after US intelligence services this week said that North Korea could be building new missiles in the same plant where it produced an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching cities located on the US East Coast.
US President Donald Trump and Kim on June 12 held a historic meeting in Singapore where they agreed on the importance of moving step by step and taking simultaneous actions to achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.
The Singapore summit came after Kim held one with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27 -- the first inter-Korean summit in 11 years -- where both leaders agreed to work towards achieving peace and denuclearization of the peninsula.
Within the framework of the ministerial summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore, Pompeo planned to urge other attendees to remain committed towards continuing with sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Pyongyang.
North Korea is one of the countries invited to the Asean Foreign Ministers meetings in Singapore, which will close on Saturday after the meetings of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Forum (EAF).
Asean consists of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The EAF includes Australia, China, South Korea, the US, India, Japan, New Zealand and Russia, along with the 10 Asean nations.
The ARF, which addresses security issues, consists of, in addition to the above countries, Bangladesh, Canada, North Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, East Timor and the European Union.
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Sudan’s civil war worsens: Forced mass displacement, widespread starvation, rampant sexual violence
Khartoum: Sudan’s ongoing civil war has led to a severe humanitarian crisis, characterised by widespread hunger, forced displacement, and staggering levels of sexual violence. It has resulted in the world’s largest displacement crisis this year, as reported by the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) this week.
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced millions from their homes. The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, as cited by Al Jazeera, said that paramilitaries are targeting the female population. Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, stressed that there is currently no safe place for women and girls in Sudan due to the rising incidents of abduction for sexual slavery.
Meanwhile, over 14 million people have been displaced in Sudan and more than half of those displaced are women, with over a quarter being children under five years old. In some areas, children are reportedly dying from starvation, and the recent rainy season has worsened the crisis by causing flooding and additional displacement.
Furthermore, the UN food agencies have warned of deadly hunger levels in 16 "hunger hotspots," with particular concern for the Palestinian territories, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, and Haiti. In South Sudan the number of people facing starvation and death are projected to have nearly doubled from April and July 2024 compared to the same period last year.
IOM Director-General Amy Pope emphasised that this is easily the “most neglected crisis in the world” today and requires greater attention. She stated that millions are suffering, and there is a serious risk of the conflict igniting regional instability from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.
“Hunger, disease and sexual violence are rampant. For the people of Sudan, this is a living nightmare,” she asserted.
