North Korea has fired ballistic missiles toward the east, Seoul says
Seoul (AP): North Korea performed its first ballistic missile tests in five months on Wednesday, days before US President Donald Trump and other leaders are expected to meet in South Korea.
South Korea's military detected multiple suspected short-range ballistic missiles launched from an area south of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said the weapons flew about 350 kilometres (217 miles) each in a northeastern direction but did not say where they landed.
South Korea's military said it maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea based on the solid military alliance with the United States.
Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that none of the North Korean missiles reached Japan's territorial waters or exclusive economic zone and that there had been no reports of damage caused by the launches. She said that Tokyo was closely communicating with Washington and Seoul, including by sharing real-time missile warning data.
South Korea next week hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, an annual summit meant to promote economic integration and trade. It has no military component. Trump was expected to come to Gyeongju ahead of the summit for bilateral meetings with leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, but South Korean officials say Trump won't likely attend APEC's main conference set for October 30-November 1.
Experts earlier said North Korea could conduct provocative missile tests before or during the APEC summit to underscore its commitment to gain recognition as a nuclear weapons state. Experts say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would need that status to call for the UN to lift the economic sanctions punishing it for its weapons programme.
Wednesday's ballistic missile launches by North Korea were the first of their kind since the country on May 8 tested short-range systems that simulated nuclear counter strikes against US and South Korean forces. They were also the first ballistic missile testing activities by North Korea since Lee took office in June with a promise to push to restore peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim has been sharply accelerating the pace of weapons tests since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over the US-led economic sanctions. But last month, Kim suggested he could return to talks if the US drops its demand for North Korea's denuclearisation, after Trump repeatedly expressed his hopes for new diplomacy.
Earlier this month, Kim displayed a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade attended by Chinese, Russian and other top officials. The parade highlighted Kim's growing diplomatic footing and his relentless drive to build a reliable arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the US and its allies.
North Korea's state media said the October 10 parade featured the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which it described as the country's “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system.” Observers said the ICBM is designed to carry multiple nuclear warheads to defeat US missile defences and that North Korea could test-launch it in coming months.
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All you need to know about India’s first Sunday Budget
New Delhi: This year’s Budget is drawing special attention because it is being presented on a Sunday. While Sunday is normally a holiday, Parliament will function as usual for the Budget presentation.
India's Union Budget is presented on February 1 each year, a practice that began in 2017. The idea behind this change was to give Parliament enough time to discuss, approve and put Budget proposals into action before the new financial year begins on April 1. Earlier, Budgets were usually presented at the end of February.
A similar situation arose in 1999, when February 28 fell on a Sunday. To avoid presenting the Budget on a holiday, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, presented it a day earlier on February 27, a Saturday.
Until 1999, Union Budgets were presented in the evening, around 5 pm. This practice came from British colonial times, when announcements were timed to suit working hours in London.
Yashwant Sinha changed this tradition by presenting the Budget at 11 am. Since then, 11 am has remained the standard time for Budget presentations in India.
