North Korea warns US sanctions may 'block path to denuclearisation'
Seoul, Dec 17 : North Korea has condemned the US over its latest sanctions measures, warning the policy could "block the path to denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula forever".
The warning from the North on Sunday came days after the US said it was imposing sanctions on three senior North Korean officials over human rights abuses.
The sanctioned officials include Choe Ryong Hae, who has been considered a right-hand man to leader Kim Jong Un.
In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, the North praised President Donald Trump for his efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang, but said the US State Department was "bent on bringing the DPRK-US relations back to the status of last year which was marked by exchanges of fire".
The statement by the policy research director of the Institute for American Studies of the foreign ministry accused the US of "deliberate provocation" over the sanctions on the three officials.
If Washington believes the policy of increased sanctions and pressure would force the North to give up its nuclear weapons, "it will count as greatest miscalculation, and it will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever", the statement added.
At a historic summit in Singapore in June, Trump and Kim signed a vaguely-worded statement on denuclearisation.
But little progress has been made since then, with Washington pushing to maintain sanctions against the North until its "final, fully verified denuclearisation" and Pyongyang condemning US demands as "gangster-like".
In actions required by Congress, the Trump administration said on Monday it would seize any US assets of the three officials over their roles in suppressing freedom of speech.
Such restrictions may have little impact on officials in one of the world's most closed countries but will have a clear symbolic force as North Korea seeks greater acceptance by the United States.
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Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
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The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
