Ready to promote inter-Korean cooperation: Putin
Moscow, April 29: Russian President Vladimir Putin told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on Sunday that Russia was willing to promote cooperation between the two Koreas as Seoul and Pyongyang are seeking reconciliation.
During their phone conversation, Moon informed Putin of the detailed outcome of his meeting with the top leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un on Friday in Panmunjom, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the Kremlin.
Putin and Moon positively assessed the agreements reached at the meeting, it said in a press release.
The Russian President confirmed Russia's readiness to promote the establishment of practical cooperation between South Korea and North Korea, in particular through the implementation of major tripartite infrastructure and energy projects.
Putin stressed the importance of continuing the efforts of all parties involved toward a political and diplomatic settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue following a roadmap proposed by China and Russia.
The roadmap suggests that North Korea suspend its nuclear and missile tests and the US and South Korea stop their joint annual military drills on the peninsula. It also proposes a dual-track approach involving the establishment of a peace mechanism while achieving denuclearisation.
Tensions on the peninsula have eased dramatically since the beginning of 2018, leading to the historic summit between Moon and Kim on Friday.
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Central Myanmar shaken by new quake in one of biggest aftershocks since March 28 temblor
Bangkok, Apr 13 (AP): A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Sunday morning near Meiktila, a small city in central Myanmar, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake came as Myanmar is engaged in relief efforts following a massive 7.7 magnitude temblor that also hit the country's central region on March 28.
The epicentre of the latest quake was roughly hallway between Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, which suffered enormous damage and casualties in last month's earthquake, and Naypyitaw, the capital, where several government offices were then damaged.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties caused by the new quake, one of the strongest of hundreds of aftershocks from the March 28 temblor. As of Friday, the death toll from that quake was 3,649, with 5,018 injured, according to Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for Myanmar's military government.
Myanmar's Meteorological Department said Sunday's quake occurred in the area of Wundwin township, 97 kilometers (60 miles) south of Mandalay, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the depth at 7.7 km (4.8 miles).
Two Wundwin residents told The Associated Press by phone the quake was so strong that people rushed out of buildings and that ceilings in some dwellings were damaged. A resident of Naypyitaw also reached by phone said he did not feel the latest quake. Those contacted asked not to be named for fear of angering the military government, which prefers to closely control information.
The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake will worsen the existing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where a civil war had already displaced more than 3 million people.
It said the quake severely disrupted agricultural production and that a health emergency loomed because many medical facilities in the quake zone were damaged or destroyed.
Sunday's quake occurred on the morning of the first day of the country's three-day Thingyan holiday, which celebrates the traditional New Year. Public festivities for the holiday had already been cancelled.
