Trump meeting positive for Koreas: Kim Jong-un
Pyongyang, May 10: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump will be positive towards easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang state media reported on Thursday.
Kim made the remark to visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, the state run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
During the meeting with Pompeo, Kim described the planned summit as "historic" and "the excellent first step toward promotion of the positive situation development in the Korean peninsula and building of a good future".
This was Pompeo's second visit to the Asian country after his secret trip over Easter, when he also met with Kim, to finalize preparations for the summit, reports Efe news.
"At the meeting, an in-depth discussion was made on the practical matters for holding the North Korea-US summit and its procedure and ways. Kim Jong-un reached a satisfactory consensus on the issues discussed with the U.S. state secretary," Yonhap News Agency quoted KCNA as saying.
This is the first time that the North Korean leader officially spoke of the meeting with Trump, which has been scheduled for the end of May or the beginning of June and will be the first meeting in history between the heads of government of the two countries.
KCNA said that Kim also "accepted an official suggestion of the US President for the release of Americans who have been detained" and gave an order "on granting amnesty to them for their repatriation".
The three Americans -- Kim Dong-chul, 64, Kim Sang-duk, 58, and Kim Hak-song, around 60 -- who had been held prisoners in North Korea, were all born in South Korea but later acquired US citizenship.
Pompeo also delivered Kim a "verbal message" from Trump, adding Kim highly appreciated that the US President has shown "deep interest in settling the issue through dialogue".
Details of Trump's message was not disclosed.
The North's media covered Wednesday's meeting extensively.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea's Workers' Party, devoted the front page to the Kim-Pompeo meeting, with relevant photos including those showing the two shaking hands.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
