Tokyo, 3 November, /AJMEDIA/
N. Korea fires 3 ballistic missiles, 1 disappears from radar
TOKYO – North Korea fired three ballistic missiles Thursday morning with one of them disappearing from radar over the Sea of Japan, the Japanese government said, correcting its initial announcement that one had flown over the main island of Honshu.
No damage from the missiles was reported, the government said. It had earlier urged residents in some northeastern and central Japan prefectures to remain indoors.
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U.S. Fed makes another massive rate hike, hints at slowing pace
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to raise its key interest rate by 0.75 percentage point for the fourth consecutive meeting amid high inflation, but hinted at smaller hikes ahead as it gauges the impact of its aggressive monetary tightening.
Upon concluding a two-day meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank said it will lift its target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75 to 4.00 percent as widely expected, the highest level in about 15 years.
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N. Korea is supplying artillery shells to Russia for war: U.S.
WASHINGTON – North Korea is covertly supplying to Russia a “significant number of artillery shells” for its war on Ukraine, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday, urging Pyongyang to halt such shipments.
The remarks followed a release of information in September that Russia was seeking to buy millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, which the United States characterized as a sign of Russian President Vladimir Putin becoming “desperate” as sanctions hit Moscow in the wake of the war.
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Japan aging nuclear plants may be checked at least once a decade
TOKYO – Japanese authorities on Wednesday proposed that the safety of nuclear plants aged 30 years or older be checked at least once a decade to obtain approval for continued operation.
The proposal from the Nuclear Regulation Authority came as the government seeks to scrap a rule that limits the operating life of reactors to a maximum of 60 years.
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Yoon, ex-Japan PM Aso agree dialogue needed to improve ties
SEOUL – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso agreed Wednesday that more communication is necessary to improve bilateral ties.
The meeting between Yoon and Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, took place in Seoul as the two countries try to find solutions to labor compensation issues that have complicated relations for the past few years.
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N. Korea fires missiles, 1 flies across maritime border for 1st time
SEOUL/TOKYO – North Korea fired a barrage of artillery projectiles including short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, the South Korean military said, with one falling on the south side of the de facto maritime border for the first time since the Korean Peninsula was divided.
A total of 23 missiles were launched from various places, in what a South Korean military source said was a record number fired by North Korea in a single day.
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Japan eyes enhanced tax collection from smartphone game providers
TOKYO – Japan is considering improving its tax collection from the sale of smartphone games services by targeting app distribution platform operators like Apple Inc. and Google LLC, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The envisaged plan would collect consumption tax from such major platform operators, as doing so from foreign game providers is deemed practically difficult. The government is planning to revise the country’s consumption tax law in fiscal 2024 or later, the sources said.
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Major China motor show postponed as “zero-COVID” policy kept
BEIJING – A major motor show originally scheduled to start on Nov. 18 in the southeastern Chinese city of Guangzhou is set to be postponed to stem coronavirus infections, an organizer said Wednesday, as China sticks to its radical “zero-COVID” policy.
The Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition is a large-scale event at which major global automakers launch new models. The postponement is seen as being sure to affect the automakers’ sales strategies.
