Tokyo, 5 October, /AJMEDIA/
Japan to reopen embassy in Kyiv on Oct. 5 after 7-month closure
KYIV – Japan will reopen its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday following a seven-month closure due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a source close to the matter said.
Staff at the embassy had been transferred to a temporary liaison office set up in the western city of Lviv in March. But as the Russian aggression intensified, they left Ukraine later that month.
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Kishida, Biden to boost Japan-U.S. deterrence over North Korea launch
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed Tuesday to boost the deterrence and response capabilities of the bilateral alliance after North Korea launched for the first time in five years a ballistic missile that flew over the Japanese archipelago, according to the Japanese government.
The two leaders also jointly condemned North Korea’s missile test “in the strongest terms,” calling the launch — which sent the projectile a greater distance than in any previous test by Pyongyang — a danger to the Japanese people and destabilizing to the region, the White House said in a statement.
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North Korea fires longest-range missile yet, 1st to fly over Japan in 5 yrs
TOKYO – North Korea on Tuesday fired a ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago for the first time in five years, with the projectile reaching the longest distance ever for a missile launched by Pyongyang.
Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that North Korea’s missile flew 4,600 kilometers — putting it within reach of the U.S. territory of Guam, where key military bases are located — at an altitude of 1,000 km.
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South Korea raps North’s missile test, China refrains from criticism
BEIJING – South Korea on Tuesday denounced North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile over Japan as a serious provocation, while China refrained from leveling criticism but encouraged dialogue to resolve issues on the Korean Peninsula based on its stance that the United States is to blame for tensions in the region.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Seoul will consider strengthening sanctions against Pyongyang to deter further provocations. Concerns remain that the North could conduct its seventh nuclear test, the first since September 2017, in the near future.
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U.S. offers new security aid to Ukraine after Russia’s annexations
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Tuesday pledged $625 million in new security aid during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following Moscow’s annexation of occupied parts of Ukraine, in a show of continuing support to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia’s aggression.
The call was intended to underscore that the United States will “never recognize” Russia’s attempted seizure of four regions in southern and eastern Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin declared last week, according to the White House.
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N. Korea supports Russia’s annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions
BEIJING – North Korea said Tuesday it supports Moscow’s annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, according to state-run media, following its recognition of Russia-backed separatist regions in the war-torn nation’s east as independent states in July.
“We respect the will of the residents who aspired toward the integration into Russia and support the Russian government’s stand of making the above-said regions the composition of Russia,” the official Korean Central News Agency said, referring to the four territories in eastern and southern Ukraine.
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Japan orders Russian diplomat to leave in tit-for-tat response
TOKYO – Japan on Tuesday ordered a Russian diplomat based in Sapporo to leave the country within six days, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, in retaliation for Moscow’s expulsion of a Japanese consul last month.
Hayashi told reporters that his ministry declared the diplomat at the Russian Consulate General in the major northern city persona non grata after Russian authorities detained the consul in Vladivostok for about three hours, accusing him of carrying out espionage, and expelled him from the country.
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Witnesses recount horror of Indonesia soccer stadium crush
MALANG, Indonesia – The Indonesian government’s decision to set up a fact-finding team to investigate a crowd stampede at a soccer match in East Java Province over the weekend that killed 125 people has failed to ease public anger and sadness over the tragedy.
The stampede occurred following an eruption of violence after rival team Persebaya from the provincial capital of Surabaya beat Arema FC from Malang on Saturday night, prompting a number of angry Arema supporters to invade the pitch and chase after Persebaya players and officials.
