North Korea has slammed the United Nations leadership over what it described as "double standards" exercised by the international organization in pursuing its nuclear obligations in order to maintain global peace and stability.
North Korea's missile and nuclear program was recently described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a "clear and present danger, driving risks and geopolitical tensions to new heights."
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official state media, released a statement on Saturday by Jo Chol Su, a senior official in North Korea's foreign ministry, in which he criticized Guterres for having "typical double standards."
The senior official said by exercising double standards the UN chief was committing the "dangerous act of destroying the trust of the world community in the UN."
Jo rebuked Guterres for ignoring the "reckless arms buildup" by the United States that was "constantly bringing all sorts of nuclear strike means to the Korean peninsula and the region."
In his statement, Jo also accused Japan of having "no moral and legal qualification" to be part of the UN Security Council because of its wartime and colonial past.
The senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official reiterated that his country will never give up its nuclear arsenal, which Pyongyang sees as a deterrent force for purely defensive purposes against the nation’s enemies.
Jo's comments came after the United States on Friday praised Tokyo for its new hawkish military stance.....more below
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
