NKorea Reports More COVID Deaths, Kim Says Pandemic 'Great Turmoil'

Saturday, 14 May, 2022

North Korea announced 21 new "fever" deaths Saturday and said more than half a million people had been sickened nationwide, as Kim Jong Un said that the spread of COVID-19 had thrust his country into "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak.

Despite activating its "maximum emergency quarantine system" to slow the spread of disease through its unvaccinated population, North Korea is reporting tens of thousands of new cases daily.

On Friday alone, "over 174,440 persons had fever, at least 81 430 were fully recovered and 21 died in the country," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

North Korea confirmed Thursday that the highly-contagious Omicron variant had been detected in the capital Pyongyang, with leader Kim Jong Un ordering nationwide lockdowns.

It was the North's first official confirmation of Covid cases and marked the failure of a two year long coronavirus blockade maintained at great economic cost since the start of the pandemic.

"The number of fevered persons totalized from late April to May 13 is over 524,440," KCNA said, with 27 deaths total.

The report did not specify whether the new cases and deaths had all tested positive for Covid-19, but experts say the country will struggle to test and diagnose on this scale.

"It's not a stretch to consider these 'fever' cases to all be Covid-19, given the North's lack of testing capacity," said Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute.

"The actual number of Covid cases could be higher than the fever figures due to many asymptomatic cases," he said, adding that the pace of infection was growing "very fast".

North Korea held its second Politburo meeting this week, overseen by Kim, KCNA reported.

"The spread of malignant disease comes to be a great upheaval in our country since the founding of the DPRK along with the worldwide spread of Covid-19," he said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

The meeting of the country's top officials discussed "supplying reserve medicines" and other ways of "minimizing the losses in human lives", KCNA said.

North Korea has a crumbling health system -- one of the worst in the world -- and lacks essential medicines and equipment, experts say.

With no Covid vaccines, antiviral treatment drugs or mass testing capacity, North Korea will struggle to handle a massive outbreak, experts warn.

Kim said Saturday that North Korea would follow the Chinese model of disease management.

"It is good to actively learn from the advanced and rich anti-epidemic successes and experience already gained by the Chinese party and people in the struggle against malicious epidemic," he said, KCNA reported.

China, the world's only major economy to still maintain a zero-Covid policy, is currently battling multiple Omicron outbreaks -- with some major cities, including financial hub Shanghai, under stay-at-home orders.

North Korea has previously turned down offers of Covid vaccines from China, as well as from the World Health Organization's Covax scheme.

Beijing said Thursday it would be willing to help Pyongyang, and South Korea also announced Friday it could send vaccines to the North -- if Kim's regime would accept them.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.

Link: https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3644571/nkorea-reports-more-covid-deaths-kim-says-pandemic-great-turmoil.

Iran frees South Korean ship it held amid dispute over funds

April 09, 2021

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A South Korean oil tanker held for months by Iran amid a dispute over billions of dollars seized by Seoul was freed and sailed away early Friday, just hours ahead of further talks between Tehran and world powers over its tattered nuclear deal.

MarineTraffic.com data showed the MT Hankuk Chemi leaving Bandar Abbas in the early morning hours. By Friday afternoon, it was off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, having passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Iran released the tanker and its captain after seizing the vessel in January. The ministry says the Hankuk Chemi left an Iranian port at around 6 a.m. local time after completing an administrative process.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, later confirmed that Iran had released the vessel. “At the request of the owner and the Korean government, the order to release the ship was issued by the prosecutor," Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The ship's owner, DM Shipping Co. Ltd. of Busan, South Korea, could not be immediately reached for comment. The Hankuk Chemi had been traveling from a petrochemicals facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when armed Revolutionary Guard troops stormed the vessel in January and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran.

Iran had accused the MT Hankuk Chemi of polluting the waters in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. But the seizure was widely seen as an attempt to pressure Seoul to release some $7 billion in Iranian assets tied up in South Korean banks amid heavy American sanctions on Iran. Iran released the 20-member crew in February, but continued to detain the ship and its captain while demanding that South Korea unlock frozen Iranian assets.

Iran's Foreign Ministry did not acknowledge the fund dispute when announcing the ship's release, with Khatibzadeh saying only that the captain and tanker had a clean record in the region. But an official from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations, said Seoul's willingness to resolve the issue of Iranian assets tied up in South Korea “possibly had a positive influence” in Iran’s decision to release the vessel.

The official said Iran had acknowledged South Korea’s attempts to resolve the dispute as it became clear the issue was “not just about South Korea’s ability and efforts alone" and was “intertwined” with negotiations over the return to Tehran's foundering nuclear deal.

Unfreezing the funds involves the consent of various countries including the U.S., which in 2018 imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran's oil and banking sectors. The official said South Korea has been closely communicating with other countries over the frozen Iranian assets.

In January, the U.N. said Iran topped a list of countries owing money to the world body with a minimum bill of over $16 million. If unpaid, Iran could lose its voting rights as required under the U.N. Charter.

“We’re expecting to make a considerable progress in terms of paying the U.N. dues,” an unnamed South Korean Foreign Ministry official was quoted by the country's Yonhap news agency. “We have also exported some $30 million worth of medical equipment since we resumed the humanitarian trade with Iran last April.”

Iran later announced it expected South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun to travel to Tehran for a two-day visit beginning Sunday. Yonhap said the trip would be the first visit of a South Korean premier to Iran in 44 years — before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Chung previously visited Iran in August 2017 as the then-speaker of the National Assembly.

The development came as Iran and world powers were set to resume negotiations in Vienna on Friday to break the standoff over U.S. sanctions against Iran and Iranian breaches of the nuclear agreement. The 2015 nuclear accord, which then-President Donald Trump abandoned three years later, offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

North Korea declares war on smoking

NOV. 5, 2020

By Thomas Maresca

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- North Korea banned smoking in public places in order to create "more cultured and hygienic living environments," state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday.

The law, which was introduced at a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly on Wednesday, prohibits smoking in places such as theaters, health facilities and restaurants and on public transportation.

The anti-smoking regulations aim to protect lives and health "by tightening the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes and on smoking," KCNA said. The report added that the law includes penalties for violations, which were not specified.

North Korea has high rates of smoking, with more than 46% of men counted as smokers, according to a 2019 report from the World Health Organization. Smoking among women is virtually nonexistent, however.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to be a smoker and is frequently seen holding a cigarette when making public appearances. He was filmed taking a smoke break at a railway station in Nanning, China, last year on his way to a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi.

Cigarettes have also been reported to be widely used as a form of currency and for bribing officials in the North, which remains under heavy international sanctions. A pack of cigarettes can cost up to $20.

North Korea faces a number of public health challenges, including chronic malnutrition and high incidences of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. Average life expectancy is 72.1 years, according to the World Bank, more than 11 years less than in neighboring South Korea.

Pyongyang continues to say that North Korea has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, although experts outside the country have raised doubts about the claim.

The Supreme People's Assembly meeting also introduced a new enterprise law stipulating that businesses must be "labor-, energy-, cost- and land-saving," while employees should be "patriotic working people who regard the spirit of economy as part of their mental qualities," KCNA reported.

Source: United Press International (UPI).

Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/11/05/North-Korea-declares-war-on-smoking/3991604564191/.

Seoul: North Korea kills S. Korean official, burns his body

September 24, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said Thursday that North Korean troops fatally shot a South Korean government official who may have attempted to defect and set his body on fire after finding him on a floating object near the countries' disputed sea boundary.

South Korean officials condemned what they called North Korea’s “atrocious act” and urged it to apologize and punish those responsible. North Korea is unlikely to accept the South Korean demand, and ties between the rivals — already strained amid a deadlock in broader nuclear diplomacy — will probably suffer a further setback, observers say.

According to Seoul, the man disappeared from a government ship that was checking on possible unauthorized fishing in an area south of the boundary on Monday, a day before he was found in North Korean waters.

North Korea sent officials wearing gas masks aboard a boat near the man to learn why he was there on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the day, a North Korean navy boat came and opened fire at him, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said.

Sailors from the boat clad in gas masks and protective suits poured gasoline on his body and set it aflame, the Defense Ministry said, citing intelligence gathered by surveillance equipment and other assets.

It’s unclear how he ended up in North Korea. But a defense official said the man might have tried to defect to the North, citing acquired information. He refused to elaborate. The official, requesting anonymity citing department rules, said the South Korean official was wearing a life jacket and was on a small floating object when he was found in North Korean waters.

He said North Korea may have decided to kill him in line with its stringent anti-coronavirus rules that involve shooting anyone illegally crossing the border. Gen. Robert Abrams, the commander of U.S. troops in South Korea, said last month that North Korea had put special forces along its border with China to keep smugglers out and that they had “shoot-to-kill orders in place” aimed at preventing the virus from entering the country.

North Korea has steadfastly said there hasn’t been a single virus case in its territory, a claim widely disputed by foreign experts. Observers say a pandemic could cause devastating consequences in North Korea because of its broken public health care system and a chronic shortage of medical supplies.

South Korea sent a message to North Korea on Wednesday to ask about the missing official, but hasn't received a response, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. Senior military officer Ahn Young Ho told reporters Thursday that South Korea strongly condemned North Korea’s “atrocious act” and urged it to punish those responsible. Top presidential official Suh Choo-suk said in a separate news conference that North Korea must apologize for its “act against humanity,” reveal the full details of the case and take steps to prevent similar incidents.

“For whatever reason, North Korea cannot justify its soldiers fatally shooting our citizen and damaging his body, though he was unarmed and had no intention of resistance,” Suh said. President Moon Jae-in called the incident “shocking,” “intolerable” and “very regrettable.” He ordered the military to strengthen its readiness.

Little is known about the late 49-year-old South Korean, except that he was among 18 officials aboard the government boat belonging to the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry. When his colleagues searched for him after his disappearance, they only found his shoes left on the ship’s stern. Days of searching involving aircraft and vessels were unsuccessful, according to the Defense Ministry.

The oceans ministry said Thursday it has no evidence indicating the late official tried to defect or accidentally fell from the ship. It said the official didn’t tell his colleagues about any plan to defect and left most of his belongings like clothes and daily necessities on the ship.

Several bloody naval skirmishes and two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea have occurred in recent years at the countries' poorly marked western sea boundary. The government ship was near South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island, which was hit by North Korean artillery in 2010, killing four people.

The incident is expected to worsen already frosty ties between the Koreas, whose exchanges and cooperation programs have virtually been halted. In June, North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office to protest South Korean civilians sending leaflets against the North across the border.

Some experts said the government explanation that the official might have attempted to defect lacked evidence. They said the government may want to prevent strong anti-North Korean sentiment to keep alive chances for talks between the nations.

“A public servant defecting to North Korea? I think it sounds a bit strange as he has stable job security,” said Choi Kang, vice president of Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “Why did North Korea shoot a man defecting to the North voluntarily? I can also say the burning of his body was an attempt to conceal evidence.”

Moon's liberal government has faced criticism by conservatives that it sympathizes too much with North Korea and failed to respond strongly enough to the North’s past provocations, such as the destruction of the liaison office and crude insults against the South.

In 2008, North Korean soldiers fatally shot a visiting South Korean tourist who wandered into a restricted area at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort. South Korea’s then conservative government responded by suspending tours to the resort.

The opposition conservative People Power Party urged Moon’s government to take stern action. “The reason for the government’s existence is protecting its people and their property,” it said in a statement.

Defections of South Koreans to North Korea are highly unusual. More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea in the past 20 years for political and economic reasons. In July, however, a North Korean defector slipped back into North Korea, prompting the North to impose a lockdown of a border city and declare a state of emergency over virus concerns.

South Korea reports case spike, US states tighten controls

July 25, 2020

BEIJING (AP) — South Korea on Saturday reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases for the first time in four months while South Africa announced a surge in infections and some U.S. states tightened anti-disease controls.

South Korea's 113 new cases included 36 workers returning from Iraq and 32 crew members of a Russian freighter, the government said. Authorities had warned to expect a spike in cases from abroad and appealed to the public not to be alarmed.

China, which has relaxed most of its anti-disease controls after case numbers dropped off, reported 34 new cases in a new surge of infections. That included 29 that were contracted within the country.

Worldwide, a total of 638,352 deaths and 15,672,841 cases have been reported, according to data compiled from government announcements by Johns Hopkins University. South Africa, Africa's hardest-hit country, reported more than 13,104 new confirmed cases, raising its total to 408,052. The government has reported 6,093 deaths.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday schools will “take a break” for a month to protect children. Despite rising infections, restaurant and hospitality workers protested this week, demand a loosening of restrictions on their industries.

India, the country with the third-highest infection total behind the United States and Brazil, reported its death toll rose by 740 to 30,601. The government reported a surge of 49,310 new cases, raising its total to 1,287,945.

The Home Ministry issued an advisory Friday calling for Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 15 to avoid large gatherings. In the United States, Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi tightened controls on bars to protect “young, drunk, careless folks.” Bars already were limited to operating at 50% capacity. Now, patrons will have to sit down to order alcohol and sales stop at 11 p.m.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans ordered bars closed and banned restaurants from selling alcoholic drinks to take away. That came after more than 2,000 new cases were reported for the surrounding state of Louisiana, including 103 in New Orleans.

Arizona reported 89 additional deaths, raising the state’s fatality total to 3,142. The state reported 3,349 new cases, raising its total to 156,301. The United States has suffered 145,391 deaths and has 4.1 million confirmed cases.

Millions of Americans who are temporarily out of work face the loss of a $600 weekly supplement to unemployment benefits that is due to end July 31. Legislators in Washington are negotiating a new relief bill. Democrats in Congress want to renew the $600 supplement. Republicans who control the Senate want to limit benefits to 70% of what people made before the outbreak.

In Australia, Premier Daniel Andrews of the southern state of Victoria announced five deaths and 357 new cases. Victoria, where the death toll has risen to 61, earlier closed its border with neighboring New South Wales.

In Europe, French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced travelers from the United States and 15 other countries where viral circulation is strong must be tested on arrival unless they can show proof of a negative test in the past 72 hours.

Other countries on France’s list range from South Africa, Israel and Qatar to Brazil and Peru. In Yemen, 97 medical workers have died of the virus, a serious blow to a country with few doctors that is in the midst of a 5-year-old war, the humanitarian group MedGlobal said in a report.

The “overwhelming death toll” will have “immense short-term and long-term health effects,” said the report’s lead author, Kathleen Fallon.

AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.

Seoul mayor left note saying 'sorry' as South Korea mourns

July 10, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Seoul's mayor left a note saying he felt “sorry to all people” before he was found dead early Friday, officials in the South Korean capital said as people began mourning the liberal legal activist seen as a potential presidential candidate.

Mayor Park Won-soon had been found dead in wooded hills in northern Seoul hours after his daughter reported to police he had left her a “will-like” verbal message and disappeared. His body was found after hours of searching near the last location of his phone. Police said there were no signs of foul play at the site but refused to disclose his cause of death.

A mourning station was set up at a hospital to receive mourners for five days. Some politicians and civic activists visited the hospital to pay respects to Park. His funeral is to be held next week. Seoul government officials said Park canceled his scheduled appointments and did not come to work Thursday without explanation.

South Korean media including SBS television network reported Thursday night that one of Park's secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment for an extend period.

Police later confirmed that a complaint against Park had been filed but cited privacy issues in refusing to elaborate, including on whether the complaint was about sexual behavior. Seoul’s city government said a note left by Park was found at his residence.

“I feel sorry to all people. I thank everyone who has been with me in my life,” the note shown on TV said. It continued with a request his remains be cremated and scattered around his parents' graves.

The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Harry Harris, expressed his sadness at Park’s death. “My condolences to his family and to the people of Seoul during this difficult time,” his tweet said. Park, 64, was a longtime civic activist and human rights lawyer before he was elected Seoul mayor in 2011. He became the city’s first mayor to be voted to a third term in June 2018. A member of President Moon Jae-in’s liberal Democratic Party, he had been considered a potential presidential candidate in 2022 elections.

Park led an aggressive campaign to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the city of 10 million people, shutting down thousands of nightspots and banning rallies in major downtown streets. But the capital has become a new center of the outbreak in South Korea since the country eased its rigid social distancing rules in early May. Authorities are struggling to trace contacts of infected people as clusters arise in a variety of places.

Mayor of South Korean capital found dead after 7-hour search

July 10, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The missing mayor of South Korea’s capital, reportedly embroiled in sexual harassment allegations, was found dead early Friday, more than half a day after giving his daughter a will-like message and then leaving home, police said.

Police said they located Park Won-soon’s body near a traditional restaurant in wooded hills in northern Seoul, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him. There were no signs of foul play and no suicide note was found at the site or in Park’s residence, Choi Ik-su, an officer from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters. He refused to elaborate on the cause of Park’s death.

Choi said rescue dogs found Park’s body, and police had recovered his bag, cellphone and business cards. His daughter called police on Thursday afternoon and said her father had given her “a will-like” verbal message in the morning before leaving home. She didn’t explain the contents of the message, said an officer at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency who was responsible for the search operation.

Police said they mobilized about 600 police and fire officers, drones and tracking dogs to search for Park in the hills where his cellphone signal was last detected. They said the phone was turned off when they tried to call him.

His daughter called police after she couldn’t reach her father on the phone, the Seoul police officer said, requesting anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media about the matter. Kim Ji-hyeong, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official, said Park did not come to work on Thursday for unspecified reasons and had canceled all of his schedule, including a meeting with a presidential official at his Seoul City Hall office.

The reason for Park’s disappearance wasn’t clear. The Seoul-based SBS television network reported that one of Park’s secretaries had lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday night over alleged sexual harassment such as unwanted physical contact that began in 2017. The SBS report, which didn’t cite any source, said the secretary told police investigators that an unspecified number of other female employees at Seoul City Hall had suffered similar sexual harassment by Park.

MBC television carried a similar report. Choi, the police officer, confirmed that a complaint was filed with police against Park on Wednesday. He refused to provide further details, citing privacy issues.

Police officer Lee Byeong-seok told reporters that Park was identified by a security camera at 10:53 a.m. at the entrance to the hills, more than six hours before his daughter called police to report him missing.

Fire officer Jeong Jin-hyang told reporters rescuers used dogs to search dangerous areas on the hills. Park, 64, a longtime civic activist and human rights lawyer, was elected Seoul mayor in 2011. He became the city’s first mayor to be voted to a third term in June 2018. A member of President Moon Jae-in’s liberal Democratic Party, he had been considered a potential presidential candidate in 2022 elections.

Park had mostly maintained his activist colors as mayor, criticizing what he described as the country’s growing social and economic inequalities and corrupt ties between large businesses and politicians.

As a lawyer, he was credited with winning the country’s first sexual harassment conviction. He has also been an outspoken critic of Japan’s colonial-era policies toward Korea, including the mobilization of Korean and other women as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers.

Park also established himself as a fierce opponent of former conservative President Park Geun-hye and openly supported the millions of people who flooded the city’s streets in late 2016 and 2017 calling for her ouster over a corruption scandal.

Park Geun-hye, a daughter of late authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee, was formally removed from office in March 2017 and is currently serving a decades-long prison term for convictions on bribery and other charges.

Seoul, a city of 10 million people, has become a new center of the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea since the country eased its rigid social distancing rules in early May. Authorities are struggling to trace contacts amid surges in cases linked to nightclubs, church services, a huge e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers in Seoul.

Park Won-soon led an aggressive anti-virus campaign, shutting down thousands of nightspots and banning rallies in major downtown streets.

China, Korea, Egypt report rise in virus cases as curbs ease

June 14, 2020

BEIJING (AP) — China reported its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases in two months on Sunday and infections in South Korea also rose, showing how the disease can come back as curbs on business and travel are lifted.

Meanwhile, Egypt reported its biggest daily increase on Saturday. Infections were rising in some U.S. states as President Donald Trump pushed for businesses to reopen despite warnings by public health experts.

China had 57 new confirmed cases in the 24 hours through midnight Saturday, the National Health Commission reported. That was the highest since mid-April and included 36 in the capital, Beijing, a city of 20 million people.

Beijing's cases all were linked to its biggest wholesale food market, which was shut down Saturday, the official China News Service reported, citing the city's disease control agency. It said 27 worked there and nine had direct or indirect exposure to it.

The Xinfadi market was closed after 50 people tested positive for the virus in the Chinese capital's first confirmed cases in 50 days. The world is seeing more than 100,000 newly confirmed cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

China, where the pandemic began in December, and other countries that suffered early on including South Korea, Italy and Spain have seen numbers of new infections decline. Brazil, India, the United States and other countries are seeing large increases.

China responded to the outbreak with the world's most intensive anti-disease controls, isolating cities with some 60 million people and shutting down much of its economy in steps that later were imitated by some other governments.

The ruling Communist party eased most limits on business and travel after declaring victory over the disease in March. Some curbs still are in place including a ban on most foreign travelers arriving in the country.

On Saturday, authorities in Beijing locked down 11 residential communities near the Xinfadi market. White fencing sealed off a road leading to apartment buildings and drivers were required to show identification to enter the area.

South Korea's government reported 34 more coronavirus cases, adding to an upward trend in infections. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 30 of the new cases were in the greater Seoul area, where half of the country’s 51 million people live. New cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a large-scale e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

The Egyptian Health Ministry announced 1,677 new confirmed cases. Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country and has its highest coronavirus death toll. The country has reported 1,484 deaths and 42,980 confirmed cases.

In the United States, the number of new cases in the southwestern state of Arizona has risen to more than 1,000 per day from fewer than 400 when the state’s shutdown was lifted in mid-May, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Gov. Doug Ducey is not requiring Arizona residents to wear masks in public despite warnings by public health experts outside the government. Elsewhere, bar owners in New Orleans were preparing to reopen. San Francisco restaurants resumed outdoor seating Friday and the California government allowed hotels, zoos, museums and aquariums to reopen.

The states of Utah and Oregon suspended further reopening of their economies due to a spike in cases. The latest Chinese cases raised the mainland’s total to 83.132, with 4,634 deaths, according to the Health Commission. South Korea has reported 12,085 cases and 277 deaths.

Also Sunday, China's air regulator announced China Southern Airlines was required to suspend flights between Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the southern city of Guangzhou for four weeks after 17 passengers on Thursday's flight tested positive for the virus.

Beijing allows each airline to make one flight per week on each route. Under rules announced June 4, a route will be suspended for one week if five passengers on a flight test positive and four weeks if the number rises to 10.

In Europe, France’s highest administrative court ruled Saturday that virus concerns no longer justify banning public protests. The Council of State's decision allows for demonstrations and marches as long as health protections are respected. Events must be declared in advance to local authorities and not deemed a risk to public order.

The ruling came as an unauthorized protest against police violence and racial injustice wound down in Paris. Police had stopped at least 15,000 protesters from a planned march through the city Saturday, citing virus-related restrictions on any gathering of more than 10 people.

Associated Press writer Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and AP journalists worldwide contributed to this report.

Protests spark virus fears in US; South Korea sees new cases

June 01, 2020

MIAMI (AP) — Protests around the U.S. against police brutality have sparked fears of a further spread of the coronavirus, while South Korea is reporting a steady rise in cases around the capital after appearing to bring the outbreak under control.

The often-violent protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was pinned at the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer, are raising fears of new virus outbreaks in a country that has more confirmed infections and deaths than any other.

The protests come as more beaches, churches, mosques, schools and businesses reopen worldwide, increasing the risk of cross-infections. South Korea has reported 238 cases of the coronavirus over the past five days, most of them in the Seoul metropolitan area, causing alarm in a country that had eased up on social distancing and started to send millions of children back to school. Hundreds of infections have been linked to nightspots, restaurants and a massive e-commerce warehouse near Seoul. The 35 new cases reported Monday include 30 around Seoul.

Protests over Floyd’s death have shaken the U.S. from New York to Los Angeles. Demonstrators are packed cheek by jowl, many without masks, many chanting, shouting or singing. The virus is dispersed by microscopic droplets in the air when people cough, sneeze, talk or sing.

“There’s no question that when you put hundreds or thousands of people together in close proximity, when we have got this virus all over the streets ... it’s not healthy,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The U.S. has seen more than 1.7 million infections and over 104,000 deaths in the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected racial minorities in a nation that does not have universal health care.

In London, thousands of people marched Sunday, chanting “No justice! No peace!” while carrying signs reading “Justice for George Floyd” and “Racism is a global issue.” Britain has had nearly 38,500 virus deaths, the second-most in the world after the United States.

Other protests were held in Berlin and Copenhagen, Denmark. Around 6.1 million infections have been reported worldwide, with about 370,000 people dying, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true death toll is believed to be significantly higher, since many victims died of the virus without ever being tested.

China, where the global pandemic is believed to have originated late last year, reported 16 new cases on Monday, all in travelers newly arrived from abroad. Eleven of those arrived in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Friday aboard the same flight from Cairo, the Chengdu city government said in a statement.

With local transmissions having fallen to virtually zero, much of China has reopened for business and Monday saw the further restart of classes in middle and high schools. Kindergartners and fourth- and fifth-graders will be allowed back next week as part of a staggered opening to prevent the further spread of the virus.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says that China has pledged to make available 30 million COVID-19 testing kits per month to African countries, which are facing a shortage of the materials to test for the disease.

The U.S. has sent to Brazil more than 2 million doses of a malaria drug touted by President Donald Trump as potentially protecting against and treating the coronavirus, despite a lack of scientific evidence. Brazil, Latin America’s hardest-hit country, continues to see a surge in virus cases, and last week Trump announced that the U.S. was restricting travel from the country.

Traffic jams and crowds of commuters are back in the Philippine capital, which shifted to a more relaxed quarantine in a high-stakes gamble to slowly reopen the economy while fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

The situation continues to worsen in India, where 230 new deaths were reported Monday, bringing the country's total to 5,394, even as it eases restrictions on shops and public transport in more states beginning Monday. Subways and schools remain closed.

Neighboring Bangladesh also restarted bus, train, ferry and flight services Monday. The impoverished country's government says a gradual reopening is crucial to reviving the economy amid forecasts that economic growth is likely to plunge, leaving millions jobless.

In Saudi Arabia, mosques reopened Sunday for the first time in more than two months, but Islam’s holiest site in Mecca remained closed. In Jerusalem, throngs of worshippers waited outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque before it reopened. Many wore surgical masks and waited for temperature checks as they entered.

In Bogota, Colombia's capital, authorities were locking down an area of nearly 1.5 million people as cases continued to rise, while Egypt on Sunday reported its highest-ever number of infections and deaths from the virus — 46 over the previous 24 hours, with 1,536 confirmed cases.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday that he would ask Parliament for a final two-week extension of the nation’s state of emergency that is set to expire on June 7. That allows the government to keep ordering lockdown measures to control its coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed at least 27,000 lives, many of them in overwhelmed nursing homes.

“We have almost reached safe harbor,” Sánchez said. During a Mass at the Vatican to mark Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis cautioned people against being pessimistic as they emerge from coronavirus lockdowns.

Italy on Sunday registered 355 new coronavirus cases and 75 deaths, some of the lowest such numbers since the nation’s lockdown against the pandemic began in early March. Two hospitals for coronavirus patients were opened in Istanbul as Turkey’s number of new cases fell to its lowest since the peak of the outbreak.

And at California's Yosemite National Park, closed to the public for nearly three months, student journalists who put out the Yosemite Valley School newspaper are charming their community with stories of cleaner water and more active and abundant wildlife.

Kirka reported from London and Gorondi reported from Budapest, Hungary. AP reporters from around the world contributed to this report.

Kim reappears in public, ending absence amid health rumors

May 03, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported that Kim attended the ceremony Friday in Sunchon with other senior officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

State media showed videos and photos of Kim wearing a black Mao suit and constantly smiling, walking around facilities, applauding, cutting a huge red ribbon with a scissor handed by his sister, and smoking inside and outside of buildings while talking with other officials.

Seemingly thousands of workers, many of them masked, stood in lines at the massive complex, roaring in celebration and releasing balloons into the air. A sign installed on a stage where Kim sat with other senior officials read: “Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory; Completion Ceremony; May 1, 2020.”

There was no definite sign that Kim was in discomfort, although there were moments where his walking looked a bit stiff. He was shown moving without a walking stick, like the one he used in 2014 when he was recovering from a presumed ankle surgery. However, he was also seen riding a green electric cart, which appeared similar to a vehicle he used in 2014.

It was Kim’s first public appearance since April 11, when he presided over a ruling Workers’ Party meeting to discuss the coronavirus and reappoint his sister as an alternate member of the powerful decision-making Political Bureau of the party’s Central Committee. That move confirmed her substantial role in the government.

North Korea has said it hasn't had a single virus case, but the claim is questioned by many outside experts. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused Kim’s absence. Speculation about his health swirled after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the country’s most important holiday, for the first time since taking power in 2011.

The possibility of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of the secretive, nuclear-armed country that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the U.S. mainland while diplomacy between Kim and President Donald Trump has stalled.

“I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!” Trump tweeted Saturday. Some experts say South Korea, as well as its regional neighbors and ally Washington, must begin preparing for the possible chaos that could come if Kim is sidelined by health problems or even dies. Worst-case scenarios include North Korean refugees flooding South Korea or China, or military hard-liners letting loose nuclear weapons.

“The world is largely unprepared for instability in North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “Washington, Seoul and Tokyo need tighter coordination on contingency plans, while international organizations need more resources and less controversy over the role of China.”

South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, confirmed Kim’s visit to the fertilizer factory and said it was part of his efforts to emphasize economic development. The ministry called for discretion on information related to North Korea, saying that the “groundless” rumors of past weeks have caused “unnecessary confusion and cost” for South Korea’s society and financial markets.

South Korea’s government, which has a mixed record of tracking Pyongyang’s ruling elite, repeatedly downplayed speculation that Kim, believed to be 36, was in poor health following surgery. The office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said it detected no unusual signs in North Korea or any emergency reaction by its ruling party, military or Cabinet. Seoul said it believed Kim was still managing state affairs but staying at an unspecified location outside Pyongyang, the capital.

The KCNA report said workers at the fertilizer factory broke into “thunderous cheers” for Kim, who it said is guiding the nation in a struggle to build a self-reliant economy in the face of a “head wind” by “hostile forces.”

The report didn’t mention any direct comment toward Washington or Seoul. During his nearly three-week absence, state media reported that Kim was carrying out routine activities outside public view, such as sending greetings to the leaders of Syria, Cuba and South Africa, and expressing gratitude to workers building tourist facilities in the coastal town of Wonsan, where some speculated he was staying.

Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said the video footage of Kim suggested that he is recovering from some sort of medical setback that affected his walking, possibly related to his ankle.

In 2014, Kim vanished from the public eye for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. South Korea’s spy agency said at the time that he had a cyst removed from his ankle. Analysts say Kim's health could become an increasing factor in years ahead: He’s overweight, smokes and drinks, and has a family history of heart issues.

If he’s suddenly unable to rule, some analysts have said his sister, believed to be around four years younger than her brother, would be installed as leader to continue Pyongyang’s heredity dynasty that began after World War II.

But others question whether core members of North Korea’s elite, mostly men in their 60s or 70s, would be able to accept a young and untested female leader who lacks military credentials. Some predict a collective leadership or violent power struggles.

Following an unusually provocative run in missile and nuclear tests in 2017, Kim used the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea to initiate negotiations with Washington and Seoul later that year. That led to a surprising series of summits, with Kim and Trump meeting three times.

But negotiations have faltered in recent months over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament steps, raising doubts about whether Kim would ever fully deal away an arsenal he likely sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

South Korea maintains Kim Jong Un health rumors are untrue

April 27, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top South Korean official said his country remains confident there have been no “unusual developments” in North Korea, suggesting that rumors about the possible ill health of leader Kim Jong Un are untrue.

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told a closed-door forum in Seoul on Sunday that South Korea has “enough intelligence to confidently say that there are no unusual developments” in rival North Korea that would back up speculation about Kim Jong Un's health, according to his ministry.

The minister said he would not reveal what specific intelligence led to that conclusion, but stressed that it had undergone a complex analysis. The rumors about Kim’s health began to swirl after he missed the April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadn’t missed the event, one of the most important in the North, since assuming power after his father Kim Jong Il’s death in late 2011.

The unification minister's comments are a reiteration of earlier South Korean statements that Kim Jong Un appeared to be handling state affairs normally and that no unusual activities had been detected in North Korea. Those comments failed to dispel the rumors about Kim, which have been fed by the silence of North Korea's state media about their leader's whereabouts.

As the absolute leader of a country with a nuclear weapons program, Kim's health is matter of intense interest both regionally and globally. If something were to happen to Kim, some experts say it could lead to instability in North Korea.

South Korea’s presidential office earlier said it has information that Kim has been staying out of Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, and that there had been no emergency readiness order issued by the North’s military or the ruling Workers’ Party that likely would have been made if Kim were truly in serious condition.

On Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in repeated an offer to conduct some inter-Korean cooperation projects such as a joint anti-coronavirus quarantine campaign. Moon also said he will strive for mutual prosperity “based on confidence between Chairman Kim and me and our firm resolve to (achieve) peace.”

Monday is the second anniversary of Moon’s first summit with Kim at the Korean border village of Panmunjom. Satellite photos released Saturday by 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies, showed that a train likely belonging to Kim has been parked at his compound on the country’s east coast since last week.

“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” 38 North said.

NKorea silence on Kim's health raises succession speculation

April 22, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — With North Korea saying nothing so far about outside media reports that leader Kim Jong Un may be unwell, there’s renewed worry about who’s next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that’s been ruled by the same family for seven decades.

Questions about Kim’s health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. It’s North Korea’s most important event, and Kim, 36, hadn’t missed it since inheriting power from his father in late 2011.

North Korea’s state media on Wednesday said Kim sent a message thanking Syria's president for conveying greetings on his grandfather's birthday, but didn’t report any other activities, while rival South Korea repeated that no unusual developments had been detected in the North.

Kim has been out of the public eye for extended periods in the past, and North Korea’s secretive nature allows few outsiders to assert confidently whether he might be unwell, let alone incapacitated. Still, questions about the North’s political future are likely to grow if he fails to attend upcoming public events.

Kim is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and a strong personality cult has been built around him, his father and grandfather. The family’s mythical “Paektu” bloodline, named after the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, is said to give only direct family members the right to rule the nation.

That makes Kim’s younger sister, senior ruling party official Kim Yo Jong, the most likely candidate to step in if her brother is gravely ill, incapacitated or dies. But some experts say a collective leadership, which could end the family’s dynastic rule, could also be possible.

“Among the North’s power elite, Kim Yo Jong has the highest chance to inherit power, and I think that possibility is more than 90%,” said analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. “North Korea is like a dynasty, and we can view the Paektu descent as royal blood so it’s unlikely for anyone to raise any issue over Kim Yo Jong taking power.”

Believed to be in her early 30s, Kim Yo Jong is in charge of North Korea’s propaganda affairs, and earlier this month was made an alternate member of the powerful Politburo. She has frequently appeared with her brother at public activities, standing out among elderly male officials. She accompanied Kim Jong Un on his high-stakes summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders in recent years. Her proximity to him during those summits led many outsiders to believe she’s essentially North Korea’s No. 2 official.

“I think the basic assumption would be that maybe it would be someone in the family” to replace Kim Jong Un, U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters Tuesday. “But again, it’s too early to talk about that because we just don’t know, you know, what condition Chairman Kim is in and we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

The fact that North Korea is an extremely patriarchal society has led some to wonder if Kim Yo Jong would only serve as a temporary figurehead and then be replaced by a collective leadership similar to ones established after the deaths of other Communist dictators.

“North Korean politics and the three hereditary power transfers have been male-centered. I wonder whether she can really overcome bloody socialist power struggles and exercise her power,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea.

A collective leadership would likely be headed by Choe Ryong Hae, North Korea’s ceremonial head of state who officially ranks No. 2 in the country’s current power hierarchy, Nam said. But Choe is still not a Kim family member, and that could raise questions about his legitimacy and put North Korea into deeper political chaos, according to other observers.

Other Kim family members who might take over include Kim Pyong Il, the 65-year-old half-brother of Kim Jong Il who reportedly returned home in November after decades in Europe as a diplomat. Kim Pyong Il’s age “could make him a reasonable front man for collective leadership by the State Affairs Commission and regent for the preferred next generation successor,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “However, elite power dynamics and danger of instability might make this an unlikely option.”

North Korea fires barrage of missiles from ground and air

April 14, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A barrage of North Korean missiles fired from both the ground and fighter jets splashed down on the waters off the country's east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, a major show of force on the eve of a key state anniversary in the North and parliamentary elections in the rival South.

The back-to-back launches were the most high-profile among a series of weapons tests that North Korea has conducted recently amid stalled nuclear talks and outside worries about a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.

North Korean troops based in the eastern coastal city of Munchon first launched several projectiles — presumed to be cruise missiles — on Tuesday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The weapons flew more than 150 kilometers (93 miles) off the North’s east coast, a South Korean defense official said. If confirmed, it would be the North’s first cruise missile launch since June 2017, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

Later Tuesday, North Korea launched several Sukhoi-class fighter jets that fired an unspecified number of air-to-surface missiles toward the North’s eastern waters, the defense official said. The official said North Korea has recently appeared to be resuming its military drills that it had scaled back due to concerns about the cornovirus pandemic. He said other North Korean fighter jets also flew on patrol near the border with China on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, North Korea has test-launched a variety of missiles and other weapons amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations with the United States. Tuesday’s launches came a day before North Korea marks the 108th birthday of North Korea’s late founder, Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un. They also came a day ahead of South Korean parliamentary elections.

It's unusual for North Korea to launch cruise missiles. Most of the weapons it had tested recently were ballistic missiles or long-range artillery shells. Some experts say North Korean cruise missiles target U.S. naval assets that would be be reinforced in the event of an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

All the recently tested missiles were short-range and didn’t pose a direct threat to the U.S. mainland. A test of a missile capable of reaching the U.S. homeland would end North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on major weapons tests and likely completely derail nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

Some experts say North Korea likely used the latest weapons launches to bolster its striking capability against South Korea, which has been introducing U.S.-made stealth F-35 jets and other sophisticated conventional weapons systems in recent years. Others say the latest weapons tests were also aimed at shoring up internal unity in the face of U.S.-led sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.

North Korea has repeatedly said there has been no coronavirus outbreak on its soil. But many foreign experts are skeptical of that claim and have warned that a coronavirus outbreak in the North could become a humanitarian disaster because of the country’s chronic lack of medical supplies and fragile health care infrastructure.

Preparation, quick action aid Germany, SKorea virus fight

April 23, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Derided by many economists for years for insisting on a balanced budget and criticized for a health care system seen as bloated and overly expensive, Germany has found itself well equipped now to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Already applauded for early actions such as social-distancing regulations and aggressive testing seen as helping keep the death toll comparatively low, Europe’s largest economy has had the financial flexibility to launch a massive rescue plan to help businesses and keep workers paid.

As the country moves to relax some restrictions this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel is pointing to the example of South Korea, which relied on its experience fighting a different coronavirus five years ago to combat COVID-19, as the way forward.

Meantime in the U.S., some protesters have taken to the streets — supported by President Donald Trump's tweets — to demand an end to virus-related shutdowns to help the faltering economy, which has caused tens of millions to lose their jobs, even if it could lead to an increase in deaths as the health care system struggles.

“This is a crisis which, on the one hand, has probably hit the U.S. where it is most vulnerable, namely health care,” said Carsten Brzeski, ING bank’s chief Eurozone economist. “While at the same time it has hit the German economy where it’s the strongest.”

Brzeski was among those who argued for Germany to spend more to stimulate the economy as growth ground toward stagnation, but concedes now the country is in a fortunate position. For years, balanced budget proponents argued it was prudent during good economic times to bring Germany’s house in order to be prepared for a crisis. So in announcing a 1 trillion euro ($1.1 trillion) rescue plan for the country’s 83 million people last month, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was able to assure there was more money available, if needed.

And while Italy and Spain were faced at the height of the crisis with having to decide whether to allocate precious ICU beds to elderly patients with the most urgent need or to younger patients with the greatest chance of survival, Germany has never had a shortage and has even taken in patients from other European countries.

“They had the means, but then they also had the political will, and also the very good analytical insights to use the means,” Brzeski, said, noting Merkel was a scientist before entering politics. “I can’t imagine any government better than Angela Merkel’s to deal with this.”

Germany is now taking baby steps to ease restrictions, allowing smaller shops to reopen this week while sticking to strict social-distancing guidelines and requiring face masks on public transport and in stores. The effect will be analyzed after two weeks to see whether infections have again started to significantly climb.

“We must not overwhelm our health care system,” Merkel said, warning restrictions could be snapped back. “The best path is one that is careful, and not taken light-heartedly.” The far-right Alternative for Germany party has criticized Merkel’s go-slow approach as “ruining our country,” but the chancellor’s popularity has been steadily rising and Germans overwhelmingly see her government’s crisis management positively.

Opening her Berlin toy store Wednesday for the first time in over a month, Galina Hooge said she had already received government aid and the process was “surprisingly quick and uncomplicated.” She said it only covered the store’s rent and bills, but she felt relatively secure thanks to Germany’s universal health insurance and strong social safety net.

“The main thing is that everyone stays healthy and the situation doesn’t become like America,” she said, referring to the large number of cases and deaths in the United States. Besides help for small businesses, Germany's aid package is designed to keep the unemployment rate down and allow workers to return quickly when possible. While Washington is sending out one-time stimulus checks to Americans, the German government plan pays at least 60% of the salary of employees who are on reduced or no hours.

As restrictions are eased, Merkel has pointed to South Korea as an example of how Germany will have to improve measures to “get ahead” of the pandemic with more testing and tracking of cases to slow the infection rate.

Experts say one reason South Korea has managed to avoid lockdowns or business bans was because of its aggressive testing and contact-tracing program that draws from its experience of fighting a different coronavirus — MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome -- in 2015.

Following that outbreak, which killed 36 people and sickened around 200, South Korea rewrote its infectious disease law to allow health authorities quick access to a broad range of personal information to fight infectious diseases.

Amid criticism from privacy advocates, authorities have fully exercised such powers during the COVID-19 pandemic, aggressively tracing virus carriers' contacts with tools such as smartphone GPS tracking, credit card records and surveillance video. People's movements before they were diagnosed are published on websites and relayed via smartphone alerts to inform others whether they have crossed paths with a carrier.

The government is also using smartphone tracking apps to monitor the tens of thousands of people placed under self-quarantine at home and plans to use electronic wristbands on people who defy quarantine orders.

South Korea on Wednesday reported 11 new cases of the coronavirus, the 21st day in a row that the daily jump in infections came below 100. The approach has meant South Korea has managed to slow the spread of the virus without imposing massive lockdowns or banning nonessential businesses, so there has never been any debate over “reopening” its economy.

In the U.S., there has been growing impatience over virus-related shutdowns that have led tens of millions to lose their jobs, and the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved nearly $500 billion in new aid for businesses, hospitals and testing, on top of a $2.2 trillion package passed last month in the country of some 328 million.

Trump’s administration has issued guidelines advising relaxation of restrictions only after prerequisites, like a two-week downward trajectory of cases, are met. Trump himself, however, has grumbled “our country wasn’t meant to be shut down” and has tweeted support for anti-shutdown protests, and some states are moving ahead with plans to begin reopening as early as this week.

The U.S. has registered more than 825,000 infections and 45,000 deaths so far, including some 15,000 fatalities in New York City alone. Often at odds with Trump, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned against relaxing restrictions too early and risking a new spike in infections, no matter how badly the economy is faring.

“We’re not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable,” Cuomo said. “And we’re not going to put a dollar figure on human life.” Germany has registered some 150,000 infections, not far behind the worst-hit European countries of Italy, with more than 180,000 cases, and Spain with about 205,000. But where around 5,000 people have died in Germany, Spain’s toll is nearly 22,000 and Italy’s has passed 25,000.

At the height of the crisis in Spain and Italy the sheer numbers overwhelmed their health care systems, and painful decisions had to be made on who to treat. Domenico Arcuri, Italy’s extraordinary commissioner for the COVID-19 crisis, told reporters Tuesday that for the first time during the pandemic the nation now has more respirators than patients in ICU beds, and lamented the “anguish” officials faced deciding who to treat in the early weeks.

“Each night, we had to decide where to send these instruments, which, in the end, save lives,” he said. “I’ll keep that with me for all my life, and I wouldn’t wish anyone else to experience” the dilemma of choosing which hospital received them.

With the numbers of new infections now stabilizing, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte confirmed Tuesday that Italy can start reopening on May 4, but he doused any hopes of a total loosening of some of the strictest lockdown measures in a Western democracy.

Spain, which has turned hotels into makeshift hospitals and converted a Madrid skating rink into a morgue, has not yet announced plans on relaxing restrictions, with Health Minister Salvador Illa saying it will hinge on advances made in treatment and vaccines to “ensure there’s no second wave.”

Spain is “still in a difficult place, with some hard weeks ahead,” he said Tuesday. In announcing a tentative easing of restrictions in the Netherlands, allowing elementary schools to reopen with reduced class sizes starting May 11, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he had faced “devil’s dilemmas” in trying to decide how to move forward.

The Netherlands was projected to have a budget surplus of 3.4 billion euros in 2020, however, and Rutte said the government could afford to take a cautious approach as he ordered bars and restaurants to remain closed until at least May 19.

“Thanks to the government’s good financial position, it can offer first aid to companies, independent business owners and affected sectors,” his government said.

Frank Jordans in Berlin, Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and reporters around the world contributed.

South's military: North Korea fires unidentified projectiles

March 02, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into its eastern sea on Monday as it begins to resume weapons demonstrations after a months-long hiatus that could have been forced by the coronavirus crisis in Asia.

The launches came two days after North Korea’s state media said leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in front-line and eastern areas. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles fired from an area near the coastal town of Wonsan flew about 240 kilometers (149 miles) northeast on an apogee of about 35 kilometers (22 miles). It said the South Korean and U.S. militaries were jointly analyzing the launches but didn’t immediately confirm whether the weapons were ballistic or rocket artillery.

North Korea likely tested one of its new road-mobile, solid-fuel missile systems or a developmental “super large” multiple rocket launcher it repeatedly demonstrated last year, said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst from Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies. Experts say such weapons can potentially overwhelm missile defense systems and expand the North’s ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including U.S. bases there.

Kim Jong Un had entered the New Year vowing to bolster his nuclear deterrent in face of “gangster-like” U.S. sanctions and pressure, using a key ruling party meeting in late December to warn of “shocking” action over stalled nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.

He also said the North would soon reveal a new “strategic weapon” and insisted the North was no longer “unilaterally bound” to a self-imposed suspension on the testing of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles. But Kim didn’t explicitly lift the moratorium or give any clear indication that such tests were impending and seemed to leave the door open for eventual negotiations.

Japan said it has not detected any projectile landing in Japan’s territory or its exclusive economic zone, and no sea vessels or aircraft had been damaged. “The repeated firings of ballistic missiles by North Korea is a serious problem for the international community including Japan, and the government will continue to gather and analyze information, and monitor the situation to protect the lives and property of the people," the Defense Ministry's statement said.

The recent lull in North Korea's launches had experts wondering whether the North was holding back its weapons displays while pushing a tough fight against the coronavirus, which state media has described as a matter of “national existence.” Some analysts speculated that the North cut back training and other activities involving large gatherings of soldiers to reduce the possibility of the virus spreading within its military.

Kim’s latest show of force is apparently aimed at boosting military morale, strengthening internal unity and showing that his country is doing fine despite outside worries of how the North would contend with an outbreak.

North Korea in previous years has intensified testing activity in response to springtime military exercises between South Korean and the United States while describing them as invasion rehearsals. But the allies announced last week that they were postponing their annual drills due to concern about the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea that infected soldiers of both countries.

The launches were the latest setback for dovish South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who despite the North’s indifference has repeatedly pleaded for reviving inter-Korean engagement. In a speech on Sunday marking the 101th anniversary of a major uprising against Japanese colonial rule, Moon called for cooperation between the Koreas to fight infectious disease amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Asia.

Amid the deadlock in larger nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration, Kim has suspended virtually all cooperation with South Korea in past months while demanding that Seoul defies U.S.-led international sanctions and restart inter-Korean economic projects that would jolt the North’s broken economy.

North Korea has yet to confirm any COVID-19 cases, although state media have hinted that an uncertain number of people have been quarantined after exhibiting symptoms. North Korea has shut down nearly all cross-border traffic, banned tourists, intensified screening at entry points and mobilized tens of thousands of health workers to monitor residents and isolate those with symptoms. South Korea last month withdrew dozens of officials from an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong after North Korea insisted on closing it until the epidemic is controlled.

Kim and President Donald Trump met three times since embarking on their high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018, but negotiations have faltered since their second summit last February in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capability.

Following the collapse in Hanoi, the North ended a 17-month pause in ballistic activity and conducted at least 13 rounds of weapons launches last year, using the standstill in talks to expand its military capabilities.

Those weapons included road-mobile, solid-fuel missiles designed to beat missile defense systems and a developmental midrange missile that could eventually be launched from submarines, potentially strengthening the North’s ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including U.S. bases there.

The North in December said it conducted two “crucial” tests at a long-range rocket facility that would strengthen its nuclear deterrent, prompting speculation that it’s developing a new ICBM or preparing a satellite launch that would further advanced its long-range missile technology.

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to the report from Tokyo.

S. Korean military decides to discharge transgender soldier

January 22, 2020

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military decided Wednesday to discharge a soldier who recently undertook gender reassignment surgery, a ruling expected to draw strong criticism from human rights groups.

It was the first time in South Korea that an active-duty member has been referred to a military panel to determine whether to end his or her service due to a sex change operation. South Korea prohibits transgender people from joining the military but has no specific laws on what to do with those who have sex change operations during their time in service.

The army said in a statement that it concluded that the soldier’s sex change operation can be considered as a reason for discharge. The statement said the decision went through due process and was based on a related military law on personnel changes. Army officials cited the law's provision that allows the military to discharge a member with physical and mental disabilities.

The non-commissioned officer had a male-to-female sex operation abroad late last year. The staff sergeant has since been hospitalized at a military-run facility and expressed a desire to continue serving as a female soldier, according to the army.

South Korea’s state-run human rights watchdog recommended Tuesday the army postpone its decision. The National Human Rights Commission said in a statement that referring the soldier to the military panel would be an act of discrimination over sexual identity and affect the soldier’s basic human rights.

Public views on gender issues in South Korea have gradually changed in recent years. Several gay-themed movies and TV dramas have become hits and some transgender entertainers have risen to stardom. However, a strong bias against sexual minorities still runs deep through South Korean society .

Activists say transgender people are likely to face harassment, abuse and insults, and many suffer from depression and have attempted suicide.

N Korean leader holds party meeting to bolster military

December 22, 2019

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key ruling party meeting to decide on steps to bolster the country’s military capability. The meeting came amid speculation that the North could abandon diplomacy with the U.S. and launch either a long-range missile or a satellite-carrying rocket if Washington doesn’t accept its demand for new incentives to salvage faltering nuclear negotiations by year’s end.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kim presided over a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party. It didn't say when it took place. It cited Kim as saying the meeting would determine “important organizational and political measures and military steps to bolster up the overall armed forces ... as required by the fast-changing situation and crucial time of the developing Korean revolution."

According to KCNA, the gathering decided on “important military issues and measures for organizing or expanding and reorganizing new units ... (and) changing the affiliation of some units and changing deployment of (others)."

KCNA didn’t elaborate. But South Korean media speculated the meeting might have discussed the restructuring of military units over the deployment of new weapons that the North had test-launched in recent months, and what steps it will take in coming weeks.

North Korea is to hold a higher-level Workers’ Party gathering, a Central Committee meeting, later this month to discuss what it previously described as “crucial issues” in line with “the changed situation at home and abroad.”

In Washington, the White House said President Donald Trump discussed “recent threatening statements” by North Korea in a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders agreed to continue close communication, it said.

Earlier this month, North Korea carried out two major tests at its long-range rocket and missile engine testing site. Experts said they were engine tests that indicate that North might be preparing for a banned satellite launch or an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

The nuclear diplomacy remains stalled since the second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February collapsed after Trump rejected Kim’s calls for broad sanction relief in return for partial disarmament steps.

Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job

October 28, 2019

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to be nominated as early as this week to be second-in-command at the State Department, officials said Monday. Two Trump administration officials and a congressional aide familiar with the selection process said the White House is expected to nominate Biegun to be the next deputy secretary of state in the coming days. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Biegun would replace John Sullivan, who has been nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia. Both positions require Senate confirmation. Biegun has had a prominent role in the delicate negotiations that led to historic meetings between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A former Ford Motor Co. executive who served in previous Republican administrations and has advised GOP lawmakers, Biegun has led as yet unsuccessful negotiations to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons since being appointed to his current post in August 2018. He is expected to keep the North Korea portfolio if he is confirmed to the new post, the officials said.

His nomination has been expected since mid-September, but its timing has been unclear amid turmoil in the State Department over the House impeachment inquiry into the administration's policy toward Ukraine.

Sullivan was nominated to be envoy to Moscow in September although his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was just set for Wednesday, making Biegun's nomination to fill the soon-to-be vacant No. 2 spot at the State Department more urgent.

Sullivan's confirmation hearing is likely to be dominated by questions from committee Democrats about Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and his role in Ukraine policy. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified to impeachment investigators earlier the month that Sullivan was the official who informed her that she had lost Trump's confidence and was being recalled early from Kyiv. Democrats are expected to use Wednesday's confirmation hearing to press Sullivan on the extent of his involvement in Ukraine and why the department bowed to a campaign to oust Yovanovitch spearheaded by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

South Korea shows its US-made F-35 stealth jets for 1st time

October 01, 2019

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea on Tuesday displayed some of its newly purchased U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter jets for the first time during its Armed Forces Day ceremony, a development that will likely infuriate rival North Korea.

Under its biggest-ever weapons purchase, South Korea is to buy 40 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin by 2021. The first few batches of the aircraft arrived in the South this year. North Korea has sharply reacted to the deliveries, calling them a grave provocation that violate recent inter-Korean agreements aimed at lowering military tensions.

On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in reviewed military planes including an F-35, missiles and artillery systems that were displayed on the ground at the start of the ceremony at an air base in southeastern South Korea.

Moon and other top officials later watched three F-35s and other warplanes flying in close formation one after another. In a televised speech during the ceremony, Moon said he felt "secure about the might of our military armed with new equipment such as F-35As that we disclosed for the first time." He said South Koreans would also be "very proud" of the military capacity.

South Korea previously publicized photos of its F-35s, but it was the first time the aircraft were shown at an official event since the first two of the planes were delivered here in March, according to the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Moon, a liberal who espouses greater reconciliation with North Korea, was behind a flurry of North Korea-U.S. diplomacy on the North's nuclear program. During his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last September, the two Koreas struck a set of agreements meant to ease military animosities such as halting front-line live-fire exercises and dismantling guard posts along their border.

Many conservatives in South Korea have said the deals greatly undermined South Korea's national security because North Korea's nuclear threats remain intact. Moon said during Tuesday's ceremony that strong national security would support dialogue and cooperation with North Korea and an effort to build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Nuclear diplomacy largely remains stalled since the second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam in February collapsed due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea. Kim and Trump held a brief, impromptu meeting at the Korean border in late June and agreed to resume diplomacy.

Japan's move to lower South Korea trade status takes effect

August 28, 2019

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's downgrading of South Korea's trade status took effect Wednesday, a decision that has already set off a series of reactions hurting bilateral relations. Japanese manufacturers now must apply for approval for each technology-related contract for South Korean export, rather than the simpler checks granted a preferential trade partner, which is still the status of the U.S. and others.

Since Japan announced the decision about two months ago, South Korea decided to similarly downgrade Tokyo's trade status, which will take effect next month. Seoul has also canceled a deal to share military intelligence with Japan.

South Korea has accused Japan of weaponizing trade because of a separate dispute linked to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Japan denies retaliating and says wartime compensation issues were already settled.

"Relations between Japan and South Korea continue to be in an extremely serious situation because of South Korea's repeated negative and irrational actions, including the most critical issue of laborers from the Korean Peninsula," Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

Suga was referring to South Korea's Supreme Court ruling last year that said the wartime compensation deal, signed in 1965, did not cover individual rights to seek reparations and ordered Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor.

Suga said Japan will continue to try to talk to South Korea. The wrangling has dented what had been a thriving tourism and cultural exchange between the neighboring nations, including Japanese becoming fans of Korean pop music and movies. Some South Koreas are boycotting Japanese goods or joining street protests to denounce Japan.

Hiroshige Seko, minister of economy, trade and industry, said earlier this week that the trade status review was needed for proper checks on exports because of concerns about what could be used for military purposes.

Japan has never specified the security concerns further, or how they originated. Seko also denounced South Korea's scrapping the military intelligence agreement, called the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, arguing the trade decision was not directly related to military cooperation.

The intelligence-sharing agreement remains in effect until November. Japan and South Korea have shared information about North Korea's missile launches, the latest of which happened Saturday.