VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Talks with North Korea should not be for political show but contribute to establishing peace, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday, just hours after the North test fired two cruise missiles into the sea.

Speaking at a news conference to mark his first 100 days in office, Yoon made no mention of the launches, which were only publicly reported later by the South Korean military.

Yoon repeated his willingness to provide phased economic aid to North Korea if it ended nuclear weapons development and began denuclearisation, noting that he had called for a dialogue with Pyongyang since his campaign.

"Any dialogue between the leaders of the South and North, or negotiations between working-level officials, should not be a political show, but should contribute to establishing substantive peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia," he said.

The comments were an apparent criticism of summits involving his predecessor Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Despite those meetings, denuclearisation talks stalled in 2019 and North Korea has said it will not trade away its self-defence, though it has called for an end to sanctions. It has been observed preparing for a possible nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.

MILITARY DRILLS

North Korea's launches on Wednesday were the first reported in months, and were a day after South Korea and the United States began preliminary joint drills ahead of a restart of live field training halted under Moon. 

A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on what he called "an alleged cruise missile launch," but said the United States remained focused on coordinating closely with allies and partners to "address the threats" posed by North Korea.

Yoon said South Korea was not in a position to guarantee the North's security if it gave up its nuclear weapons, but Seoul did not want a forced change in the status quo in the North.

The North's missile tests and nuclear development has revived debate over whether the South should pursue its own nuclear weapons. Yoon said that he was committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and working with the United States to boost its "extended deterrence" for South Korea.

"The NPT should not be abandoned and I will adhere to that until the end," he said.

LABOUR STRIFE

Facing falling opinion poll numbers and controversies over his picks for top ministers, Yoon was pressed by media on a range of issues including labour reform, housing shortages, and recovery from flooding this month.

Since Yoon took office in May, two strikes have cost industry more than $1.6 billion, according to labour ministry and shipbuilder estimates, although neither involved a government suppression before ending. 

The president said he would always allow time for dialogue and compromise before suppressing an illegal strike.

Yoon called for ending discrepancies between "workers who do the same job", such as between direct hires and contract workers, without elaborating on how.

UKRAINE AID

He also touted major weapons sales including a deal last month with NATO-member Poland involving more than 1,600 tanks and howitzers, and nearly 50 fighter jets.

He declined, however, to say whether his government would change its policy of not directly providing lethal aid to Ukraine as it defends itself following Russia's invasion nearly six months ago.

"While it's difficult to elaborate here on the issue of supplying military support, we will help the Ukrainian people recover freedom and rebuild the destroyed national assets swiftly," Yoon said.

He said he believed that historical disputes with Japan dating back to its colonial occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910-1945 could be overcome and that the two countries needed to cooperate more closely on supply chain and economic security. (Reuters)

Former Malaysia premier Najib Razak said on Thursday his right to a fair trial was at risk in his appeal against a 12-year jail sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal, after the country's top court denied a request by his lawyers to withdraw.

Najib, 69, who was convicted in July 2020, replaced his legal team just three weeks before his final appeal at the Federal Court began on Monday.

An appellate court last year had upheld the verdict finding Najib guilty of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power, and money laundering for illegally receiving about $10 million from a former unit of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Prosecutors have said some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB - co-founded by Najib as premier in 2009 - in a wide-ranging scandal that has implicated officials and financial institutions around the world.

Najib, who faces several trials over the allegations, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The five-member Federal Court this week unanimously dismissed a request by Najib's newly appointed lead counsel, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, for a three- to four-month postponement so that his legal team can prepare for the case.

Hisyam told reporters another request to withdraw on Thursday was denied. The prosecution was ordered to present their arguments on Thursday without any rebuttals from the defence, according to media and comments by Najib after the hearing.

"For such a high-profile case, it is totally unprecedented that in a criminal case, the defence is left without any counsel," Najib said, adding that his right to a fair trial was at stake.

"This is a very serious matter. And I hope that the court will take into account and make remedial measures at some point of time."

Standing beside Najib, Hisyam said he could "see no meaningful" role that he could play in the proceedings given he was not prepared.

The judiciary and attorney-general's chambers did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Najib's statement.

Najib has previously cited 94 reasons why he should be acquitted, including that lower courts had erred in some of their findings, documents submitted before the appeal had showed.

The hearing resumes on Friday. (Reuters)

Vanuatu's president dissolved the Pacific island nation's parliament on Thursday, state broadcaster VBTC reported, after an attempt by some politicians to oust the prime minister.

Prime Minister Bob Loughman had been expected to face a no-confidence motion when parliament next sat after a group of lawmakers in his party said they had sided with the opposition in a bid to remove him.

Vanuatu's president, Nikenike Vurobaravu, signed a notice dissolving parliament on Thursday to take effect the same day, a copy of the notice showed.

Vanuatu was not due to go to the polls until 2024.

A failed attempt by Loughman to change the constitution to extend election cycles from four to five years, among other changes, had caused discontent in recent months.

Opposition leader Ralph Regenavu told Reuters the dissolution would be challenged in court, and a majority of parliament members were in support of the bid to remove Loughman.

Regenavu said he had the support of 29 out of 51 lawmakers.

Loughman and his supporters had boycotted parliament on Tuesday to avoid the no-confidence vote, he said.

Loughman told VBTC he was caretaker prime minister and welcomed the president's decision.

Loughman's office could not immediately be reached by Reuters.

The Pacific has become a focus of intensifying geopolitical contest between China and the United States and its allies this year, with China seeking to increase its security and trade presence. (reuters)

Myanmar's military leadership on Wednesday lashed out at the ASEAN grouping of Southeast Asian countries for excluding its generals from regional gatherings, accusing it of caving to "external pressure".

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have heaped condemnation on Myanmar's junta, which they say has failed to make concrete progress on a peace plan agreed with the 10-nation bloc last year, including engaging with opponents and a cessation of hostilities.

Myanmar's military seized power from an elected government in a coup last year, and has since then crushed dissent with lethal force. Most recently, the junta has been criticised for executing political activists and imprisoning Aung San Suu Kyi, the symbol of Myanmar's opposition and democracy movement.

ASEAN has barred Myanmar's generals from attending regional meetings, and some members said last month it would be forced to rethink the way forward unless the junta demonstrates progress on the peace plan.

The junta has declined offers to send non-political representatives instead to ASEAN meetings.

"If a seat representing a country is vacant, then it should not be labelled an ASEAN summit," junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said at a routine news conference on Wednesday, adding that Myanmar was working on implementing the peace plan.

"What they want is for us to meet and talk with the terrorists," he said, using the junta's label for pro-democracy movements that have taken up arms against the military.

He said ASEAN was violating its own policy of non-interference in a country's sovereign affairs while facing "external pressure", but did not elaborate.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, which is currently chairing ASEAN, did not address the accusation.

Ministry spokesperson Chum Sounry said ASEAN was "hopeful that the situation in Myanmar can be greatly improved, so that it can return as an indispensable member of our united ASEAN family again."

Several western countries including the United States and Britain have imposed sanctions on Myanmar's junta over the coup. (Reuters)