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June
South Korea unveils sanctions on Russian national over North's weapons programmes
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea on Wednesday announced new sanctions on two individuals and two entities over their alleged involvement in North Korea's weapons programmes, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
The sanctions target Choi Chon Gon, a former South Korean national who acquired Russian citizenship, two companies Choi owns and a North Korean who supported Choi, the ministry said.
Choi is accused of helping North Korea's illegal financial activities in violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions after acquiring Russian citizenship.
"It marks the first time our government has imposed unilateral sanctions on an individual of Korean descent," the ministry said in a statement.
Reuters was unable to immediately reach Choi for comment.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has been testing various weapons including its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile, ramping up tension with Seoul and the South's main ally, the United States. (Reuters)
June
South Koreans become a year or two younger as traditional way of counting age scrapped
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Koreans became a year or two younger on Wednesday as new laws that require using only the international method of counting age took effect, replacing the country's traditional method.
Under the age system most commonly used in South Koreans' everyday life, people are deemed to be a year old at birth and a year is added every Jan. 1.
The country has since the early 1960s used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday for medical and legal documents. But many South Koreans continued to use the traditional method for everything else.
In December, South Korea passed laws to scrap the traditional method and fully adopt the international standard.
"We expect legal disputes, complaints and social confusion that have been caused over how to calculate ages will be greatly reduced," Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu told a briefing on Monday.
According to a government survey conducted in September 2022, 86% of South Koreans said they would use the international age in their everyday life when the new laws took effect.
Another age system exists for conscription, school entrance and calculating the legal age to drink alcohol and smoke: a person's age is calculated from zero at birth and a year is added on Jan. 1. Officials said that method would remain for the time being. (Reuters)
June
Xi says China and New Zealand should promote trade and investment
Written by Nur Yasmin
China and New Zealand should promote trade and investment, Chinese President Xi Jinping told New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who led a trade delegation to China seeking more access for his country's primary exports and emerging sectors like gaming.
Although China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, calls have been growing within the island country for it to reduce its reliance on Beijing as geopolitical tensions grow, and an increasing number of small firms are seeking opportunities in markets like Australia and North America.
At a meeting with Hipkins in Beijing on Tuesday, Xi said both countries should promote the "liberalisation and facilitation" of trade and investment, and provide a better business environment for each other's enterprises to invest and operate in their countries.
Xi added that both countries should strengthen cooperation in areas including education, culture and tourism.
Describing New Zealand's relationship with China as one of "the most significant and wide ranging", Hipkins said the key focus of his visit was to help his country's businesses reconnect and deepen relations with their Chinese counterparts.
Hipkins previously said China was a "valuable partner" but he is also aware of domestic calls to seek new markets.
Two weeks ago after announcing his trip to China, Hipkins told New Zealand media the government had signed seven new or upgraded free-trade agreements as "part of our really concerted effort to diversify our overall market shares".
Unlike its neighbour Australia or its other "Five Eyes" security partners, Wellington's interactions with Beijing have remained largely cordial. The two sides upgraded their free trade pact last year.
Noting New Zealand's independent foreign policy, Xi said China had always treated New Zealand as a "friend and partner" and was ready to work with the country to promote the steady and sustained growth of their comprehensive strategic partnership.
"We will continue to see each other as partners instead of rivals," Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
In recent years, however, New Zealand's tone on issues ranging from human rights, the international rules-based order and potential militarisation of the Pacific has toughened, with its Western allies becoming increasingly hawkish towards China.
During his meeting with Xi, Hipkins reiterated the importance of working together to support the international rules-based order and the constructive role China can play in addressing shared global challenges such as climate change and the war in Ukraine, according to the statement from his government.
Xi told Hipkins both countries could maintain communications and work together to help Pacific Island countries thrive. (Reuters)
June
Sri Lanka scraps proposal to export monkeys to China
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sri Lanka has scrapped plans to export 100,000 endangered toque macaque monkeys to China, the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, one of the 30 petitioners who went to court against the proposal, said on Monday.
The island nation, facing its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades, was considering a proposal by a Chinese private company to capture and export wild toque macaques to zoos in China.
Conservation organisations had warned that the monkeys could be headed to labs instead of zoos, and had approached the country's Court of Appeal seeking any decision to export them to China be quashed.
When the matter was taken up on Monday, the attorney general said the Department of Wildlife and Conservation had assured it that "they will not be taking steps to export monkeys to China", WNPS said in a statement.
"The case will be taken up before the Court of Appeal on 6th July to record the above undertaking given to the Court by the State," the WNPS said.
Toque macaques, currently found only in Sri Lanka, are among species identified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Animal rights non-profit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the government's decision recognised the animals "aren't commodities to be bought and sold".
"These macaques are individuals with families who live in tight-knit communities. Their lives matter, and so does their contribution to their forest home," PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel said.
The value of the proposed deal between the company and the Sri Lankan government had not been disclosed. (Reuters)
June
Sri Lanka sees $17 billion debt restructuring in five years
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sri Lanka anticipates restructuring $17 billion out of a total $41.5 billion of foreign debts within a five-year term, its president said on Tuesday.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said restructuring of local debt will have no impact on the stability of the country's banking system. (Reuters)
June
Japan finance minister vows to respond if yen weakening becomes excessive
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki kept up verbal warnings on Tuesday against the yen's depreciation, saying he would respond appropriately if currency moves became excessive.
Suzuki's latest warning shot came as the dollar traded at 143.43 yen , down 0.06% from late U.S. levels. Japanese officials have sounded the alarm in recent days over rapid weakening of the currency.
"Sharp and one-sided moves" were observed recently in the currency market, he added.
Though he gave little clue whether Japan would intervene to back the yen, the tone of his warning was not so sharp as last year's, when he vowed decisive steps because he was deeply concerned about the weak currency.
"It was important for currencies to move in a stable fashion, reflecting economic fundamentals," Suzuki told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
"We will closely watch currency market moves with a strong sense of urgency and will respond appropriately if the moves become excessive."
A weaker yen boosts profits for exporters and companies with overseas operations, but on the other hand, higher import bills weigh on companies and consumers.
With both positive and negative effects it is difficult to say which factors outweigh the rest, Suzuki said.
"Rising prices have become a big policy issue," he added. "We will closely watch price trends and impacts on people's livelihood and businesses."
On Tuesday, Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda retained his post for a second straight year in an annual reshuffle, as a jittery market requires Kanda's ability to intervene to turn the tide in currencies.
Suzuki did not elaborate on the reason for retaining Kanda, but called him "the right person in the right job".
He added, "Japan needs to keep close co-ordination with G7 and other countries concerned. We take into account the experience and human networks Kanda has gained through his job."
Under Kanda, Japan made rare interventions last September and October to stem weakness in the yen that had carried it as low as just below 152 against the dollar.
Speculation is rife that Japanese authorities may intervene again to support the yen if it falls to 145 to the dollar, near a level that prompted intervention in September. (Reuters)
June
Thai exports drop less than expected in May, seen improving in second half
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand's exports contracted less than expected in May, as higher industrial goods shipments and a weakening baht helped offset some of the impact of sluggish global demand, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
Customs-based exports, a key driver of Thai growth, declined 4.6% in May from a year earlier, beating a forecast for an 8% year-on-year drop in a Reuters poll. Exports jumped 12% from April.
"A positive factor for overall exports was the weakening baht," Keerati Rushchano, the ministry's permanent secretary, said in a press briefing.
The baht has depreciated 1.8% against the dollar so far this year.
The global economic outlook should also improve, which will be positive for exports from now until the end of the year, Keerati said. The ministry maintains its target of 1%-2% annual export growth for 2023, he added.
While global economic uncertainty has weighed on demand, the global manufacturing sector has shown signs of recovery from production chain disruptions, the ministry said in a statement.
Exports of industrial goods rose 1.5% in May from a year earlier, picking up for the first time in eight months, helped by higher shipments of automobiles and semiconductors.
Shipments of agricultural goods, however, fell 27% in May from a year ago, with rubber down 37% year-on-year. But rice exports jumped 85% from May 2022.
Exports to the United States rose 4.2% year-on-year last month, while shipments to Japan fell 1.8%. Exports to China slumped 24% year-on-year due to the country's uncertain economic recovery.
Thailand posted a trade deficit of $1.8 billion in May versus a forecast deficit of $300 million, with imports showing a 3.4% year-on-year drop.
For the January-May period, exports declined 5.1% from a year earlier, imports were down 2.5% and the trade deficit stood at $6.4 billion. (Reuters)
June
North Korea holds rallies denouncing US, warns of nuclear war
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea held mass rallies in Pyongyang where people shouted slogans vowing a "war of revenge" to destroy the United States, as it marked the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, state media reported on Monday.
About 120,000 working people and students took part in the rallies held across the capital on Sunday, state news agency KCNA reported.
Photos released by state media showed a stadium crowded with people holding placards reading "The whole U.S. mainland is within our shooting range" and "The imperialist U.S. is the destroyer of peace."
Sunday's anniversary came amid concerns Pyongyang could soon conduct another launch of its first military spy satellite to boost monitoring of U.S. military activities after its first attempt ended in failure on May 31.
North Korea now had "the strongest absolute weapon to punish the U.S. imperialists" and the "avengers on this land are burning with the indomitable will to revenge the enemy," KCNA said.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has been testing various weapons including its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile, ramping up tension with the South and the South's main ally, the United States.
In a separate foreign ministry report, North Korea said the U.S. was "making desperate efforts to ignite a nuclear war," accusing Washington of sending strategic assets to the region.
North and South Korea remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty. (Reuters)
June
Pakistan criticises migration policies after Mediterranean shipwreck
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistan and several African nations called for more protections for migrants at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday following the shipwreck off the Greek coast.
At least 82 people died and hundreds more are feared dead in the June 12-13 shipwreck along the world's most deadly migration route from Libya to Italy.
Pakistan, which had 350 of its nationals aboard the ship that capsized and sank, said the incident was a "grim reminder of the protection gaps".
"The human cost of such a status quo is unacceptable," Pakistan's deputy permanent ambassador, Zaman Mehdi, told the 47-member council in unusually frank comments. "Gaps in responsibility sharing, arrangements for the safe and timely search and rescue, disembarkation of all people rescued at sea and accountability must be plugged in the spirit of solidarity."
The envoy for Gambia, a country from which many migrants depart on perilous journeys towards Europe, said that the issue required "urgent attention".
Felipe Gonzalez Morales, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Migration, called on states to end the criminalisation of irregular migrants and find regular pathways for them.
He also reiterated a call made by hundreds of NGOs for the rights body to create a new international investigative body looking at human rights abuses committed against migrants. The idea is being discussed as part of the ongoing council session in Geneva. (Reuters)
June
Philippines agrees $1.14 bln loans with World Bank for environment, farming
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines on Monday said it had signed four loan agreements with the World Bank totalling $1.14 billion, including $750 million of budgetary support for policy reforms to boost environmental protection and climate resilience.
The agreements also include $276 million of funding support for two projects aimed at developing the agriculture and fisheries sectors, and $110 million financing for improving education quality, according to the Philippines' finance department.
The Southeast Asian country is looking to transform its long-neglected farm sector into an engine of growth.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is also the agriculture minister, has vowed to undertake reforms to improve productivity of the sector, which in recent years accounted for about a tenth of gross domestic product. (Reuters)