Croatian Border Police Fire at Van of Illegal Migrants; 9 Hurt

Nine people were hurt, including two children, when Croatian border police fired at a van full of illegal migrants that refused to stop.

Police said they discovered 29 people inside the van after it crossed the border from Bosnia.

The driver fled into the woods, and police were searching for him. 

The two wounded children were recovering in a hospital, and officials said their lives were not in danger.

“We are sorry about the children being injured in this incident,” Zadar town police chief Anton Drazina said. “Our priority is the fight against organized crime and protection of the state border and not against the migrants, but against the criminals who are unfortunately endangering the lives of the migrants by their smuggling activities.”

Police said most of the people in the van were from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants used the so-called Balkan route to cross into the European Union before the route was shut down. But a number of people still slip through.

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Croatian Border Police Fire at Van of Illegal Migrants; 9 Hurt

Nine people were hurt, including two children, when Croatian border police fired at a van full of illegal migrants that refused to stop.

Police said they discovered 29 people inside the van after it crossed the border from Bosnia.

The driver fled into the woods, and police were searching for him. 

The two wounded children were recovering in a hospital, and officials said their lives were not in danger.

“We are sorry about the children being injured in this incident,” Zadar town police chief Anton Drazina said. “Our priority is the fight against organized crime and protection of the state border and not against the migrants, but against the criminals who are unfortunately endangering the lives of the migrants by their smuggling activities.”

Police said most of the people in the van were from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants used the so-called Balkan route to cross into the European Union before the route was shut down. But a number of people still slip through.

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UN Threatens South Sudan With Sanctions   

The U.N. Security Council is giving South Sudan one month to stop fighting and sign a peace deal or face an arms embargo and sanctions.

The council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Thursday with the minimum nine votes needed for approval. Six members abstained.

The resolution calls on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report back to the council on June 30. 

If there is still fighting and no “viable political agreement,” the council will consider an arms embargo and sanctions against six top South Sudanese officials.

Ethnic fighting has raged in South Sudan since 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former vice president, Riek Machar.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than a million civilians have fled their homes.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has called Kiir an “unfit partner” for peace.

The relief group Doctors Without Borders reported Thursday on what it says is an increase in attacks on civilians in Leer and Mayendit counties over the past month. They include gang rapes, mass murders and villages looted.

The group says people are fleeing for their lives into the brush and swamps without food, clean water, proper shelter or medical care. 

Doctors Without Borders says all sides must stop violence against civilians.

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UN Threatens South Sudan With Sanctions   

The U.N. Security Council is giving South Sudan one month to stop fighting and sign a peace deal or face an arms embargo and sanctions.

The council passed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Thursday with the minimum nine votes needed for approval. Six members abstained.

The resolution calls on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report back to the council on June 30. 

If there is still fighting and no “viable political agreement,” the council will consider an arms embargo and sanctions against six top South Sudanese officials.

Ethnic fighting has raged in South Sudan since 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those backing his former vice president, Riek Machar.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than a million civilians have fled their homes.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has called Kiir an “unfit partner” for peace.

The relief group Doctors Without Borders reported Thursday on what it says is an increase in attacks on civilians in Leer and Mayendit counties over the past month. They include gang rapes, mass murders and villages looted.

The group says people are fleeing for their lives into the brush and swamps without food, clean water, proper shelter or medical care. 

Doctors Without Borders says all sides must stop violence against civilians.

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Pope Vows ‘Never Again’ to Sex Abuse in Chile, Reopens Probe

Pope Francis on Thursday promised Chilean Catholics scarred by a culture of clergy sexual abuse that “never again” would the Church ignore them or the cover-up of abuse in their country, where a widespread scandal has devastated its credibility.

The pope issued the comments in a letter to all Chilean Catholics as the Vatican announced that Francis was sending his two top sexual abuse investigators back to the country to gather more information about the crisis there.

The Vatican’s most experienced sexual abuse investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, and Father Jordi Bertomeu, a Spaniard, had visited Chile earlier this year.

In the letter released by Chilean bishops, Francis also praised the victims of sexual abuse in the country for persevering in bringing the truth to light despite attempts by Church officials to discredit them.

“The ‘never again’ to a culture of abuse, and the system of cover-up that allowed it to perpetuate, calls on all of us to work towards a culture of carefulness in our relationships,” he said in the eight-page letter.

He described the Chilean scandal as a “painful open wound.” Hours before the letter was released in Chile, the Vatican said Scicluna and Bertomeu would concentrate on the diocese of Osorno in southern Chile, seat of a bishop who has been most caught up in the scandal.

A Vatican statement said the purpose of the trip, due to start in the next few days, was to “move forward in the process of reparation, and healing for victims of abuse.”

The two prepared a 2,300-page report for the pope after speaking to victims, witnesses and other Church members earlier this year.

On May 18, all of Chile’s 34 bishops offered to resign en masse after attending a crisis meeting with the pope in the Vatican about the cover-up of sexual abuse in the south American nation.

Francis has not yet said which resignations he will accept, if any. In his letter, the pope said the renewal of the Church hierarchy on its own would not bring the transformation needed in Chile, calling for unity in a time of crisis and a deepening of faith.

The scandal revolves around Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, he has always denied any wrongdoing.

Victims accused Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno of having witnessed the abuse but doing nothing to stop it. Barros, who was one of those who offered to stand down, has denied the allegations.

During a visit to Chile in January, Francis staunchly defended Barros, denouncing accusations against him as “slander.”

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, dispatched Scicluna and Bertomeu to Chile. Some of their findings were included in a damning 10-page document that was presented to the bishops when they came to Rome.

In April, the pope hosted three non-clerical victims who said they were abused by Karadima, and this weekend he will be meeting with priests who said they were abused by Karadima when they were young.

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Pope Vows ‘Never Again’ to Sex Abuse in Chile, Reopens Probe

Pope Francis on Thursday promised Chilean Catholics scarred by a culture of clergy sexual abuse that “never again” would the Church ignore them or the cover-up of abuse in their country, where a widespread scandal has devastated its credibility.

The pope issued the comments in a letter to all Chilean Catholics as the Vatican announced that Francis was sending his two top sexual abuse investigators back to the country to gather more information about the crisis there.

The Vatican’s most experienced sexual abuse investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, and Father Jordi Bertomeu, a Spaniard, had visited Chile earlier this year.

In the letter released by Chilean bishops, Francis also praised the victims of sexual abuse in the country for persevering in bringing the truth to light despite attempts by Church officials to discredit them.

“The ‘never again’ to a culture of abuse, and the system of cover-up that allowed it to perpetuate, calls on all of us to work towards a culture of carefulness in our relationships,” he said in the eight-page letter.

He described the Chilean scandal as a “painful open wound.” Hours before the letter was released in Chile, the Vatican said Scicluna and Bertomeu would concentrate on the diocese of Osorno in southern Chile, seat of a bishop who has been most caught up in the scandal.

A Vatican statement said the purpose of the trip, due to start in the next few days, was to “move forward in the process of reparation, and healing for victims of abuse.”

The two prepared a 2,300-page report for the pope after speaking to victims, witnesses and other Church members earlier this year.

On May 18, all of Chile’s 34 bishops offered to resign en masse after attending a crisis meeting with the pope in the Vatican about the cover-up of sexual abuse in the south American nation.

Francis has not yet said which resignations he will accept, if any. In his letter, the pope said the renewal of the Church hierarchy on its own would not bring the transformation needed in Chile, calling for unity in a time of crisis and a deepening of faith.

The scandal revolves around Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, he has always denied any wrongdoing.

Victims accused Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno of having witnessed the abuse but doing nothing to stop it. Barros, who was one of those who offered to stand down, has denied the allegations.

During a visit to Chile in January, Francis staunchly defended Barros, denouncing accusations against him as “slander.”

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, dispatched Scicluna and Bertomeu to Chile. Some of their findings were included in a damning 10-page document that was presented to the bishops when they came to Rome.

In April, the pope hosted three non-clerical victims who said they were abused by Karadima, and this weekend he will be meeting with priests who said they were abused by Karadima when they were young.

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Europe Responds Swiftly to US Tariffs, Threatens Retaliation

Reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from American trading partners — including the European Union — came fast and furious, with threats of retaliation and warnings they risk sparking a trans-Atlantic trade war.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the European bloc would respond by imposing penalties of its own on American exports.

“Today is a bad day for world trade,” said Cecilia Malmström, the European trade commissioner. EU officials previously informed the World Trade Organization of the bloc’s plan to levy duties on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. exports if the Trump administration proceeded with threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum.

Canadian and Mexican officials also threatened retaliatory responses but have as yet not indicated which U.S. products they will target. Both countries had hoped that the White House would continue to exempt them from the tariffs. 

National security cited

Europe, along with Canada and Mexico, had been granted a temporary reprieve from the U.S. tariffs after they were unveiled in March by Trump, who said the levies were needed to stem the flood of cheap steel and aluminum into the U.S. and that to impose them was a national security priority.

In Europe, there was disappointment, but less surprise. 

Juncker called the U.S. action “unjustified” and said Europeans had no alternative but to respond with tariffs of their own and to lodge a case against Washington with the World Trade Organization in Geneva. “We will defend the union’s interests, in full compliance with international trade law,” he said.

The EU had already publicly announced that in the event tariffs did go ahead, it would impose levies on Levi-made jeans, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey.

British officials appeared the most alarmed. The government of Theresa May had pinned post-Brexit hopes on securing a trade deal with the U.S., and the imposition of tariffs on steel is adding to fears that negotiating a quick trade liberalization agreement with Trump looks increasingly unlikely.

“We are deeply disappointed that the U.S. has decided to apply tariffs to steel and aluminum imports from the EU on national security grounds,” a government spokesman said. “The U.K. and other European Union countries are close allies of the U.S. and should be permanently and fully exempted.”

Discussion at summit

He said the British prime minister planned to raise the tariffs with the U.S. president personally in Canada at a scheduled G-7 summit of the seven largest advanced economies. That summit is likely to be a frosty affair, much like last year’s in Taormina, Sicily. 

With a week to go before the June 7-8 summit, there’s still no final agreement on the agenda, British and Italian officials said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had earmarked climate change, women’s rights and economic growth as key issues, but there has been pushback from Washington. Thursday’s tariff announcement by the White House will further complicate agreeing on a G-7 agenda.

German reaction to the announcement of the tariffs was among the fiercest. Chancellor Angela Merkel dubbed them “illegal.” Manfred Weber, a key ally of the German chancellor and leader of the biggest bloc in the European Parliament, accused the Trump administration of treating American allies as enemies.

“If President Trump decides to treat Europe as an enemy, we will have no choice but to defend European industry, European jobs, European interests,” he said. “Europe does not want a trade conflict. We believe in a fair trade regime from which everybody benefits.” 

Wilbur Ross, U.S. commerce secretary, who’s in Europe and has been pressing the EU to make concessions to avert the tariffs, dismissed threats of a trade war, saying retaliation would have no impact on the U.S. economy. He held out hope that the tariffs could be eliminated, saying, “There’s potential flexibility going forward. The fact that we took a tariff action does not mean there cannot be a negotiation.” 

Business leaders cautious

Some European business leaders have urged their national leaders to be restrained in response, fearing a tit-for-tat spiral could be triggered quickly. Britain’s Confederation of British Industry warned against overreaction, saying no one would win on either side of the Atlantic if a major trade war erupted.

The director of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said he feared there was clear potential for a damaging trade war.

“Since President Trump stated his plans to impose blanket tariffs on steel imports almost three months ago, the U.K. steel sector had hoped for the best, but still feared the worst. With the expiration of the EU exemption now confirmed to take effect tomorrow [June 1], unfortunately, our pessimism was justified, and we will now see damage not only to the U.K. steel sector but also the U.S. economy.” 

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Europe Responds Swiftly to US Tariffs, Threatens Retaliation

Reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from American trading partners — including the European Union — came fast and furious, with threats of retaliation and warnings they risk sparking a trans-Atlantic trade war.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the European bloc would respond by imposing penalties of its own on American exports.

“Today is a bad day for world trade,” said Cecilia Malmström, the European trade commissioner. EU officials previously informed the World Trade Organization of the bloc’s plan to levy duties on $7.2 billion worth of U.S. exports if the Trump administration proceeded with threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum.

Canadian and Mexican officials also threatened retaliatory responses but have as yet not indicated which U.S. products they will target. Both countries had hoped that the White House would continue to exempt them from the tariffs. 

National security cited

Europe, along with Canada and Mexico, had been granted a temporary reprieve from the U.S. tariffs after they were unveiled in March by Trump, who said the levies were needed to stem the flood of cheap steel and aluminum into the U.S. and that to impose them was a national security priority.

In Europe, there was disappointment, but less surprise. 

Juncker called the U.S. action “unjustified” and said Europeans had no alternative but to respond with tariffs of their own and to lodge a case against Washington with the World Trade Organization in Geneva. “We will defend the union’s interests, in full compliance with international trade law,” he said.

The EU had already publicly announced that in the event tariffs did go ahead, it would impose levies on Levi-made jeans, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey.

British officials appeared the most alarmed. The government of Theresa May had pinned post-Brexit hopes on securing a trade deal with the U.S., and the imposition of tariffs on steel is adding to fears that negotiating a quick trade liberalization agreement with Trump looks increasingly unlikely.

“We are deeply disappointed that the U.S. has decided to apply tariffs to steel and aluminum imports from the EU on national security grounds,” a government spokesman said. “The U.K. and other European Union countries are close allies of the U.S. and should be permanently and fully exempted.”

Discussion at summit

He said the British prime minister planned to raise the tariffs with the U.S. president personally in Canada at a scheduled G-7 summit of the seven largest advanced economies. That summit is likely to be a frosty affair, much like last year’s in Taormina, Sicily. 

With a week to go before the June 7-8 summit, there’s still no final agreement on the agenda, British and Italian officials said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had earmarked climate change, women’s rights and economic growth as key issues, but there has been pushback from Washington. Thursday’s tariff announcement by the White House will further complicate agreeing on a G-7 agenda.

German reaction to the announcement of the tariffs was among the fiercest. Chancellor Angela Merkel dubbed them “illegal.” Manfred Weber, a key ally of the German chancellor and leader of the biggest bloc in the European Parliament, accused the Trump administration of treating American allies as enemies.

“If President Trump decides to treat Europe as an enemy, we will have no choice but to defend European industry, European jobs, European interests,” he said. “Europe does not want a trade conflict. We believe in a fair trade regime from which everybody benefits.” 

Wilbur Ross, U.S. commerce secretary, who’s in Europe and has been pressing the EU to make concessions to avert the tariffs, dismissed threats of a trade war, saying retaliation would have no impact on the U.S. economy. He held out hope that the tariffs could be eliminated, saying, “There’s potential flexibility going forward. The fact that we took a tariff action does not mean there cannot be a negotiation.” 

Business leaders cautious

Some European business leaders have urged their national leaders to be restrained in response, fearing a tit-for-tat spiral could be triggered quickly. Britain’s Confederation of British Industry warned against overreaction, saying no one would win on either side of the Atlantic if a major trade war erupted.

The director of UK Steel, Gareth Stace, said he feared there was clear potential for a damaging trade war.

“Since President Trump stated his plans to impose blanket tariffs on steel imports almost three months ago, the U.K. steel sector had hoped for the best, but still feared the worst. With the expiration of the EU exemption now confirmed to take effect tomorrow [June 1], unfortunately, our pessimism was justified, and we will now see damage not only to the U.K. steel sector but also the U.S. economy.” 

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Zimbabwe: Trump Administration Turning ‘Blind Eye’ to Sanctions

Zimbabwe’s President says the Trump administration is easing enforcement of sanctions on the southern African country. The president spoke Thursday in Gweru town, about 350 kilometers south of Harare, a day after setting July 30 as the date for the next election.

In an hour-long speech Thursday to his ZANU-PF party supporters, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said relations with Western countries are warming up since he came to power last November, after his predecessor Robert Mugabe resigned under pressure from the military.

He said the U.S. is overlooking sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in the early 2000s following reports of human rights abuses and election rigging by the Mugabe regime.

According to Mnangawa, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, known as ZIDERA, has been hurting the southern African country since it was passed nearly 20 years ago.

He said in recent months, his administration has secured billions of dollars in commitments to addressing Zimbabwe’s moribund economy.

“I must say this to you: Americans have ZIDERA which forbids U.S. companies to invest in Zimbabwe,” he said. “But we have big U.S. company which came and wants to do Batoka Gorge Hydroelectricity project at $5.2 billion. We asked them how they would do it when there is ZIDERA and they said, Trump’s administration is giving us a blind eye. So things are changing.”

Mnangagwa said he had already written to his Zambian counterpart President Edgar Lungu about the project, which is supposed to take place on the Zambezi River, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

U.S. embassy officials in Harare could not be immediately reached if indeed Trump’s administration was now overlooking ZIDERA, a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2001.

Turning to Zimbabwe’s elections set for July 30, Mnangagwa said he was already planning beyond them.

“We have agreed that five years after this election, we have programs we have put down to improve housing,” he said. “We are saying: 1.2 million houses to be built. We are attracting foreign companies who are willing to invest in houses. As industries are recovering, as electricity is being produced, we believe that in the next five years according to our program, [we have] over 2,000 mega watts of electricity that will come on board.”

Mnangagwa pleaded for unity in ZANU-PF, which has experienced internal strains since Mugabe resigned last November.

In the coming election, Mnangagwa is face challenges from several opponents including 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa of the country’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

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Zimbabwe: Trump Administration Turning ‘Blind Eye’ to Sanctions

Zimbabwe’s President says the Trump administration is easing enforcement of sanctions on the southern African country. The president spoke Thursday in Gweru town, about 350 kilometers south of Harare, a day after setting July 30 as the date for the next election.

In an hour-long speech Thursday to his ZANU-PF party supporters, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said relations with Western countries are warming up since he came to power last November, after his predecessor Robert Mugabe resigned under pressure from the military.

He said the U.S. is overlooking sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in the early 2000s following reports of human rights abuses and election rigging by the Mugabe regime.

According to Mnangawa, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, known as ZIDERA, has been hurting the southern African country since it was passed nearly 20 years ago.

He said in recent months, his administration has secured billions of dollars in commitments to addressing Zimbabwe’s moribund economy.

“I must say this to you: Americans have ZIDERA which forbids U.S. companies to invest in Zimbabwe,” he said. “But we have big U.S. company which came and wants to do Batoka Gorge Hydroelectricity project at $5.2 billion. We asked them how they would do it when there is ZIDERA and they said, Trump’s administration is giving us a blind eye. So things are changing.”

Mnangagwa said he had already written to his Zambian counterpart President Edgar Lungu about the project, which is supposed to take place on the Zambezi River, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

U.S. embassy officials in Harare could not be immediately reached if indeed Trump’s administration was now overlooking ZIDERA, a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2001.

Turning to Zimbabwe’s elections set for July 30, Mnangagwa said he was already planning beyond them.

“We have agreed that five years after this election, we have programs we have put down to improve housing,” he said. “We are saying: 1.2 million houses to be built. We are attracting foreign companies who are willing to invest in houses. As industries are recovering, as electricity is being produced, we believe that in the next five years according to our program, [we have] over 2,000 mega watts of electricity that will come on board.”

Mnangagwa pleaded for unity in ZANU-PF, which has experienced internal strains since Mugabe resigned last November.

In the coming election, Mnangagwa is face challenges from several opponents including 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa of the country’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.

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Flood-Stricken Somalia Needs More Aid to Avert Humanitarian Crisis

The World Food Program is calling for stronger international support for hundreds of thousands of Somalis impacted by some of the heaviest rains to hit their country in three decades. The rainfall that began last month has caused widespread flooding and damage in central, south and north Somalia.

For much of the last decade, Somalia has struggled with chronic drought. The 2011 drought was especially bad, killing an estimated 260,000 people.

Now Somalia has the opposite problem — too much rain.

About one month ago, President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed appealed for international support to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by heavy flooding.

The response has been somewhat tepid. The World Food Program says it is concerned the situation will become even more difficult since the disaster has slipped out of the world’s headlines.

The agency reports nearly 300,000 of the 700,000 people affected by the floods are homeless. WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher says her agency is doing what it can to support livelihood and safety net activities to build up resilience.

“But, we are once again under-funded. We need some $120 million to assist the people in Somalia until the end of October. As you know, last year, we were fighting to avoid a famine in Somalia. We have to keep on pushing to make sure that all the gains that we were able to make last year when we were able to fight off a famine can still be kept,” she said.

Earlier in the year, the U.N. appealed for $1.5 billion to provide aid to some five million people affected by drought and conflict. Less than $370 million, or 24 percent, has been received. U.N. officials say that isn’t enough to support a robust flood response.

Luescher says WFP is aiming to reach three million people in Somalia this year. She says work is going on in partnership with other agencies to reach the flood victims. She says the WFP is distributing high-energy biscuits and handing out two-month supplies of food rations in some areas.

She says many places are inaccessible by road, so aid workers are using boats to reach people cut off by the floods. She says the WFP, which operates the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, also has added a helicopter to its fleet to transport aid workers to flood-affected areas.

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Flood-Stricken Somalia Needs More Aid to Avert Humanitarian Crisis

The World Food Program is calling for stronger international support for hundreds of thousands of Somalis impacted by some of the heaviest rains to hit their country in three decades. The rainfall that began last month has caused widespread flooding and damage in central, south and north Somalia.

For much of the last decade, Somalia has struggled with chronic drought. The 2011 drought was especially bad, killing an estimated 260,000 people.

Now Somalia has the opposite problem — too much rain.

About one month ago, President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed appealed for international support to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by heavy flooding.

The response has been somewhat tepid. The World Food Program says it is concerned the situation will become even more difficult since the disaster has slipped out of the world’s headlines.

The agency reports nearly 300,000 of the 700,000 people affected by the floods are homeless. WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher says her agency is doing what it can to support livelihood and safety net activities to build up resilience.

“But, we are once again under-funded. We need some $120 million to assist the people in Somalia until the end of October. As you know, last year, we were fighting to avoid a famine in Somalia. We have to keep on pushing to make sure that all the gains that we were able to make last year when we were able to fight off a famine can still be kept,” she said.

Earlier in the year, the U.N. appealed for $1.5 billion to provide aid to some five million people affected by drought and conflict. Less than $370 million, or 24 percent, has been received. U.N. officials say that isn’t enough to support a robust flood response.

Luescher says WFP is aiming to reach three million people in Somalia this year. She says work is going on in partnership with other agencies to reach the flood victims. She says the WFP is distributing high-energy biscuits and handing out two-month supplies of food rations in some areas.

She says many places are inaccessible by road, so aid workers are using boats to reach people cut off by the floods. She says the WFP, which operates the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service, also has added a helicopter to its fleet to transport aid workers to flood-affected areas.

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Ukraine: Reporter’s Fake Murder Involved Pig’s Blood, Morgue

A Russian journalist, who helped stage his own death to avoid an alleged Russian plot to murder him, says the operation involved pig’s blood and him being transported to a morgue.

Ukrainian authorities disclosed Wednesday they planned his mock death after learning Russian security officials supposedly had ordered his murder a month ago.

In his first detailed accounting of the sting since its revelation, Arkady Babchenko said at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, he could have chosen not to participate when he was approached about a month ago. Instead, he promptly agreed.

“I said, ‘Great!’ Why have you been waiting for a month?”

Babchenko said after he arrived at the morgue, he changed his clothes and began watching the news.  

A Kremlin spokesman said Thursday that Russia is glad Babchenko is alive, but called the staging of his death “strange.”

The prominent Russian war correspondent and Kremlin critic had been reported to be shot dead in the stairwell of his Kyiv apartment building on Tuesday. But Babchenko stunned reporters when he appeared alive and well Wednesday as Ukrainian security officials explained the death had been faked.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday he did not know if the result of the case justified the actions taken, and that the situation does not change Russia’s view that Ukraine is a dangerous place for journalists.

Reporters Without Borders condemned Babchenko’s fake death, saying it was “distressing and regrettable” for Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) to play with the truth.

“Was such a scheme really necessary? There can be no grounds for faking a journalist’s death,” said the group’s secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

On the ethics of the operation

Babchenko responded to the criticism in front of his colleagues Thursday at a news conference in Kyiv.

“Do you want to survive or do you want to preserve the ethics, morals, purity and spiritual standards of your profession? You are welcome to preserve the ethics, morals and purity of your profession. I chose the option to survive.”

At a televised briefing Wednesday, SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak stood alongside Babchenko as he recounted events leading up to the foiled assassination attempt.

The operation began with a tip from an anonymous source who said an unidentified Ukrainian national had been inquiring about buying weapons for a contract killing in Kyiv, which triggered the SBU probe.  Officials said he had been asked to find and hire someone to carry out the assassination.

During the negotiations, Hrytsak said, the man claimed Russia’s Secret Service had offered him $40,000 to organize and carry out the hit. He said the suspect was a former separatist fighter who had fought in eastern Ukraine.

SBU investigators then recruited Babchenko into the sting operation designed to catch Russian agents in the act of conducting an extrajudicial killing on foreign soil.

Investigators said the intermediary who had been tasked with hiring the gunman was in custody, and officials said they had additional hard evidence linking Russia’s secret service to the assassination plot, though they did not provide details.

Apologies

Addressing reporters, Babchenko told his family he was sorry for faking his own death.

 

“I’d like to apologize for everything you’ve had to go through,” he said. “I’ve been at the funeral of many friends and colleagues, and I know this nauseating feeling. Sorry for putting you through this, but there was no other way.

 

“Special apologies to my wife for the hell she’s been through these two days,” he added. “Olya, forgive me, please, but there was no other option.”

 

Police reports that followed initial reports of the shooting say it was Babchenko’s wife who discovered him lying in a pool of blood at the entrance of their Kyiv apartment.

It is not clear whether his wife was involved in the sting.

“As far as I know, this operation took two months to prepare,” Babchenko told the briefing. “They saved my life. I want to say thank you.”

Tuesday’s news of the shooting shocked the Ukrainian capital, prompting Kyiv and Moscow officials to blame each for the reporter’s death.

 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman suggested Russia had orchestrated the killing, while Kremlin spokesman Peskov rejected that claim.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after Babchenko’s reappearance Wednesday that Ukrainian officials had circulated a false story for purposes of “propaganda.”

Kyiv police and officials from Ukraine’s Interior Ministry had announced on Tuesday that Babchenko had died in an ambulance on the way to a hospital after being shot in the back at his home in Kyiv, where he has lived in exile since August 2017.

News of the 41-year-old’s reported death had shocked colleagues and added to tension between Moscow and Kyiv, whose ties have been badly damaged by Russia’s seizure of Crimea and backing for separatist militants in a devastating war in eastern Ukraine.

This story originated in VOA’s Ukrainian Service; some reporting by AP and RFE/RL.

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Ukraine: Reporter’s Fake Murder Involved Pig’s Blood, Morgue

A Russian journalist, who helped stage his own death to avoid an alleged Russian plot to murder him, says the operation involved pig’s blood and him being transported to a morgue.

Ukrainian authorities disclosed Wednesday they planned his mock death after learning Russian security officials supposedly had ordered his murder a month ago.

In his first detailed accounting of the sting since its revelation, Arkady Babchenko said at a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, he could have chosen not to participate when he was approached about a month ago. Instead, he promptly agreed.

“I said, ‘Great!’ Why have you been waiting for a month?”

Babchenko said after he arrived at the morgue, he changed his clothes and began watching the news.  

A Kremlin spokesman said Thursday that Russia is glad Babchenko is alive, but called the staging of his death “strange.”

The prominent Russian war correspondent and Kremlin critic had been reported to be shot dead in the stairwell of his Kyiv apartment building on Tuesday. But Babchenko stunned reporters when he appeared alive and well Wednesday as Ukrainian security officials explained the death had been faked.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday he did not know if the result of the case justified the actions taken, and that the situation does not change Russia’s view that Ukraine is a dangerous place for journalists.

Reporters Without Borders condemned Babchenko’s fake death, saying it was “distressing and regrettable” for Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) to play with the truth.

“Was such a scheme really necessary? There can be no grounds for faking a journalist’s death,” said the group’s secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

On the ethics of the operation

Babchenko responded to the criticism in front of his colleagues Thursday at a news conference in Kyiv.

“Do you want to survive or do you want to preserve the ethics, morals, purity and spiritual standards of your profession? You are welcome to preserve the ethics, morals and purity of your profession. I chose the option to survive.”

At a televised briefing Wednesday, SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak stood alongside Babchenko as he recounted events leading up to the foiled assassination attempt.

The operation began with a tip from an anonymous source who said an unidentified Ukrainian national had been inquiring about buying weapons for a contract killing in Kyiv, which triggered the SBU probe.  Officials said he had been asked to find and hire someone to carry out the assassination.

During the negotiations, Hrytsak said, the man claimed Russia’s Secret Service had offered him $40,000 to organize and carry out the hit. He said the suspect was a former separatist fighter who had fought in eastern Ukraine.

SBU investigators then recruited Babchenko into the sting operation designed to catch Russian agents in the act of conducting an extrajudicial killing on foreign soil.

Investigators said the intermediary who had been tasked with hiring the gunman was in custody, and officials said they had additional hard evidence linking Russia’s secret service to the assassination plot, though they did not provide details.

Apologies

Addressing reporters, Babchenko told his family he was sorry for faking his own death.

 

“I’d like to apologize for everything you’ve had to go through,” he said. “I’ve been at the funeral of many friends and colleagues, and I know this nauseating feeling. Sorry for putting you through this, but there was no other way.

 

“Special apologies to my wife for the hell she’s been through these two days,” he added. “Olya, forgive me, please, but there was no other option.”

 

Police reports that followed initial reports of the shooting say it was Babchenko’s wife who discovered him lying in a pool of blood at the entrance of their Kyiv apartment.

It is not clear whether his wife was involved in the sting.

“As far as I know, this operation took two months to prepare,” Babchenko told the briefing. “They saved my life. I want to say thank you.”

Tuesday’s news of the shooting shocked the Ukrainian capital, prompting Kyiv and Moscow officials to blame each for the reporter’s death.

 

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman suggested Russia had orchestrated the killing, while Kremlin spokesman Peskov rejected that claim.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after Babchenko’s reappearance Wednesday that Ukrainian officials had circulated a false story for purposes of “propaganda.”

Kyiv police and officials from Ukraine’s Interior Ministry had announced on Tuesday that Babchenko had died in an ambulance on the way to a hospital after being shot in the back at his home in Kyiv, where he has lived in exile since August 2017.

News of the 41-year-old’s reported death had shocked colleagues and added to tension between Moscow and Kyiv, whose ties have been badly damaged by Russia’s seizure of Crimea and backing for separatist militants in a devastating war in eastern Ukraine.

This story originated in VOA’s Ukrainian Service; some reporting by AP and RFE/RL.

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European Court: Romania, Lithuania Hosted CIA Secret Jails

The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Romania and Lithuania allowed the detention and abuse of a Saudi and a Palestinian at secret U.S. prisons.

The Strasbourg, France-based court said Thursday that Abd al-Rahim Al Nashiri, a Saudi national later sent to Guantanamo Bay, was detained and abused in Romania between Sept. 2003 and Oct. 2005, and urged Romania to investigate and punish perpetrators.

The court concluded that Al-Nashiri was blindfolded, hooded, shackled, kept in solitary confinement, and subjected to loud noise and bright light during his detention at the CIA prison in Romania.

Romania denies hosting such CIA facilities. There was no immediate reaction from the government.

The court said Al Nashiri and Zubaydah were both considered “high-value detainees” taken by the CIA at the start of the U.S.-led “war on terror.”

Al Nashiri’s lawyer, Amrit Singh, called the ruling “a sharp rebuke to Romania’s shameful attempts” to conceal its hosting of a secret CIA prison.She was the lead lawyer on the case with the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative.

Singh also noted the court’s decision in light of the appointment of new CIA Director Gina Haspel, who supervised a covert detention site in Thailand where terror suspects, including al-Nashiri, were waterboarded, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

“The European court’s ruling is critical for upholding standards of international law — that torture is absolutely prohibited and those involved in torture must be held to account,” said Singh. “It stands in stark contrast to the United States’ decision to promote Gina Haspel to CIA Director despite her role in my client’s torture.”

 The court also said that Lithuania hosted a secret CIA detention facility from February 2005 to March 2006 where Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian suspected of being a planner for the Sept. 11 attacks, was detained.

It ruled that Lithuania allowed him to be moved to another CIA detention site in Afghanistan, “exposing him to further ill-treatment.” He is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has not been charged.

Lithuanian authorities said they would consider appealing the court’s decision and may also investigate the claims again.

Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevicius told reporters that “we will take a decision after carefully examining,” the ruling. Vytautas Bakas, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for national security and defense, said he would propose opening a new probe.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, however, contradicted the justice minister and said in a statement that the small Baltic country’s “reputation damage is done,” adding that Lithuania “thus will have to execute a court judgment” and pay Zubaydah 130,000 euros ($152,000). She has regularly clashed with the Lithuanian government and forced a minister to resign after expressing her distrust.

Amnesty International called the rulings “a key milestone in holding European governments accountable for their involvement in illegal CIA activities in the aftermath” of the 9/11 attacks.

Roisin Pillay, director of the International Council of Jurists’ Europe and Central Asia Program claimed that “many other European governments colluded with the U.S. to illegally transfer, `disappear’ and torture people during rendition operations and must also be held accountable.”

A 2009 investigation in Lithuania concluded that the country’s intelligence agency helped the CIA set up two small detention centers there, but did not determine whether the facilities were actually used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

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European Court: Romania, Lithuania Hosted CIA Secret Jails

The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Romania and Lithuania allowed the detention and abuse of a Saudi and a Palestinian at secret U.S. prisons.

The Strasbourg, France-based court said Thursday that Abd al-Rahim Al Nashiri, a Saudi national later sent to Guantanamo Bay, was detained and abused in Romania between Sept. 2003 and Oct. 2005, and urged Romania to investigate and punish perpetrators.

The court concluded that Al-Nashiri was blindfolded, hooded, shackled, kept in solitary confinement, and subjected to loud noise and bright light during his detention at the CIA prison in Romania.

Romania denies hosting such CIA facilities. There was no immediate reaction from the government.

The court said Al Nashiri and Zubaydah were both considered “high-value detainees” taken by the CIA at the start of the U.S.-led “war on terror.”

Al Nashiri’s lawyer, Amrit Singh, called the ruling “a sharp rebuke to Romania’s shameful attempts” to conceal its hosting of a secret CIA prison.She was the lead lawyer on the case with the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative.

Singh also noted the court’s decision in light of the appointment of new CIA Director Gina Haspel, who supervised a covert detention site in Thailand where terror suspects, including al-Nashiri, were waterboarded, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

“The European court’s ruling is critical for upholding standards of international law — that torture is absolutely prohibited and those involved in torture must be held to account,” said Singh. “It stands in stark contrast to the United States’ decision to promote Gina Haspel to CIA Director despite her role in my client’s torture.”

 The court also said that Lithuania hosted a secret CIA detention facility from February 2005 to March 2006 where Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian suspected of being a planner for the Sept. 11 attacks, was detained.

It ruled that Lithuania allowed him to be moved to another CIA detention site in Afghanistan, “exposing him to further ill-treatment.” He is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has not been charged.

Lithuanian authorities said they would consider appealing the court’s decision and may also investigate the claims again.

Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevicius told reporters that “we will take a decision after carefully examining,” the ruling. Vytautas Bakas, the chairman of the parliamentary committee for national security and defense, said he would propose opening a new probe.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, however, contradicted the justice minister and said in a statement that the small Baltic country’s “reputation damage is done,” adding that Lithuania “thus will have to execute a court judgment” and pay Zubaydah 130,000 euros ($152,000). She has regularly clashed with the Lithuanian government and forced a minister to resign after expressing her distrust.

Amnesty International called the rulings “a key milestone in holding European governments accountable for their involvement in illegal CIA activities in the aftermath” of the 9/11 attacks.

Roisin Pillay, director of the International Council of Jurists’ Europe and Central Asia Program claimed that “many other European governments colluded with the U.S. to illegally transfer, `disappear’ and torture people during rendition operations and must also be held accountable.”

A 2009 investigation in Lithuania concluded that the country’s intelligence agency helped the CIA set up two small detention centers there, but did not determine whether the facilities were actually used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects.

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Doctors Race to Vaccinate 1,000 People in Congo Against Ebola

Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are racing against time to contain an outbreak of Ebola. So far, the World Health Organization reports at least 25 people have died out of the 58 people who have gotten the virus. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports that efforts to vaccinate people exposed to Ebola started more than 10 days ago.

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Doctors Race to Vaccinate 1,000 People in Congo Against Ebola

Health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are racing against time to contain an outbreak of Ebola. So far, the World Health Organization reports at least 25 people have died out of the 58 people who have gotten the virus. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports that efforts to vaccinate people exposed to Ebola started more than 10 days ago.

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Gravity Could Be Source of Sustainable Energy

In today’s energy-hungry world, scientists are constantly revisiting every renewable resource looking for ways to increase efficiency. One researcher in the Netherlands believes even gravity can be harnessed to produce free electricity on a scale sufficient to power small appliances. VOA’s George Putic has more.

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Gravity Could Be Source of Sustainable Energy

In today’s energy-hungry world, scientists are constantly revisiting every renewable resource looking for ways to increase efficiency. One researcher in the Netherlands believes even gravity can be harnessed to produce free electricity on a scale sufficient to power small appliances. VOA’s George Putic has more.

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Trump Ramps Up Rhetoric Against Special Counsel Probe

U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up his campaign to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe in the eyes of the American people. Mueller has not responded to Trump’s attacks as he works to compile what is expected to be an exhaustive report on Russian election meddling, the actions of Trump’s inner circle, and whether the president obstructed justice. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports.

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Trump Ramps Up Rhetoric Against Special Counsel Probe

U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up his campaign to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe in the eyes of the American people. Mueller has not responded to Trump’s attacks as he works to compile what is expected to be an exhaustive report on Russian election meddling, the actions of Trump’s inner circle, and whether the president obstructed justice. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports.

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Denuclearization of N. Korea Probably Unachievable, Experts Say

Amid a flurry of rapidly evolving diplomatic activities aimed at reviving the summit between Washington and Pyongyang, experts contacted by VOA’s Korean Service say that completely denuclearizing North Korea probably is unachievable.

“I think it is very difficult to know if these negotiations will lead to North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons,” said David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector and nuclear proliferation analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security. “The problem is that North Korea entered into negotiations twice now where that was the goal but never really intended to accomplish that goal.”

Last week, President Donald Trump canceled the summit in a letter addressed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing Pyongyang’s “tremendous anger” and “open hostility” toward Washington. Then North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, a longtime nuclear negotiator and senior diplomat, said in a statement carried by state media that the North was willing to sit for talks with the U.S. “at any time in any format.” Trump responded that talks regarding the summit scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12 were “going very, very well.”

On Wednesday night, Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. On Thursday, they are expected to discuss final details of denuclearization talks for the summit, which is now expected to take place as anticipated in June.

Talks before the US summit

In Singapore, a U.S. summit preparatory team headed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin has been coordinating summit logistics since Monday alongside Kim Chang Son, chief of staff to the North Korean leader.

And in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the border between South Korea and North Korea, a U.S. delegation headed by Sung Kim, the current ambassador to the Philippines and former ambassador to South Korea between 2011 and 2014, and a North Korean delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui are set to meet for the second time this week.

Against this diplomatic backdrop, VOA’s Korean Service contacted 30 analysts, who unanimously said that Pyongyang will not yield to Washington’s demand to abandon its nuclear weapons program completely. Here are some key comments from the experts. 

Analysts

Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, thinks Pyongyang might agree in principle to give up its nuclear weapons and missiles at the summit talks with the U.S., but it could easily make excuses later and delay the process, especially if sanctions are relaxed. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign has led international efforts to impose sanctions banning 90 percent of the North’s trade.

Howard Stoffer, who served as deputy director of U.N. counterterrorism committee, also said the North could agree to completely denuclearize at the summit but the differences between Washington and Pyongyang over the pace of denuclearization could hamper the talks. Stoffer speculated the negotiations could stall if Pyongyang insists on its “phased” approach and demands that Washington make concessions as it takes steps to denuclearize. 

“If they come in and say, ‘No we are going to have to take something,’ then I don’t think there is going to be a negotiation,”  Stoffer said.

Pyongyang has said it prefers a “phased and synchronized” process of taking incremental steps toward denuclearization, expecting those steps to be matched by certain concessions from the U.S.

Washington, on the other hand, indicated it wants a one-shot denuclearization process that could be achieved rather quickly.  

Michael Fuchs, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the Barack Obama administration, said there is a very low probability that North Korea will give up its entire nuclear arsenal in a short period of time, adding the Trump administration must have realistic expectations.

According to James Jeffrey, who served as deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, a realistic goal for the U.S. would be to obtain an agreement from the North that it will dismantle its nuclear weapons and facilities continuously over time by promising the North additional sanctions will not be imposed on the regime. He said North Korea will never agree to have its complete nuclear weapons packed up and shipped out of the country. 

Experts think Kim will most likely agree to give up a part of North Korea’s  program instead of all of it, which is what the U.S. is expected to ask.

Ken Gause, director of International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, said Kim, knowing that a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization is impossible unless his regime collapses or is invaded, could try to hide a part of the program while declaring that the North has dismantled its program. 

North Korea will try to maintain its nuclear program in some capacity, said Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that during negotiations, Pyongyang will agree to give up part of its weapons in exchange for economic support.

The process of give-and-take negotiation strategy that the North is expected to push for is all too familiar according to Gary Samore, White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction in the Obama administration.

“We have all been through this experience before so it is very hard to take Kim Jong Un seriously,” Samore said. “But the argument in [South] Korea is that he is different than his father and his grandfather, and he is very genuine about giving up its nuclear weapons in order for reform and to revive the economy. But as far as I can tell, that is not based on any evidence beyond Kim Jong Un’s statements, which I don’t think are very plausible.”

Evans Revere, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea, said at best, Pyongyang will discuss denuclearization in ambiguous terms and agree to decrease the capacity of its inter-continental ballistic missiles and allow inspectors in to its Yongbyon nuclear facility. Revere said North Korea wants to weaken the U.S.-South Korea alliance and it is not truly interested in denuclearization. 

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday the U.S. is preparing for the summit to proceed. 

“We’re moving forward, and we’ll be prepared either way. And we’re planning as if it is happening,” she said.

Christy Lee contributed to this report, which originated on the VOA Korean Service.

 

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Denuclearization of N. Korea Probably Unachievable, Experts Say

Amid a flurry of rapidly evolving diplomatic activities aimed at reviving the summit between Washington and Pyongyang, experts contacted by VOA’s Korean Service say that completely denuclearizing North Korea probably is unachievable.

“I think it is very difficult to know if these negotiations will lead to North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons,” said David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector and nuclear proliferation analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security. “The problem is that North Korea entered into negotiations twice now where that was the goal but never really intended to accomplish that goal.”

Last week, President Donald Trump canceled the summit in a letter addressed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing Pyongyang’s “tremendous anger” and “open hostility” toward Washington. Then North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, a longtime nuclear negotiator and senior diplomat, said in a statement carried by state media that the North was willing to sit for talks with the U.S. “at any time in any format.” Trump responded that talks regarding the summit scheduled to take place in Singapore on June 12 were “going very, very well.”

On Wednesday night, Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. On Thursday, they are expected to discuss final details of denuclearization talks for the summit, which is now expected to take place as anticipated in June.

Talks before the US summit

In Singapore, a U.S. summit preparatory team headed by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin has been coordinating summit logistics since Monday alongside Kim Chang Son, chief of staff to the North Korean leader.

And in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the border between South Korea and North Korea, a U.S. delegation headed by Sung Kim, the current ambassador to the Philippines and former ambassador to South Korea between 2011 and 2014, and a North Korean delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui are set to meet for the second time this week.

Against this diplomatic backdrop, VOA’s Korean Service contacted 30 analysts, who unanimously said that Pyongyang will not yield to Washington’s demand to abandon its nuclear weapons program completely. Here are some key comments from the experts. 

Analysts

Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, thinks Pyongyang might agree in principle to give up its nuclear weapons and missiles at the summit talks with the U.S., but it could easily make excuses later and delay the process, especially if sanctions are relaxed. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign has led international efforts to impose sanctions banning 90 percent of the North’s trade.

Howard Stoffer, who served as deputy director of U.N. counterterrorism committee, also said the North could agree to completely denuclearize at the summit but the differences between Washington and Pyongyang over the pace of denuclearization could hamper the talks. Stoffer speculated the negotiations could stall if Pyongyang insists on its “phased” approach and demands that Washington make concessions as it takes steps to denuclearize. 

“If they come in and say, ‘No we are going to have to take something,’ then I don’t think there is going to be a negotiation,”  Stoffer said.

Pyongyang has said it prefers a “phased and synchronized” process of taking incremental steps toward denuclearization, expecting those steps to be matched by certain concessions from the U.S.

Washington, on the other hand, indicated it wants a one-shot denuclearization process that could be achieved rather quickly.  

Michael Fuchs, former deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the Barack Obama administration, said there is a very low probability that North Korea will give up its entire nuclear arsenal in a short period of time, adding the Trump administration must have realistic expectations.

According to James Jeffrey, who served as deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, a realistic goal for the U.S. would be to obtain an agreement from the North that it will dismantle its nuclear weapons and facilities continuously over time by promising the North additional sanctions will not be imposed on the regime. He said North Korea will never agree to have its complete nuclear weapons packed up and shipped out of the country. 

Experts think Kim will most likely agree to give up a part of North Korea’s  program instead of all of it, which is what the U.S. is expected to ask.

Ken Gause, director of International Affairs Group at the Center for Naval Analyses, said Kim, knowing that a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization is impossible unless his regime collapses or is invaded, could try to hide a part of the program while declaring that the North has dismantled its program. 

North Korea will try to maintain its nuclear program in some capacity, said Ralph Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He said that during negotiations, Pyongyang will agree to give up part of its weapons in exchange for economic support.

The process of give-and-take negotiation strategy that the North is expected to push for is all too familiar according to Gary Samore, White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction in the Obama administration.

“We have all been through this experience before so it is very hard to take Kim Jong Un seriously,” Samore said. “But the argument in [South] Korea is that he is different than his father and his grandfather, and he is very genuine about giving up its nuclear weapons in order for reform and to revive the economy. But as far as I can tell, that is not based on any evidence beyond Kim Jong Un’s statements, which I don’t think are very plausible.”

Evans Revere, a former State Department official who negotiated with North Korea, said at best, Pyongyang will discuss denuclearization in ambiguous terms and agree to decrease the capacity of its inter-continental ballistic missiles and allow inspectors in to its Yongbyon nuclear facility. Revere said North Korea wants to weaken the U.S.-South Korea alliance and it is not truly interested in denuclearization. 

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday the U.S. is preparing for the summit to proceed. 

“We’re moving forward, and we’ll be prepared either way. And we’re planning as if it is happening,” she said.

Christy Lee contributed to this report, which originated on the VOA Korean Service.

 

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