Kim meets with Russian defense minister on military cooperation

By Kim Tong-Hyung

The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—North

Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media said Thursday as the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of an armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim and Shoigu talked Wednesday in the capital, Pyongyang, and reached a consensus on unspecified “matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and on the regional and international security environment.”

During the meeting, Shoigu conveyed to Kim a “warm and good letter” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA said. The report did not specify the military matters that were discussed.

In a rare case of diplomatic opening since the start of the pandemic, North Korea invited delegations from Russia and China to attend the events marking the armistice of July 27, 1953. While the truce left the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war, the North still sees it as a victory in the “Grand Fatherland Liberation War.”

KCNA said Kim also took Shoigu to an arms exhibition that showcased some of North Korea’s newest weapons and briefed him on national plans to expand the country’s military capabilities. Photos from the exhibition showed Kim and Shoigu walking near a row of large missiles mounted on launcher trucks.

Some of the weapons in the images appeared to be intercontinental ballistic missiles that the

North has flight-tested in recent years as it pursues an arsenal that can pose a viable threat to the continental United States. Kim and Shoigu also walked past what were possibly new surveillance and attack drones that had not been publicly announced by the North.

Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean military was analyzing the military assets shown in the North Korean photos but did not share specific assessments.

The North Korean festivities were widely expected to be capped later Thursday by a giant military parade in Pyongyang, where Kim could showcase his most powerful, nuclear-capable missiles. State media, however, had not confirmed plans for a military parade.

Some experts say North Korea sees US confrontations with China and Russia over regional influence and the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert itself into a united front against Washington. The last time North Korea invited foreign government delegates for a military parade was in February 2018, when it held a low-key event that excluded Kim’s ICBMs. North Korea at the time was initiating diplomacy with Seoul and Washington as Kim attempted to leverage his nukes for badly needed economic benefits.

Those efforts led to a summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump that June, but the diplomacy collapsed after their second meeting in February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Kim has since ramped up the development of the nuclear arms that he sees as his strongest guarantee of survival while berating “gangster-like” US sanctions and pressure.

Beijing’s delegation to North Korea is headed by mid-level official Li Hongzhong, a politburo member of China’s ruling Communist Party.

KCNA said senior North Korean officials led by Choe Ryong Hae,

Ibrahim unveiled a plan Thursday to reset the Southeast Asian economy’s growth trajectory, with an eye on boosting incomes and participation of women in the workforce while lowering the budget deficit to reduce stress on government finances.

The plan involves attracting companies that create high-income jobs for locals with tax breaks, boost manufacturing and implement reforms to make its stock markets attractive, Anwar said in his speech on the 10-year plan in Kuala Lumpur.

The key outcomes he is targeting are: achieving a fiscal deficit of 3 percent of gross domestic product or lower, placing Malaysia among the top 30 global economies and improving its human development index ranking to the top 25.

“ My utmost priority in the near term is to rebuild the country’s fiscal capacity. We are all aware of the national debt situation,” Anwar said, referring to government debt at over 60 percent of GDP. “Without any reforms, we will face a very serious crisis that would undoubtedly affect the country’s structure.”

The state of the economy has been a major theme as six key states head to the polls on August 12. Elevated inflation, a weak ringgit, stagnant wages and slowing growth could weigh on Anwar’s chances as he faces his biggest public vote of confidence since coming to power after a divisive general election in November.

Political stability is key to narrowing the budget deficit sustainably, as also lowering the government’s net debt to below 60 percent of GDP, according to S&P Global Ratings, which last month reaffirmed Malaysia’s ‘A-’ investment-grade credit score.

Anwar’s multi-racial unity government must win at least three of the six poll-bound states in the contest against the conservative Malay federal opposition alliance. Anything worse could prompt Anwar’s newfound allies to reassess their support, potentially jeopardizing his efforts to slash subsidies and the fiscal deficit.

Alongside reducing the fiscal gap, Anwar aims to boost economic growth to 6 percent in the short-term.

Malaysia’s economy expanded at a more moderate pace in recent months, as slowing external demand weighed down on exports, according to the central bank. The government expects the economy to expand from 4 percent to 5 percent in 2023, a far cry from last year when it took the mantle of the fastest growing economy in Asia.

“If we’re satisfied with the current situation, the economy will continue to record growth of between 4 percent to 5 percent,” Anwar said. “However, if we work hard and implement reforms, we can achieve 5.5 percent, in fact I believe it is not impossible for us to achieve 6 percent growth in the near term.”

Some key points from the economic plan: n Adults earning below 100,000 ringgit to get 100 ringgit e-cash credits. More than 10 million people to be eligible for the benefit. n To boost digitalization grant by 100 million ringgit to support business automation. n Set aside 100 million ringgit for infrastructure in industrial/green zones. n To reduce share-lot size and enable fractional trading to boost retail participation in equity market. n To loosen MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) visa program rules and make it easier for tourists to get visa on arrival. n To set aside 5 billion ringgit to provide financing guarantees to first-time buyers on homes worth up to 300,000 ringgit. With assistance from Clarissa Batino/Bloomberg

Mutinous soldiers claim to have overthrown Niger’s president

By Sam Mednick The Associated Press

and the Islamic State group.

chairman of the standing committee of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, held a reception for Li’s delegation in Pyongyang on Wednesday at which they honored Chinese soldiers who died while fighting alongside the North Koreans during the war.

Li said in a speech at the event that China is ready to promote the “sound and stable” development in relations with the North, KCNA said.

Analysts say Kim sharing the center stage with Shoigu and Li at a military parade would be a key accomplishment he could show to his domestic audience as well as a statement of defiance toward the United States.

On Wednesday, Shoigu also held talks with North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam that were aimed at “strengthening cooperation between our defense departments,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

KCNA reported that at a reception hosted by Kang, Shoigu praised the North Korean People’s army under the leadership of Kim, saying it “has become the strongest army in the world.” Russian media reports did not include that comment.

North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the US-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. The Biden administration has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine, although the North has denied the claim.

Both Moscow and Beijing have been derailing US efforts to strengthen UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea over its flurry of missile

NIAMEY, Niger—Mutinous soldiers claimed to have overthrown Niger’s democratically elected president, announcing on state television late Wednesday that they have put an end to the government over the African country’s deteriorating security. The soldiers said all institutions had been suspended and security forces were managing the situation. They urged external partners not to interfere.

The announcement came after a day of uncertainty as members of Niger’s presidential guard surrounded the presidential palace and detained President Mohamed Bazoum. It was unclear where the president was at the time of the announcement or if he had resigned.

“This is as a result of the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance,” air force Col. Major Amadou Abdramane said on the video. Seated at a table in front of nine other officers, he said aerial and land borders were closed and a curfew was imposed until the situation stabilized.

The group, which is calling itself National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said it remained committed to its engagements with the international and national community.

Earlier Wednesday, a tweet from the account of Niger’s presidency reported that members of the elite guard unit engaged in an “antiRepublican demonstration” and unsuccessfully tried to obtain support from other security forces. It said Bazoum and his family were doing well but that Niger’s army and national guard “are ready to attack” if those involved in the action did not back down.

The commissions of the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States described the events as an effort to unseat Bazoum, who was elected president two years ago in the nation’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960.

Threats to Bazoum’s leadership would undermine the West’s efforts to stabilize Africa’s Sahel region, which has been overrun with coups in recent years. Mali and Burkina Faso have had four coups since 2020, and both are being overrun by extremists linked to al-Qaida

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March, seeking to strengthen ties with a country where extremists have carried out attacks on civilians and military personnel but the overall security situation was not as dire as in neighboring nations.

During a stop in New Zealand on Thursday, Blinken repeated the US condemnation of the mutiny against Niger’s president and said his team was in close contact with officials in France and Africa.

Blinken added that he had spoken with Bazoum on Wednesday, saying that he “made clear that we strongly support him as the democratically elected president of the country.”

Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the mutiny was a “nightmare scenario for Western powers who had betted on Bazoum and Niger as new security anchor for the Sahel.”

“It remains to be seen whether this is the last word. Parts of the army are probably still loyal to Bazoum. They benefited much from equipment and training as part of foreign military assistance,” Laessing said.

Before the announcement, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Niamey, and chanted “No coup d’etat” while marching in support of the president. Multiple rounds of gunfire that appeared to come from the presidential palace dispersed the demonstrators and sent people scrambling for cover, according to an The Associated Press reporter at the scene.

“We are here to show the people that we are not happy about this movement going on, just to show these military people that they can’t just take the power like this,” protester Mohammed Sidi said. “We are a democratic country, we support democracy and we don’t need this kind of movement.”

The international community strongly condemned the attempted seizure of power.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to Bazoum on Wednesday afternoon and “expressed his full support and solidarity,” the UN spokesperson tweeted.

T he Associated Press writers Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.