International
Putin, Kim rekindle close Russian-N Korean links dating back to the Stalin era
New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) Nearly a quarter century after his first visit as the newly-minted Russian President, Vladimir Putin was back last week in North Korea, where he met its leader Kim Jong-un – son of Kim Jong-il who he had met in 2000 – for talks on economic, security, and global issues and signed a Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
This unprecedented pact was cited as “the groundwork” for future bilateral relations in all spheres, including cultural and tourist ties, trade, economic relations, and security. Tellingly, it also includes a pledge by both to assist each other in case of “foreign aggression”, amid what both termed efforts by the US and its allies “to destabilise the situation in Southeast Asia”.
How should the development, which created frisson in the region, especially among neighbours South Korea and Japan and concern in the US, especially when Putin warned his country could arm North Korea on the same pattern as Western nations were supplying weapons to Ukraine, be seen?
First, it was not the first meeting between the two leaders. The North Korean leader, in his first visit out of his country after the Covid outbreak – had visited Russia’s Far East in September last year and was hosted by President Putin, who travelled eastward.
While it is tempting to pass it off as a case of two isolated – but scarcely to be ignored – and heavily sanctioned countries reaching out to each other for mutual support, history and geopolitics indicate the two are far from chance partners thrown together by the vicissitudes of diplomatic realignments and their statecraft choices.
Like Russia, which has plenty of friends across the world, North Korea is not entirely alone either. Both Russia and China are old allies, and despite agreeing to sanction it over its nuclear weapons programme or disinclined to back it in any reckless adventure, they acknowledge its use in keeping the US, South Korea, and Japan on edge.
And then Russia’s predecessor, the Soviet Union not only helped create – and then safeguarded – North Korea, but for good measure, also selected its first leader – and his family is still in power.
Kim Jong-un’s grandfather Kim Il-Sung was handpicked by Stalin to become North Korea’s leader after the Japanese were driven out at the end of the Second World War. His son and successor Kim Jong-Il – whom Putin met in 2000 – was born Yuri Irsenovich Kim in Soviet Russia in 1941 or 1942.
Kim Il-Sung, whose family fled Korea for Manchuria after Japan occupied and colonised the peninsula from 1910 onwards, had studied in China, where he also joined the Chinese Communist Party and fought against the Japanese who had invaded Manchuria in the 1930s. However as the tide turned against them, he and his remaining guerrillas crossed the Amur into Soviet Russia in 1940 and became part of the Red Army for the entire World War II.
On August 8, 1945, the Soviets declared war on Japan and by the time it surrendered, had arrived in Pyongyang. While North Korean accounts credit Kim Il-Sung with leading the liberation, it was only in September 1945 that he and 60 members of his band landed in Wonsan port on a Soviet ship, still dressed in their Red Army uniforms.
As it was decided Korea would be divided at the 38th Parallel for occupation purposes, Stalin needed a local face to run the Soviet part. Kim Il-Sung was chosen for two reasons – he spoke good Russian and then having lived almost all his life outside his homeland, had no contact with the “nationalistic” Korean communists, whom Stalin disliked and distrusted.
However, on the flip side, since Kim Il Sung had studied in China and trained in Soviet Russia, his Korean was rusty and before he could address his people in October 1945, the Soviets had to help him brush up his mother tongue!
In September 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea came into existence with Kim Il-Sung its leader – he would go on to outlive the Soviet Union himself.
Soviet-North Korean relationships were not always smooth, The invasion of South Korea was Kim Il-Sung’s idea and the Soviets only agreed after they got an atom bomb of their own and China’s Mao Zedong agreed to support the attack. Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinisation was also not welcomed by North Korea, like China, but Kim Il-Sung did not become a Maoist.
Relations got better under Leonid Brezhnev and North Korea was the recipient of considerable Soviet aid, termed as “loans”. The end of the Soviet Union put paid to this and soon, North Korea had its devastating famine in the early 1990s.
However, under President Putin, good relations resumed – and now appear to be on an upswing, much to the West’s disquiet.
(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
–IANS
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Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of Singapore’s founding father, the late Lee Kuan Yew, announced on Tuesday that he is now a political refugee in the United Kingdom after seeking asylum from the British government “as a last resort.”
“I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that someday it will be safe to return home,” Lee stated in a Facebook post, as reported by Channel News Asia (CNA).
Citing what he described as the Singapore government’s “attacks” against him, Lee, who is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, revealed that he sought asylum protection in 2022.
Lee Hsien Yang and his late sister, Lee Wei Ling, who passed away earlier this month, have been in conflict with their brother Lee Hsien Loong over the fate of their father’s home following his death in 2015, resulting in a public dispute that has estranged the siblings.
In an interview with the UK-based newspaper The Guardian, Lee alleged that a “campaign of persecution” compelled him to seek asylum in Britain.
In response to his claims, the Singapore government stated that there is “no basis” for his allegations of “a campaign of persecution” or other assertions regarding political repression in the country.
“Singapore’s judiciary is impartial and makes decisions independently. This is why Singaporeans have a high level of trust in the judiciary,” a government spokesperson remarked.
The spokesperson added that there are no legal restrictions preventing Lee and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, from returning to Singapore. “They are and have always been free to return to Singapore,” the spokesperson said.
Lee and his wife have been outside of Singapore since 2022, having opted not to attend a scheduled police interview regarding potential offenses related to providing false evidence in judicial proceedings concerning their father’s will and the family home.
Lee and his late sister, who had been living at the property, alleged they felt threatened while trying to fulfill their father’s wish to demolish the house. They also accused their elder brother, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, of abusing his governmental influence to advance his personal agenda.
Kazan, Russia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit.
During the meeting, President Putin remarked, “I recall our meeting in July, where we had productive discussions on various issues. We’ve also spoken over the phone several times. I am very grateful you accepted the invitation to come to Kazan. Today, we will attend the BRICS Summit’s opening ceremony, followed by dinner.”
PM Modi responded by expressing his appreciation, saying, “I sincerely thank you for your friendship, warm welcome, and hospitality. It’s a great pleasure to visit such a beautiful city as Kazan for the BRICS Summit. India shares deep historical ties with this city, and the opening of our new embassy here will further strengthen these connections.”
Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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