Asia
Pakistan: Police storm Imran Khan home in Lahore, arrest 30
Police in Pakistan stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested 30 people amid tear gas shelling after someone opened fire from the roof of the building, officials said.
Senior police officer Suhail Sukhera, who is leading the operation in a Lahore upscale neighborhood, said police moved to remove encroachments and blockade erected by Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party and his defiant supporters.
He said baton-wielding Khan supporters attempted to resist police by throwing stones and petrol bombs, but the officers moved on until a man on the roof of Khan’s residence opened fire. No one was hurt.
Sukhera said that police broke open the main door of Khan’s residence and found masks, petrol-filled bottles, iron rods and batons used in attacks on police during the week. Sukhera said that inside the sprawling residence, illegal structures were erected to shelter those who have been involved in attacks on police that have injured dozens of officers.
Witnesses said police attempted to disperse Khan supporters by firing tear gas and chased them to several homes in the upscale neighborhood of Zaman Park. Khan was expected to appear in an Islamabad court on Saturday after a top court Friday suspended his arrest warrant, giving him a reprieve to travel to Islamabad and face charges in a graft case without being detained.
Khan has been holed up at his home in Lahore since Tuesday, after failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case. His supporters hurled stones and clashed with baton-wielding police for two days to protect the former premier from arrest.
Khan, during his road trip to Islamabad, said in a video message that the government had planned his arrest despite his travel to a hearing. He said police had broken into his residence in Lahore while his wife was alone at the home. He condemned the action and demanded those responsible are punished under law.
Khan, now in the opposition, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April. He is accused of selling state gifts while in office and concealing assets. It’s one in a string of cases that the former cricket star turned Islamist politician has been facing since his ouster.
The 70-year-old opposition leader has also claimed that his removal from power was part of a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif’s government have denied the allegations.
Pakistan court rejects ex-PM Khan’s plea to suspend warrant
A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected a petition from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyers to suspend a warrant for him to appear in court in a graft case linked to his term in office — a development that increases the likelihood of another police attempt to arrest the ousted premier.
Khan has been holed up in his home in the eastern city of Lahore, where clashes erupted earlier this week when police tried to detain him after he failed to show up at an earlier cour hearing in the case.
Khan, who was ousted from office last April, is facing charges in several legal cases, including the graft case, and also terrorism, over verbally threatening a female judge last year. He is now due to appear in court in the capital, Islamabad, on Saturday to answer the indictment that he had illegally sold state gifts as prime minister and concealed assets.
Judge Zafar Iqbal ruled against suspending the warrant after hearing arguments from Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris and the prosecution. The judge explained his decision by saying Khan had forfeited some of his rights with “his defiance of the court process.”
Also Thursday, a Lahore High Court extended a pause in the effort to arrest Khan, easing tensions in the city after clashes erupted earlier this week when police tried to detain him. His supporters amassed outside Khan's residence as police fired tear gas and fought back baton-wielding officers for two days.
The pause — in effect until Friday morning — was seen as a reprieve for the 70-year-old opposition leader.
The courts have also barred Khan and his Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf opposition party from holding a rally on Sunday ahead of elections for the assembly in Punjab, where Lahore is the provincial capital.
Thursday's order sent a wave of relief among Khan's supporters — though security forces deployed around Khan's home were still at the scene.
Usman Anwar, the Punjab police chief, said police would “ comply with the court order," without elaborating.
Khan has claimed his ouster was a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif's government have denied the allegations.
Saad Hassan, a lawyer for Pakistan's election tribunal, said Thursday that Khan has been avoiding court hearings since January.
Violence erupted in Lahore on Tuesday when about 1,000 Khan supporters clashed with police when they tried to arrest the former premier at his house in the upscale Zaman Park neighborhood. Khan's supporters hurled petrol bombs, rocks and bricks at police. Officers responded by swinging batons, firing tear gas and using water cannons. They failed to arrest Khan.
On Wednesday, Khan said in a video message that he was ready to travel to Islamabad on Saturday to appear in court. He posed for cameras with piles of spent tear gas shells he said had been collected from around his home.
“What crime did I commit that my house has been attacked like this,” he tweeted at the time.
At least 10 people dead in house fire in Pakistan
At least 10 people, including women and children, were killed and three others were injured when a massive fire broke out early Friday at a wooden house in northwest Pakistan, police and rescue workers said.
The incident happened in Kohistan, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Taimoor Khan, a provincial disaster management official. He said the deaths were caused by the roof collapsing amid the fire.
It was unclear what caused the blaze and police said they were still investigating.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other officials have expressed their grief and shock over the incident.
Japan PM praises SKorea leader; biz groups vow to boost ties
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said hats off to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for “making a difficult decision and action" by overcoming the troubled history between the two countries, pledging to work with him toward better future relations.
“I want to express my heartfelt respect to President Yoon for making a difficult decision and action by overcoming various (troubled) background and history between the neighbors Japan and South Korea," Kishida told a news conference Friday, one day after the two leaders held talks in their first formal summit hosted by Japan in 12 years.
The two sides seek to turn the page on the longstanding row that has divided the United States allies and form a united front driven by shared concerns over North Korea and Russia.
During Thursday's talks, the two leaders agreed to make the Japan-South Korea summit a start in resuming their “shuttle diplomacy” of regular visits, which had stalled since 2011. They also agreed to resume defense and security dialogues, and Yoon ensured full cooperation in military intelligence sharing, which Seoul had previously threatened to stop.
South Korea announced it was dropping its complaint to the World Trade Organization alleging Japan’s unfair trade practices, while Tokyo said it will lift the export controls imposed since 2019 on shipments to South Korea of high-tech goods crucial for computer-chips production.
After Thursday’s summit, Kishida escorted Yoon out to Tokyo’s posh Ginza district to treat him with his favorite dishes, including “sukiyaki” beef stew, over Japanese sake and beer.
“Last night I had great time drinking with him,” Kishida said, adding they also talked about their private life, which he said would help fostering trust on personal levels. “I hope we can push forward relations of our countries based on trust between the leaders.”
On Friday in Tokyo, Yoon told a gathering of business leaders from South Korea and Japan that the two sides should collaborate more on advanced technology, climate change and economic security.
“I think there is a lot of room for cooperation between the two countries in future high-tech new industries such as digital transformation, semiconductors, batteries, and electric vehicles,” Yoon said. “The governments of the two countries will do everything to help you interact freely and create innovative business opportunities.”
Yoon was the guest of honor at the Tokyo business roundtable over a lunch of French cuisine, attended by about a dozen business leaders from both nations.
Reiji Takehara, director of the International Cooperation Bureau at Keidanren, said the mood was very positive at Friday’s hour-and-a-half-long meeting, which was closed to media except for the opening remarks.
“There was a lot of laughter, and everyone was friendly. We didn’t sense even a tiny bit of tension,” Takehara told reporters.
The South Korean group was led by Kim Byong-joon, acting chair of the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation’s top business group, who traveled with Yoon. Executives from Samsung Electronics, Hyundai and LG were also part of the entourage.
Yoon joked about his love for Japanese food and stressed there was “light at the end of a long tunnel” of troubled relations, according to a Japanese official who briefed reporters after the meeting at Keidanren Kaikan, the headquarters of the country's top business lobby Japan Business Federation.
However, challenges remain. A 2018 South Korean Supreme Court decision ordering financial compensation from Japanese companies for forced labor during Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula targets major Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corp., both members of the Keidanren. Representatives from those companies did not attend Friday’s meeting.
Japan has refused to pay, stressing compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty. It also says most laborers came to Japan voluntarily, and now calls them “civilian workers,” instead of “conscripted workers.”
Yoon's announcement that local funds will be used to compensate the victims, effectively lifting pressure off the Japanese companies and hundreds of others that feared similar lawsuits, drew protests from those who suffered under Japan’s forced labor system and their advocates. They want payments from Japan and a fresh apology.
A shift toward more cordial ties between Seoul and Tokyo was strongly backed by the U.S. The White House applauded Kishida and Yoon’s meeting.
“The United States will continue, of course, to support Japan and the ROK as they take steps to translate this new understanding into enduring progress,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
Senior members of Kishida's governing Liberal Democratic Party were supportive of Yoon's effort. Before, they were cautious about levels of South Korea's commitment to follow through with the reparation funds.
Governing lawmaker Fukushiro Nukaga, who heads the Japan-South Korea Parliamentary Friendship League, met with Yoon at a Tokyo hotel earlier Friday. He said they discussed working together to people exchanges between the two countries to further promote understanding, which would benefit both and accelerate normalization of their ties.
“I praise President Yoon's visit for putting our ties back in a right direction,” said former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who is tapped as next head of the friendship group.
The Keidanren and the Federation of Korean Industry have set up a 200 million yen ($1.5 million) fund to promote exchanges among young people, Takehara said.
Under the normalization treaty in 1965, Japan provided $800 million in economic cooperation and aid, according to its Foreign Ministry.
Trade between the two countries accounts for no more than 10% of their total trade, suggesting there is room to grow. Despite friction at the government level, tourism has boomed, with travelers from each country being No. 2 in foreign visitors. So have informal cultural exchanges in the form of K-pop, anime and manga.
Pakistan court rejects ex-PM Khan's plea to suspend warrant
A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected a petition from former Prime Minister Imran Khan's lawyers to suspend a warrant for him to appear in court in a graft case linked to his term in office — a development that increases the likelihood of another police attempt to arrest the ousted premier.
Khan has been holed up in his home in the eastern city of Lahore, where clashes erupted earlier this week when police tried to detain him after he failed to show up at an earlier cour hearing in the case.
Khan, who was ousted from office last April, is facing charges in several legal cases, including the graft case, and also terrorism, over verbally threatening a female judge last year. He is now due to appear in court in the capital, Islamabad, on Saturday to answer the indictment that he had illegally sold state gifts as prime minister and concealed assets.
Judge Zafar Iqbal ruled against suspending the warrant after hearing arguments from Khan's lawyer Khawaja Haris and the prosecution. The judge explained his decision by saying Khan had forfeited some of his rights with "his defiance of the court process."
Also Thursday, a Lahore High Court extended a pause in the effort to arrest Khan, easing tensions in the city after clashes erupted earlier this week when police tried to detain him. His supporters amassed outside Khan's residence as police fired tear gas and fought back baton-wielding officers for two days.
The pause — in effect until Friday morning — was seen as a reprieve for the 70-year-old opposition leader.
The courts have also barred Khan and his Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf opposition party from holding a rally on Sunday ahead of elections for the assembly in Punjab, where Lahore is the provincial capital.
Thursday's order sent a wave of relief among Khan's supporters — though security forces deployed around Khan's home were still at the scene.
Usman Anwar, the Punjab police chief, said police would " comply with the court order," without elaborating.
Khan has claimed his ouster was a conspiracy by his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the United States. Both Washington and Sharif's government have denied the allegations.
Saad Hassan, a lawyer for Pakistan's election tribunal, said Thursday that Khan has been avoiding court hearings since January.
Violence erupted in Lahore on Tuesday when about 1,000 Khan supporters clashed with police when they tried to arrest the former premier at his house in the upscale Zaman Park neighborhood. Khan's supporters hurled petrol bombs, rocks and bricks at police. Officers responded by swinging batons, firing tear gas and using water cannons. They failed to arrest Khan.
On Wednesday, Khan said in a video message that he was ready to travel to Islamabad on Saturday to appear in court. He posed for cameras with piles of spent tear gas shells he said had been collected from around his home.
"What crime did I commit that my house has been attacked like this," he tweeted at the time.
UN envoy: Wide resistance to Myanmar military's repression
Widespread popular resistance to brutal repression by Myanmar's military shows no sign of abating across much of the country, and with both sides intent on winning by force "there is no prospect for a negotiated settlement," the U.N. special envoy to the conflict-wracked nation said Thursday.
In a grim assessment, Noeleen Heyzer told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly that the impact of the military's February 2021 takeover of the country has been "devastating," with violence continuing "at an alarming scale."
She pointed to the military's intensified use of force since its extension of the state of emergency on Feb. 1, including bombings, burning of civilian infrastructure"and other grave human rights violations to maintain its grip on power." She said the regime's "four cuts" strategy – blocking access to food, funds, information and recruits – also continues to target civilians as collective punishment.
Myanmar for five decades had languished under strict military rule, but the generals then loosened their grip and in 2015 Aung San Suu Kyi rose to lead an elected civilian government. Following the military's ouster of the government two years ago, the junta moved to violently suppress public opposition to the takeover. Some experts now consider the situation in Myanmar to be a civil war in which the army has conducted major offensives against widespread armed resistance.
Heyzer said the generation that benefited from the country's opening up after 2015, especially young people, "is now disillusioned, facing chronic hardship and many feeling they have no choice but to take up arms to fight military rule."
She said heavy fighting has spread to new areas, putting more lives at risk and complicating operations to deliver humanitarian assistance. She said 17.6 million people now require assistance.
Heyzer said she and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have made clear that with people unable to "freely exercise their political rights without fear or intimidation," elections called by the military for later this year only risk exacerbating the violence.
"There is no public trust in the regime, whose interest is seen as consolidating its control by making a transition from emergency rule to a longer-term military-backed government," she said.
Heyzer said it's critical that Myanmar's future is decided by its people through a Myanmar-led process reflecting all voices, and she stressed that "sustainable solutions for the Rohingya people must be built into the design of a peaceful, inclusive and democratic Myanmar."
More than 1 million Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar over several decades, including about 740,000 who crossed the border starting in August 2017 when the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown. International courts are considering whether that crackdown was genocide.
Heyzer thanked Bangladesh and said she heeded its message that the current situation is not sustainable, But she told the assembly that the return of the Rohingya "cannot be the mere act of closing camps or moving people" but must ensure durable solutions for their safety and well-being.
She said the Rohingya made clear during her visit last year that they want to be included in decisions on their future, and their current exclusion "has entrenched their marginalization." She appealed for $125 million to avoid a cut in rations to the Rohingya refugees this month.
Heyzer and Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, whose country chairs the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, briefed the U.N. Security Council on Monday behind closed doors.
The U.N. envoy said she discussed with Marsudi "the urgency of concrete progress" on ASEAN's five-point consensus on restoring peace in Myanmar adopted in April 2021. Myanmar agreed to the steps but has not implemented them.
The consensus calls for stopping violence, constructive dialogue with all parties, appointment of an ASEAN special envoy as mediator, humanitarian aid and the mediator's visit to Myanmar including a meeting with now imprisoned leader Suu Kyi.
Heyzer said she and the Indonesian minister also discussed the possibility of a regional framework to protect the Rohingya and all other refugees from Myanmar.
With no prospects now for a negotiated settlement, the U.N. envoy was asked by reporters afterward what the next step is diplomatically.
"We cannot give up," she said, stressing that her engagement with all parties will continue in order to understand their bottom line and red lines as well as with countries that have leverage on the different players.
"At the end of the day, what we want is a movement towards a more just and a more democratic union of Myanmar for all," Heyzer said.
North Korea says ICBM launch was response to rivals' drills
North Korea said Friday that its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch was intended to send a "stronger warning" over U.S.-South Korean military drills, which it blames for destabilizing the region.
The missile was launched Thursday morning hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida at a summit partly aimed at rebuilding security ties between the U.S. allies in the face of North Korean nuclear threats.
With four missile displays in about a week, North Korea has ratcheted up its tit-for-tat response to the U.S.-South Korean military drills, the biggest of their kind in years, which began Monday and run through March 23.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of the Hwasong-17 missile and stressed the need to "strike fear into the enemies" over what it called the "open hostility" shown to the North by the large-scale exercises.
Launched at a high angle to avoid the territory of North Korea's neighbors, the missile reached a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers (3,756 miles) and traveled 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) before landing in waters off the country's eastern coast, KCNA said.
The South Korean and Japanese militaries assessed the flight similarly, indicating the the U.S. mainland is within the missile's range. It remains unclear whether North Korea has developed nuclear bombs small enough to fit on its long-range rockets or the technology to ensure its warheads survive atmospheric reentry when fired at a normal trajectory.
North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published photos of Kim watching from afar as the missile blasted off from a launch vehicle parked on an airport runway.
Kim was accompanied by a girl who appeared to be his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae and about 10 years old. She has accompanied him to several military events since she was publicly revealed for the first time during another ICBM launch in November. Analysts say the intent of her public appearances at military events is to tie the Kim family's dynastic rule of North Korea to the nuclear arsenal Kim sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival.
Rodong Sinmun also published photos implied to have been taken by a camera on the missile as it soared into space. They showed a rounded view of the Earth, with clouds scattered over what appeared to be the Korean Peninsula and Asian coastline.
The photos were apparently intended as proof the missile would be capable of accurately striking its target, said Cheong Seong-Chang, a senior analyst at South Korea's private Sejong Institute.
While all of North Korea's ICBM tests have been conducted on a high angle, Cheong said the North is likely coming closer to launching one of those missiles at an angle closer to normal ballistic trajectory across the Pacific Ocean, in what would be one of its most provocative weapons demonstrations ever.
KCNA said the ICBM launch sends a "stronger warning" to North Korea's rivals who are escalating tensions with their "frantic, provocative and aggressive large-scale war drills." The test also was designed to confirm the reliability of the weapons system, KCNA said.
Kim said it's crucial for North Korea's nuclear missile forces to maintain readiness to counterattack rivals with "overwhelming offensive measures anytime" and make them realize their persistent and expanded military actions will "bring an irreversible, grave threat to them," KCNA said.
North Korea has long portrayed regular U.S.-South Korean military drills as rehearsals for a potential invasion, although the allies describe those exercises as defensive.
Many experts say North Korea uses its rivals' drills as a pretext to aggressively expand its nuclear arsenal and overall military capability. They said it seeks to force the U.S. to accept the North's status as a nuclear power and to negotiate ending sanctions against it from a position of strength.
Since last week, North Korea also has test-fired cruise missiles from a submarine and fired short-range missiles into the sea, attempting to show it could conduct potential nuclear strikes on both South Korean targets and the U.S. mainland.
Thursday's launch was North Korea's second of an ICBM this year. The Hwasong-15 launched in February is a slightly smaller weapon than the Hwasong-17.
At the summit between Yoon and Kishida, the leaders agreed to resume defense dialogue and further strengthen security cooperation with the United States to counter North Korea and other regional challenges.
"The ever-escalating threat of North Korea's nuclear missile program poses a huge threat to peace and stability not only in East Asia but also to the (broader) international community," Yoon said. "South Korea and Japan need to work closely together and in solidarity to wisely counter the threat."
Japan, South Korea renew ties at Tokyo summit
Japan and South Korea agreed to resume regular visits between their leaders and take steps to resolve a trade dispute during a long-awaited summit Thursday. Japan's prime minister called their meeting a "big step" to rebuilding the two nations' security and economic ties as they try to overcome a century of difficult history.
The summit could revise the strategic map of northeast Asia. The two U.S. allies, who have long often been at odds over their history, are seeking to form a united front, driven by shared concerns about a restive North Korea and a more powerful China.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol both stressed the importance of improved ties as they opened the summit, hours after a North Korean missile launch and encounters between Japanese and Chinese vessels in disputed waters.
Leaders renew security ties
In his opening remarks, Kishida said that the meeting will mark the resumption of regular visits between the leaders, which have been on hold for more than a decade. He told a joint news conference that the countries had agreed to resume defense dialogue and vice-ministerial strategic talks, while also restarting a process of trilateral communication among Japan, South Korea and China.
"Cherry blossoms just started blooming in Tokyo this week, and after a long winter season, in terms of our bilateral relations, Japan is now able to welcome the president of South Korea for the first time in 12 years," Kishida said. The two leaders agreed that "reinforcement of Japan-South Korea relations is an urgent task under the current strategic environment," he added.
Yoon said Thursday's meeting "has special significance as it shows the people of both countries that South Korea-Japan relations are off to a new beginning after being plagued by various issues." He added that the two countries that share same democratic values "are partners that must cooperate on security, economic issues and global agendas."
"The ever-escalating threat of North Korea's nuclear missile program poses a huge threat to peace and stability not only in East Asia but also to the (broader) international community," Yoon said. "South Korea and Japan need to work closely together and in solidarity to wisely counter the threat."
"South Korea's interests are not zero-sum with Japan's interests," Yoon said. Better bilateral relations would "greatly help both countries deal with their security crises."
The two leaders agreed to increase cooperation in areas such as security, economy, and people to people exchanges, Yoon said.
Washington appears to have worked intensively to bring about the summit. U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said his country and its two allies had about 40 trilateral meetings and he thinks cooperation in the process helped to build up trust.
The White House cheered Kishida's and Yoon's meeting. "And the United States will continue, of course, to support Japan and the ROK as they take steps to translate this new understanding into enduring progress," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
South Korea, Japan reach deal to restore trade ties
Hours before the summit began, South Korean Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said that Japan had agreed to lift export controls on South Korea following talks this week, and that South Korea will withdraw its complaint to the World Trade Organization once the curbs are removed.
Japan and South Korea have long had disputes over the 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula and atrocities during World War II, which included forced prostitution of "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers, and territorial disputes over a cluster of islands. Ties reached a nadir when the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to Korean victims or bereaved relatives in 2018, and Japan imposed trade sanctions on South Korea shortly after.
The Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said it acknowledged improvement in South Korea export controls during the talks and that as a result of Seoul's decision to drop the WTO case, Japan decided to drop restrictions against South Korea and restore the country to the status it had before July 2019.
Japanese export controls had covered fluorinated polyimides, which are used in OLED screens for TVs and smartphones, and photoresist and hydrogen fluoride, used for making semiconductors.
Lee's ministry said the countries will continue to discuss restoring each other to preferred trade status. The two countries also agreed to begin regular dialogues on economic security, according to Kishida.
Region in flux as Washington, Beijing tussle for influence
The summit comes as a series of dramatic events underscores what Kishida called a "severe security environment."
Washington will welcome better Japan-South Korea ties, as feuding over historical issues has undermined a U.S. push to reinforce its alliances in Asia. The three countries began joint anti-submarine warfare drills Thursday, joined by Canada and India.
North Korean launched a missile early Thursday, just before Yoon departed for Tokyo. North Korea said Friday that the intercontinental ballistic missile launch, which was supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, was intended as a warning to the largest U.S.-South Korean joint military drills in years. China's dispute with Japan over tiny islands in the East China Sea also heated up as both sides accused the other of violating their maritime territory Thursday. The summit follows a series of Chinese diplomatic successes in regions traditionally seen as more influenced by the U.S. Honduras announced Wednesday that it would end diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in favor of China, marking progress in Beijing's efforts to isolate the autonomously governed island, while last week Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a surprise deal to renew diplomatic ties brokered by China.
Dinner, business talks follow summit
Kishida and Yoon had dinner and informal talks after the summit, according to Kishida's office. Kishida hosted a two-part dinner serving Yoon's favorite dishes: "sukiyaki" beef stew at a Japanese restaurant, then "omu-rice," or rice topped with omelet, at another. One of the photos released by the Japanese government showed smiling leaders toasting with beer at the second place.
The outcome of their meeting was largely welcomed by the Japanese as a first step of cooperation. "Japan and South Korea need to have their normalized relations contribute not only for themselves but for the benefit of the entire international society," Japan's largest newspaper Yomiuri said in an editorial Friday.
Yoon faces criticism at home from people who say he compromised too much, and rallies in Seoul opposing the deal were attended by a few dozen people.
After his arrival Thursday, Yoon attended a reception hosted by the Korean Residents' Union in Japan. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Korean residents of Japan, many of them descendants of those forcibly brought there during the war, called for better ties as relations affect their lives.
On Thursday, a powerful Japanese business lobby, Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, also announced that it and its South Korean counterpart have agreed to each establish private funds for bilateral projects such as youth exchanges. Keidanren said they aim to start with funding worth 100 million yen ($752,420).
A dozen business leaders traveling with Yoon are to meet their Japanese counterparts on Friday.
North Korea launches ICBM before South Korea-Japan summit
North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in a display of military might Thursday just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet at a Tokyo summit expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats.
The launch, the North's first ICBM test in a month and third weapons testing this week, also comes as South Korean and U.S. troops continue joint military exercises that Pyongyang considers a rehearsal to invade.
South Korea's military said the North Korean ICBM flew toward the Korean Peninsula's eastern waters after being launched from North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, around 7:10 a.m. The statement said the ICBM launched on a steep angle flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
It wasn't immediately known which ICBM was launched, but North Korea's long-range missiles are designed mainly to strike the U.S. Previous launches have shown North Korea's weapons have the range to reach all of the U.S. mainland, but some foreign experts still doubt the North has mastered the technologies to build warheads small enough to be placed on those missiles and protect the warheads during atmospheric reentry.
Before heading Tokyo for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said, "North Korea's reckless provocations will pay the clear price."
During an emergency security meeting on the North Korean launch, Yoon instructed the South Korean military to thoroughly proceed with its ongoing exercises with U.S. forces, conduct some of the planned joint drills in an intensive manner and strengthen Seoul-Washington-Tokyo security cooperation, according to Yoon's office.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it will maintain firm readiness based on the military ability to "overwhelmingly" respond to any provocation by North Korea.
In Tokyo, Kishida said: "We must further strengthen cooperation among the allies and like-minded countries." He declined to comment on North Korea's possible intentions of the launch.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile likely landed in the waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone after about an hour-long flight. The landing site is about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the western island of Oshimaoshima, which is close to where other North Korean ICBMs fell in recent months after test-flights.
The North's ongoing aggressive run of weapons tests has been widely expected; leader Kim Jong Un last week ordered his military to be ready to repel what he called "frantic war preparations moves" by his country's rivals, referring to large ongoing drills between the U.S. and South Korea.
North Korea has long argued that U.S.-South Korean military drills are proof of their hostile policies against North Korea, though Washington and Seoul say they have no intentions of invading the North. Many experts say North Korea use its rivals' drills as a pretext to boost its nuclear capability to pressure the United States to make concessions like the relaxing of international sanctions.
After conducting a record number of missile tests last year, North Korea has extended its testing activities this year, including the Feb. 18 launch of its Hwasong-15 ICBM. After that ICBM launch, North Korea said the test was meant to further bolster its "fatal" nuclear attack capacity against its rivals.
The Hwasong-15 is one of the North's three ICBMs, which all use liquid propellants that require pre-launch injections. Kim Jong has vowed to build solid-propellant missiles, which are more mobile and harder to detect before their launches because their fuels are already loaded inside.
South Korea's military said the missile was launched from Pyongyang's Sunan neighborhood, home to its international airport. It is a major testing site where the North has launched most of its ICBMs in recent years, all flown on a high angle to avoid the territory of neighbors.
Pyongyang also this week fired cruise missiles from a submarine and sent short-range ballistic missiles across its territory into its eastern sea. Last week, North Korea also fired at least six short-range ballistic missiles from a western coastal area in an exercise supervised by Kim Jong Un, an event state media described as a simulated attack on an unspecified South Korean airfield.
The ongoing U.S.-South Korean drills that began Monday and are scheduled to continue until March 23 include computer simulations and live-fire field exercises.
The South Korean-Japan summit was arranged after Yoon's government last week took a major step toward repairing bilateral ties strained by Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The South Korean plan — to use local funds to compensate Koreans forced into industrial slave labor during the colonial rule without contributions from Japanese companies that employed them — has met fierce domestic opposition, but it reflects Yoon's resolve to improve ties with Japan and boost Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation.
Under Kishida, Tokyo has also made a major break from its post-World War II principle of self-defense only, adopting a new national security strategy in December that includes the goals of acquiring preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter growing threats from North Korea, China and Russia.
North Korea's pursuit of expanded nuclear and missile arsenals have pushed South Korea and Japan to mend their fraught ties and solidify a trilateral security cooperation involving the United States. Both South Korea and Japan are within striking distance of North Korean nuclear-capable missiles.
Last October, North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan, forcing communities there to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains.
More clashes in Pakistan as police try to arrest Imran Khan
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan threw bricks at police who fought back with clubs and tear gas for a second day Wednesday after officers tried to arrest the ousted premier for failing to appear in court on graft charges.
Police besieged the 70-year-old opposition leader’s house in the eastern city of Lahore since Tuesday as his supporters hurled rocks and bricks, and swung batons snatched from the officers.
Violence was also reported between Khan's supporters and police in other major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta and elsewhere in Pakistan. The government sent additional police to Lahore's upscale area of Zaman Park, where Khan lives.
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Early Wednesday, Khan had emerged from his house to meet with his supporters, who had faced tear gas and police batons through the night to save him from arrest. He said he was ready to travel to Islamabad on March 18 under his arrest warrant, but that police did not accept the offer.
Khan later posed for cameras seated at a long table, showing off piles of spent tear gas shells he said had been collected from around his home.
“What crime did I commit that my house has been attacked like this,” he tweeted. Fawad Chaudhry, a senior party leader from Khan’s party claimed hundreds of Khan’s supporters were injured.
At the Islamabad High Court, Khan's lawyer Khawaja Haris and his team petitioned for the suspension of the arrest warrant for the former premier. The court was expected to issue a ruling about the suspension later Wednesday.
By around 2 p.m., the clashes subsided and police stepped back, apparently in an effort to ease the tensions. This encouraged more Khan supporters to join those outside and inside his home as the situation calmed.
Many chanted Allahu akbar, the Arabic phrase for “God is great.” Khan, still wearing a gas mask, greeted them at his home.
Officials said security forces were told to move back from Khan’s house while the court in the capital, Islamabad, considered whether to suspend the warrant.
The Punjab provincial government said Wednesday that more than 100 police officers were injured in clashes with Khan’s supporters. They denied Khan's allegation that officers were using live ammunition.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, was ordered to appear before a judge in Islamabad on Friday to answer charges of illegally selling state gifts he had received during his term as premier and concealing his assets.
The former premier has avoided appearances before the court since November, when he was wounded in a gun attack at a protest rally in eastern Punjab province, claiming he was not medically fit to travel from Lahore to Islamabad to face indictment.
Last week, he went to Islamabad to appear before three courts, but he failed to appear before the fourth court to face indictment in the graft case, which is a legal process for starting his trial.
Khan has claimed that the string of cases against him, which includes terrorism charges, are a plot by the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to discredit the former cricket star turned Islamist politician.
From his home, Khan urged his followers on Tuesday to fight on even if he is arrested. “They think this nation will fall asleep when Imran Khan is jailed,” he wrote on Twitter. “You need to prove them wrong.”
On Wednesday, he tweeted that there was a plot “to abduct & assassinate” him.
Prime Minister Sharif on Wednesday criticized Khan in televised remarks, saying that the ex-premier “considers himself above the law, and he has been defying court orders to avoid arrest.” Sharif insisted he had nothing to do with the arrest warrant, which he said was a court order and the police were only complying with it.
In Pakistan’s turbulent political history, at least seven former prime minister have been arrested in various cases and tried by courts since this South Asian country was created in 1947 after gaining independence from British colonial rule.
Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the military government in 1979 after his ouster in a coup. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto, served twice as prime minister and was assassinated during an election rally in 2007 in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s longest-serving premier and the brother of current prime minister, was in office from 1990 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1999, when was ousted in a military coup by Gen. Pervez Musharraf. He returned as premier in 2013 but was ousted by the country’s Supreme Court in 2017. He was later arrested, tried and convicted in a corruption case, although he has always denied the charges and today lives in exile in Britain.