Russian President visits North Korea, China criticizes G7 joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister dissolves War Cabinet

The Philippines and four other countries conducted exercises in the East Sea, NATO put nuclear weapons on "standby mode", Ukraine's Foreign Minister mentioned negotiations with Russia, the US was "15 years behind" China in developing nuclear energy... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visit the Vostochny Сosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region, September 13, 2023. (Source: Sputnik)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.

Asia- Pacific

*Russian President visits North Korea: On June 17, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea on June 18-19. This is an extremely rare visit, marking the strengthening partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang. The last time President Putin visited Pyongyang was in July 2000.

The Kremlin's announcement stated: "At the invitation of the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Un, President Vladimir Putin will pay a friendly state visit on June 18-19."

Before visiting North Korea, President Putin visited China, Belarus and Uzbekistan. The Russian president has rarely traveled abroad since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. (Yonhap)

*US, Canada, Japan, Philippines conduct maritime exercises in the East Sea: The US Pacific Fleet confirmed on June 17 that US, Canadian, Japanese and Philippine forces conducted a two-day joint maritime exercise in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the East Sea.

According to the Pacific Fleet, the maritime cooperation operation aims to “protect freedom of navigation and overflight, reaffirming the four nations' commitment to enhancing regional security and stability.”

The exercise involved four warships and a series of maritime exercises to test and validate the interoperability of doctrine, tactics, techniques and rules of the four armed forces.

In April, the Philippines conducted joint maritime operations with Japan, Australia and the United States. (Reuters)

*Russia finds it difficult to transfer military technology to North Korea: South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said on June 17 that the possibility of Russia transferring the most advanced military technology to North Korea is "very low" despite increasingly deep military cooperation between the two countries, because Moscow chooses it as a "last resort".

During Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to North Korea, Shin Won-sik predicted that President Putin will ask North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to provide more ammunition and ballistic missiles to Moscow, noting that Seoul has detected at least 10,000 shipping containers from North Korea to Russia.

Amid growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, South Korea's defense minister said he plans to meet his U.S. and Japanese counterparts soon to sign a document to bolster joint efforts to counter the threat from North Korea. (Yonhap)

Europe

*China criticizes G7 joint statement: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on June 17 rejected the G7 leaders' warning to Beijing to stop sending weapons parts to Russia, saying the joint statement after the G7 Summit was "full of arrogance, prejudice and lies".

A joint statement after the G7 summit in Italy said China was sending dual-use materials to Russia to aid Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Using stronger language than at last year’s summit, the G7 statement also criticized China’s “militarization, coercion and intimidation” in the South China Sea.

In a statement in response, Mr. Lam Kiem emphasized that the G7 statement had "slandered and attacked China". Responding to a regular press conference, Mr. Lam Kiem affirmed: "The statement has repeated empty words that have no factual basis, no legal basis and no moral justification, and are full of arrogance, prejudice and lies". (AFP)

*Ukraine does not want to be China's "enemy": President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on June 16 that China is not Ukraine's "enemy", despite Beijing's close relationship with Moscow.

Speaking at a press conference after the closing session of the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland, President Zelensky said: “China can help us. Ukraine has never said that China is our enemy. However, China should contact us directly about proposals to help end the war with Russia, rather than through the media.”

According to President Zelensky, Kiev is ready to immediately negotiate peace with Moscow. He stressed: "Russia can start negotiations with us tomorrow, without waiting for anything, if they withdraw from our legitimate territory." (AFP)

*Denmark seeks to restrict Russian dark fleet of tankers: On June 17, Danish Foreign Minister Lokke Rasmussen said Copenhagen is considering ways to restrict the passage of old Russian tankers carrying oil through the Baltic Sea.

Russia exports about a third of its oil by sea, or 1.5% of global supplies, through the Denmark Strait, which serves as a gateway to the Baltic Sea, so any attempt to block that supply would send oil prices higher.

Denmark's foreign minister said the Nordic country has assembled a group of allied nations to assess measures against the so-called shadow fleet of old Russian oil tankers. (Reuters)

*Ukrainian Foreign Minister on Negotiations with Russia: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba announced that Russia will be invited to the next peace conference on Ukraine. According to Mr. Kuleba, the second conference will be aimed at ending the war and therefore will have to involve both warring parties.

He also admitted that Kiev understood that sooner or later it would have to talk to Moscow. Mr. Kuleba further revealed that in Geneva the views of the West and the Southern Hemisphere countries on resolving the conflict were different, specifically the Southern Hemisphere countries made “difficult compromises that had to be made”.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry said the second peace conference could take place before the US presidential election in November this year. (TASS)

*NATO negotiating to put nuclear weapons on "standby mode": NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 17 that the military alliance is negotiating to deploy more nuclear weapons, take them out of storage and put them on "standby mode".

The head of NATO affirmed that NATO's goal "is of course a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance. Because a world in which Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, and NATO does not, is a more dangerous world".

Last week, Mr. Stoltenberg declared that nuclear weapons are NATO's "ultimate security guarantee" and a tool for keeping the peace. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned about the possibility of using nuclear weapons in self-defense in extreme situations.

NATO has played a larger role in coordinating arms supplies to Kiev, rarely mentioning nuclear weapons publicly. Meanwhile, the United States has deployed nuclear bombs at several locations in Europe. (Reuters)

Middle East-Africa

*Israeli Prime Minister Dissolves War Cabinet: On June 17, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the country's six-member War Cabinet, which was formed after the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out in October 2023.

This was a predicted development after Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the National Coalition party, announced on June 9 that he would withdraw from the Israeli War Cabinet.

According to researchers, in the coming time, Prime Minister Netanyahu will conduct consultations on the war in Gaza with a small group of ministers, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu faced demands from his religious nationalist partners in the ruling coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to join the War Cabinet, a move that could increase tensions with Israel's international partners, including ally the United States. (Al Jazeera)

*US accuses Iranian warship of ignoring distress signal from cargo ship in Red Sea: The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) on June 16 accused an Iranian warship of ignoring distress signal from a civilian ship on fire in the Red Sea.

The MV Verbena, a Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated vessel, has been on fire since June 13 when it was attacked by Houthi forces in Yemen with a missile. According to CENTCOM, the Iranian warship IRIN Jamaran did not respond to the MV Verbena’s distress call from a distance of 14 kilometers. On June 15, the crew abandoned the MV Verbena after another civilian ship arrived to rescue them, unable to control the fire.

Previously, on June 12, Houthi also attacked the Greek-owned coal tanker Tutor near Yemen's Hodeidah port, causing severe damage to the ship.

The US and UK have launched “Operation Prosperous Guardian” to stop Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Washington and its allies have carried out several airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. (Al Jazeera)

America-Latin America

*US '15 years behind' China in nuclear energy development: A report by the Institute for Information Technology Research and Innovation, a nonpartisan research institute based in Washington (USA), shows that the US may be 15 years behind China in developing high-tech nuclear energy. Factors such as China's state-backed technological approach and abundant financial resources have given China an advantage.

China currently has 27 nuclear reactors under construction with an average construction time of about 7 years, much faster than other countries.

Although the United States has the world’s largest nuclear power plant fleet and President Joe Biden’s administration sees the nearly zero-emissions power source as crucial to curbing climate change, no U.S. nuclear reactors are under construction after two major plants in Georgia came online in 2023 and 2024, costing billions of dollars over budget and facing years of delays. (Reuters)

*Landslide in Ecuador, more than 40 people injured and missing: Ecuadorian authorities said on June 16 that heavy rains caused a landslide at a tourist area in the south of the country, killing at least 6 people, injuring 6 others and leaving 30 missing.

The landslide occurred at the Banos de Agua Santa resort in the tourist town of Banos in Tungurahua province, near the foot of an active volcano. Local authorities ordered the closure of several coastal resorts, along with the main road leading to the area where the landslide occurred.

Heavy rains have also caused damage in other parts of Ecuador, according to the presidential office. A total of 48 emergencies have been reported across the country. (AFP)

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