Month: April 2023

(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Age

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Satellite images show a high level of activity at North Korea’s main nuclear site, a U.S. think tank reported on Saturday after the North Korean leader ordered an increase in production of bomb fuel to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The Washington-based 38 North North Korea monitoring project said the activity it had spotted, based on images from March 3 and 17, could indicate that an Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon site was nearing completion and transition to operational status.

The report said the images showed that a 5 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon continued to operate and that construction had started on a support building around the ELWR. Further, water discharges had been detected from that reactor’s cooling system. New construction had also started around Yongbyon’s uranium enrichment plant, likely to expand its capabilities.

“These developments seem to reflect Kim Jong Un’s recent directive to increase the country’s fissile material production to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal,” the report added, referring to the North Korean leader.

On Tuesday, North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal, while denouncing stepped up military exercises by South Korea and the United States.

Its state media said Kim had ordered the production of weapons-grade materials in a “far-sighted way” to boost the country’s nuclear arsenal “exponentially.”

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed miniaturized nuclear warheads needed to fit on smaller weapons it has displayed and analysts say perfecting such warheads would most likely be a key goal if it resumes nuclear testing for the first time since 2017.

South Korea and the United States have warned since early 2022 that North Korea may resume nuclear testing at any time.

In a report last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated North Korea had assembled up to 20 nuclear warheads, and probably possessed sufficient fissile material for approximately 45-55 nuclear devices.

(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a Quad Ministers’ panel at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, India on March 3, 2023. OLIVIER DOULIERY/Pool via REUTERS

By Kiyoshi Takenaka, Sakura Murakami and Laurie Chen

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) – Japan’s foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said he called on Beijing for the early release of a detained Japanese national during a meeting with Chinese diplomat Qin Gang held on Sunday.

Hayashi is visiting China and met with his counterpart Qin, marking the first visit to Beijing for a Japanese government foreign minister in over three years, as the two countries seek common ground amid rising regional tension.

“I made a protest against the recent detention of a Japanese person in Beijing, and made a strong point of our position on the matter, including the early release of this national,” Hayashi said to reporters after his meeting with Qin.

He added that Japan is seeking transparency over the legal process regarding detentions and has asked for China to secure a fair and safe business environment, but did not elaborate on China’s reaction.

The visit comes a week after a spokesperson of Astellas Pharma Inc said its employee was detained in China for unknown reasons. At least 16 Japanese nationals, not counting this case, have been detained in China on suspicion of engaging in spying activities since 2015, according to Kyodo News.

Hayashi also said he conveyed Japan’s grave concerns over the increase of China’s military activity, including its closeness with Russia and its maritime presence in the East China Sea.

“We both affirmed the importance of continuing to have a dialogue on issues including national security,” Hayashi said, adding that he spoke to Qin about the “importance of ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan strait.”

Regional tension has been rising over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

The democratically elected government in Taipei rejects Beijing’s claims and says only its people can decide its future.

Japan also lodged a diplomatic complaint in August after five ballistic missiles launched by the Chinese military fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone, near disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

Although Japan and China have their differences, both agreed to restart trilateral talks with South Korea, Hayashi said, calling the agreement “an important achievement” from his meeting with Qin.

“We agreed to continue communicating closely on various levels, including the foreign ministerial and leadership levels,” Hayashi added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit last November, marking the first leadership-level talks in almost three years.

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(C) Reuters. People demonstrate for the right to affordable housing in Lisbon, Portugal, April 1, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
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By Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes

LISBON (Reuters) – Thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday in protest against soaring rents and house prices at a time when high inflation is making it even tougher for people to make ends meet.

“There is a huge housing crisis today,” Rita Silva, from the Habita housing group, said at the Lisbon protest. “This is a social emergency.”

Portugal is one of Western Europe’s poorest countries, with government data showing more than 50% of workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,084) per month last year. The monthly minimum wage is 760 euros.

Rents in Lisbon, a tourist hotspot, have jumped 65% since 2015 and sale prices have sky-rocketed 137% in that period, figures from Confidencial Imobiliario, which collects data on housing, show. Rents increased 37% last year alone, more than in Barcelona or Paris, according to another real estate data company, Casafari.

The situation is particularly hard on the young.

The average rent for a one-bedroom flat in Lisbon is around 1,350 euros, a study by housing portal Imovirtual showed.

The Socialist government announced last month a housing package that, among other measures, ended the controversial “Golden Visa (NYSE:V)” scheme and banned new licenses for Airbnb properties but critics say it is not enough to lower prices in the short term.

At the protest, which was organised by the movement “Home to Live” and other groups, 35-year-old illustrator Diogo Guerra said he hears stories about people struggling to access housing every day.

“People who… work and are homeless, people are evicted because their house is turned into short-term accommodations (for tourists),” he said.

Low wages and high rents make Lisbon the world’s third-least viable city to live in, according to a study by insurance brokers CIA Landlords. Portugal’s current 8.2% inflation rate has exacerbated the problem.

“With my salary, which is higher than the average salary in Lisbon, I cannot afford renting a flat because it’s too expensive,” said Nuncio Renzi, a sales executive from Italy living in the capital.

($1 = 0.9226 euros)