South Korea's Yoon Calls for Strong Security Cooperation with US, Japan ahead of Camp David Summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)
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South Korea's Yoon Calls for Strong Security Cooperation with US, Japan ahead of Camp David Summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

South Korea’s president called for deeper security cooperation with the US and Japan to address North Korean nuclear threats, saying Tuesday that his upcoming summit with the US and Japanese leaders at Camp David will “set a new milestone in trilateral cooperation.”

It will be the first time for the leaders of the three countries to gather entirely for a trilateral summit, rather than on the sidelines of international meetings. This suggests they are serious about boosting their ties in the face of North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal and China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy, The Associated Press said.

In their summit Friday at the US presidential retreat in Maryland, President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to announce plans for expanded military cooperation on ballistic missile defenses and technology development, according to two senior Biden administration officials.

“The ROK (Republic of Korea)-US-Japan summit to be held at Camp David in three days will set a new milestone in trilateral cooperation contributing to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region,” Yoon said in a televised speech in Seoul on Tuesday.

Yoon’s speech marked the 78th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 35-year colonial rule in 1945. Past South Korean presidents commonly used Liberation Day speeches to ask Japan to make fresh apologies over its colonial wrongdoing. But Yoon, a conservative who has pushed to resolve the historical grievance as a way to boost Seoul-Washington-Tokyo cooperation, didn’t do so and rather explained again why improved ties with Japan were needed.

Yoon said the seven rear bases provided to the US-led UN Command by Japan serve as “the greatest deterrent” that keeps North Korea from invading South Korea. He said a North Korean invasion would trigger an immediate, automatic intervention by the UN Command and that the bases in Japan have the necessary land, sea and air capabilities.

“As partners that cooperate on security and the economy, Korea and Japan will be able to jointly contribute to peace and prosperity across the globe while collaborating and exchanging in a future-oriented manner,” Yoon said.

Yoon said the significance of Seoul-Washington-Tokyo security cooperation is growing on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.

“In order to fundamentally block North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan must closely cooperate on reconnaissance assets and share North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles data in real time,” Yoon said.

When they met at the margins of a regional conference in Cambodia in November, Yoon, Biden and Kishida said they intended to share North Korea missile warning data in real time to improve each country’s ability to detect and assess the threat posed by incoming missiles. In June, their defense ministers said they recognized efforts to activate such a data-sharing mechanism before the end of the year.

Worries about North Korea's nuclear program have grown since the North openly threatened to use nuclear weapons in conflicts with its rivals and conducted about 100 missile tests since the start of last year. Many of the missiles tested were nuclear-capable weapons that placed both South Korea and Japan within striking distance and could reach the US mainland. South Korea and Japan together host about 80,000 US troops.

In response to North Korea's torrid run of missile tests, the United States and South Korea have expanded their military drills and resuming some trilateral training involving Japan. That has infuriated North Korea, views US-led military exercises on and near the Korean Peninsula as an invasion rehearsal. North Korean officials say US moves to bolster military cooperation with South Korea and Japan are pushing the North to reinforce its own military capability.



UN Says Iran Executed over 900 People in 2024, Including Dozens of Women

 Iranians visit the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, on January 7, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians visit the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, on January 7, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Says Iran Executed over 900 People in 2024, Including Dozens of Women

 Iranians visit the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, on January 7, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians visit the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, on January 7, 2025. (AFP)

The number of people executed in Iran rose to 901 last year, including 31 women, some of whom were convicted of murdering their husbands after suffering abuse or being forced into marriage, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.

Most of the executions were for drug-related offenses, but political dissidents and people connected with mass protests in 2022 over the death in police custody of a 22-year-old woman were also among the victims, the UN statement said.

"It is deeply disturbing that yet again we see an increase in the number of people subjected to the death penalty in Iran year-on-year," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement sent to journalists. "It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions."

In total, at least 901 people were executed by hanging last year in the country, compared with 853 in 2023, the UN rights office said. That represented the highest number since 2015, when 972 people were executed.

The 2022 protests, which sparked some of the worst turmoil since the 1979 revolution, followed the death in police custody of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly flouting Iran's mandatory dress code.

At least 31 women were executed in 2024, UN rights office spokesperson Liz Throssell told reporters at a Geneva press briefing, representing what she said was the highest number in at least 15 years.

"The majority of cases involved charges of murder. A significant number of the women were victims of domestic violence, child marriage or forced marriage," she added.

Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist who won election as Iran's president in July 2024, made promises during his campaign to better protect the rights of women and minorities.