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Taiwan Hit by Another Big Quake, No Immediate Reports of Damage

File photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan. (Getty Images)
File photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan. (Getty Images)
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Taiwan Hit by Another Big Quake, No Immediate Reports of Damage

File photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan. (Getty Images)
File photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan. (Getty Images)

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck 34 km (21 miles) off Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien on Friday, the weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage from what was the second strong tremor to hit the island in less than a day.
The quake also shook buildings in the capital Taipei. Authorities said subway services in the city continued at lower speeds, Reuters reported.
"It was close," said Hsieh Yu Wei, a singer who pulled his car over the moment he received a government-issued quake warning while driving on a Hualien coastal highway.
The quake had a depth of 9.7 km, the weather administration said, and followed a 5.7 magnitude earthquake that struck off Taiwan's northeastern shore on late Thursday.
Weather officials warned of aftershocks that could reach a magnitude of 5.5 in the next few days. Around a dozen earthquakes were recorded near Hualien since the major tremor this morning.
Weather officials have warned of the risk of landslides in mountainous areas following days of rain.
Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.
In April, Hualien was hit by the biggest earthquake to affect Taiwan in at least 25 years. Nine people were killed and more than 900 injured.
 

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North Korea’s Kim and Russia’s Putin Vow Deeper Ties on Korean Liberation Day 

This picture taken on August 15, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 16, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the children of flood-affected victims, who were relocated from the northwestern part of the country, as they eat at a dining hall in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 15, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 16, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the children of flood-affected victims, who were relocated from the northwestern part of the country, as they eat at a dining hall in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
TT
TT

North Korea’s Kim and Russia’s Putin Vow Deeper Ties on Korean Liberation Day 

This picture taken on August 15, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 16, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the children of flood-affected victims, who were relocated from the northwestern part of the country, as they eat at a dining hall in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 15, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 16, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) visiting the children of flood-affected victims, who were relocated from the northwestern part of the country, as they eat at a dining hall in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed a pledge to deepen cooperation with Russia in a message to President Vladimir Putin as Pyongyang marked an anniversary of independence from Japan's colonial rule, KCNA state news agency said on Friday.

It was in reply to a message of congratulations from Putin on the Aug. 15 liberation day anniversary where the Russian leader said the bond forged as Soviet soldiers fought against Japan continues to serve as the basis of their ties, KCNA said.

"The friendly feelings of the armies and peoples of the two countries forged and deepened in the bloody struggle against the common enemy serve as a strong driving force for developing ... relations of friendship and cooperation into comprehensive strategic partnership and invincible comradeship," Kim said.

Kim and Putin held a second summit meeting in less than a year in June in Pyongyang, signing a pact on "comprehensive strategic partnership" that includes a mutual defense agreement.

It came amid accusations by South Korea, Ukraine and the United States that Kim is helping Russia in the war against Ukraine by supplying rockets and missiles in return for economic and other military assistance from Moscow.

Kim visited a memorial honoring the Korean revolutionary soldiers who fought in resistance to Japan to end the 1910-1945 colonial rule and the Liberation Tower where Soviet Red Army soldiers are remembered, KCNA said.

North Korea's state founder Kim Il Sung, who is the current leader's grandfather, was backed by Soviet Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin who declared war against Japan near the end of World War Two.

The Soviets backed Kim's communist forces that eventually established North Korea after Korea's liberation in 1945.

North Korean state media made no mention of a blueprint for unification announced by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, calling for dialogue with Pyongyang and proposing an international conference on North Korea's human rights.

Coming at one of the lowest points in the two Koreas' ties, Yoon's blueprint was accepted with skepticism among some experts, who doubt whether it is realistic to expect Pyongyang to see it as anything other than an existential threat to its regime.

On Friday, South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, who oversees inter-Korea relations, said he disagreed with those who say North Korea will reject the plan if it responds at all.

"I believe North Korea will carefully review our government proposal," he told a briefing.