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Iran Closes Centers Linked to Germany, Which Summons Ambassador

Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Iran Closes Centers Linked to Germany, Which Summons Ambassador

Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)
Seals placed by the Iranian police force are pictured outside the closed gate of the Tehran offices of Germany's Goethe-Institut cultural center on August 20, 2024. (AFP)

Iran's judiciary has closed two branches of organizations linked to Germany due to "illegal activities and financial fraud", the judiciary's Mizan news agency said, in a move protested by Berlin with the summoning of the Iranian ambassador.

Mizan published pictures on Tuesday of security forces removing the banner of the German Language Institute of Tehran, which is linked to the German embassy.

"Additionally, there have been reports of violations by other Germany-affiliated centers and investigations in this matter are ongoing," Mizan added.

A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry condemned the actions against the language institute in a statement, which did not mention other organizations.

Tehran's ambassador would be summoned over the incident, the spokesperson said, adding: "We call on the new Iranian government to allow teaching to resume immediately."

In July, Germany banned the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and subsidiary organizations for "pursuing radical Islamist goals", according to the interior ministry.

The ministry said the IZH had acted as a direct representative of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and sought to bring about an “Islamic revolution” in Germany.

Following the closure of the IZH, Iran summoned the German ambassador in Tehran.

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North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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North Korean Defects to South, Says Seoul Military 

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)
A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. (Reuters)

A North Korean defected to the South by walking across the heavily fortified border that separates the peninsula, Seoul's military said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, but the majority cross the land border into China first.

Seoul's military said it picked up "one suspected North Korean individual on the eastern front and handed them over to the relevant authorities".

The defector was a staff sergeant, Yonhap news agency reported, who was given some guidance from the South's military during the defection.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had not detected any unusual movement by the North Korean military around the time of the defection.

"Relevant authorities are currently investigating and therefore cannot confirm the detailed process of the defection," or the individual's exact motivations and goals, the military said.

Local media reported that the defector walked along the road by the waterfront in eastern Gangwon province, and was wearing their North Korean military uniform when they were picked up by authorities.

It is the second defection across the border between the Koreas in just two weeks, after another North Korean made it across the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea on August 8.

The defections come as relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North ramping up weapons testing and bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons.

The number of successful defections dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders -- purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the land frontier with China -- to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

But after border controls eased in 2023, the number of defectors making it to the South almost tripled last year to 196, Seoul said in January, with more elite diplomats and students seeking to escape, up from 67 in 2022.

Last week, North Korean tour operations unexpectedly announced that the country would reopen to foreign tourists this winter.