North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
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North Korea, Russia Reaffirm Commitment to Partnership Accord

A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024.  EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry press service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (L) during an unveiling ceremony of the plaque to mark Kim Il Sung visit to USSR in 1949, at Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow, Russia, 01 November 2024. EPA/RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT

The foreign ministers of North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to implement provisions agreed in June between the leaders of the two nations, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Saturday.
North Korea Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and her Russian counterpart Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov met in Moscow, amid rising concerns about Pyongyang's involvement in Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters said.
NATO has joined the governments of South Korea, the US and Ukraine in confirming Pyongyang's dispatch of troops to Russia, saying that North Korean military units had been deployed to Russia's Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June agreed that the two countries would provide military and other assistance if either were attacked, as part of a strategic partnership accord.



At UN, Panama Reminds Trump He Should Not Be Threatening Force 

Liberian flagged Hallasan Explorer LPG tanker navigates at the Panama Canal, in Panama on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
Liberian flagged Hallasan Explorer LPG tanker navigates at the Panama Canal, in Panama on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
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At UN, Panama Reminds Trump He Should Not Be Threatening Force 

Liberian flagged Hallasan Explorer LPG tanker navigates at the Panama Canal, in Panama on January 20, 2025. (AFP)
Liberian flagged Hallasan Explorer LPG tanker navigates at the Panama Canal, in Panama on January 20, 2025. (AFP)

Panama has alerted the United Nations - in a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday - to US President Donald Trump's remarks during his inauguration speech, when he vowed that the United States would take back the Panama Canal.

Panama's UN Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba noted that under the founding UN Charter, countries "shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state".

The letter was addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and circulated to the 15-member Security Council. Panama is a member of the council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, for 2025-26.

Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose US control over the canal, Trump on Monday accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has strongly denied.

"We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back," Trump said just minutes after being sworn in for a second four-year term.

Alfaro de Alba shared Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino's rejection of Trump's remarks.

"Dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty and ownership of our Canal," Mulino said.

The United States largely built the canal and administered territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the canal's return to full Panamanian control. The United States handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration.