Iran ‘not in a hurry’ for US to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal: Khamenei

Iran is not in a hurry for the United States to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Friday, adding that Tehran’s main demand is the lifting of all sanctions on the country.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (Reuters)

“We are in no hurry for America to rejoin the nuclear deal. What we are emphasizing is the lifting of sanctions … they must lift all sanctions on Iran immediately,” Khamenei said in a live televised speech.

Tensions between Iran and the US have escalated since outgoing US President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal and re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018 as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign.

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the accord if Iran returns to complying with it.

A US return to the deal without lifting sanctions on Iran is meaningless, Khamenei said. “If sanctions are lifted, then a US return to the deal will mean something, but if that does not happen, a US return to the deal could even be to our detriment.”

Khamenei added that Iran will reverse its nuclear steps if the other parties to the nuclear deal fulfil their commitments.

On Monday, Iran said it resumed 20 percent uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching the deal.

Khamenei also stressed Iran will not end its presence in neighbouring countries.

“The Islamic Republic is obliged to act in such a way that its friends and supporters are strengthened in the region. This is our duty. We must not allow our friends to be weakened,” he said.

Khamenei also appeared to signal unwillingness to negotiate Iran’s ballistic missiles program, saying: “We should not leave the country defenceless.”

South Korean judge orders Japan to compensate 'comfort women,' victims of wartime sexual slavery

(CNN)A South Korean judge has ordered the Japanese government to pay damages to 12 victims of war-time sexual slavery, in a historic ruling over war atrocities that have strained the two countries' relationship for decades.

The victims sued the Japanese government in 2016 for kidnapping, sexual violence, and torture during World War II. They had been in their teens and early 20s during Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula, and were subjected to dozens of forced sexual acts by Japanese troops every day, the judge said in the ruling Friday.

These girls and women forced into sexual acts of slavery are known as "comfort women." The practice was sanctioned and organized by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during World War II.

A woman holds a sign demanding a formal apology and compensation from Japan, at a rally marking the 2020 International Memorial Day for Comfort Women in Seoul, South Korea.

The Japanese occupation ended in 1945, but the victims suffered great psychological trauma in the years after the war, as well as pervasive social stigma, the judge said. The judge granted the full amount of $91,000 (100 million won) requested by the plaintiffs, adding that the damage they suffered surpassed that amount.

Japanese prime ministers have apologized in the past, and Tokyo believed the issue was settled in 1965 as part of an agreement to normalize relations between the two countries. But South Korea was a military dictatorship at the time, and many Koreans maintain the deal was unfair.

Another landmark deal in 2015 saw another apology and a pledge of $8 million for a foundation to support the surviving "comfort women." Despite these existing agreements, the plaintiffs had the right to sue for damages, the judge said on Friday.

In a statement after the ruling, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government "respects the court judgment and will make every effort it can to restore the honour and dignity of the 'comfort women' victims."

It acknowledged the 2015 deal between the countries, and said the government would also "review the impact of the ruling on diplomatic relations and will make every effort to continue constructive and future-oriented cooperation between Korea and Japan."

Japanese officials strongly criticized the ruling, however, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato calling it "extremely regrettable" and "absolutely unacceptable," according to a Reuters feed of the press conference Friday.

Kato added that the Japanese government was not subject to South Korean jurisdiction, and that the country had repeatedly called for the case to be dismissed. "We strongly demand that South Korea as a country take an appropriate response to correct this breach of international law," he said.

Korea's comfort women

Experts estimate up to 200,000 women from South Korea and other Asian countries were forced into Japanese sexual slavery. The Japanese army recruited women, by deception, coercion and force, for its brothels, according to a United Nations report on the issue.

"A large number of the women victims speak of violence used on family members who tried to prevent the abduction of their daughters and, in some cases, of being raped by soldiers in front of their parents before being forcibly taken off," the report said.

Despite Japan's apology and compensation, South Korean activists say the apology did not go far enough and many demand further reparations.

The topic remains a bitter point in the two countries' strained relationship. In 2017, a memorial statue became the centre of a diplomatic spat, with Japan halting talks on a planned currency swap, delaying economic dialogue, and recalling two diplomats from South Korea.

Relations have only deteriorated since then. In 2018, South Korea's supreme court ruled that its citizens can sue Japanese companies for using forced Korean labour during World War II. Tensions spiked in 2019, when the two countries entered a heated military dispute. Months later, a trade war broke out as Japan dropped South Korea as a preferred trading partner, and South Korea had downgraded its trade ties with Japan in response.

"As a victim of great suffering from Japanese imperialism in the past, we, for our part, cannot help but take Japan's ongoing economic retaliation very seriously," South Korean President Moon Jae-in said after the retaliatory economic measures. "It is even more so because this economic retaliation is in itself unjustifiable and also has its roots in historical issues."

The historic animosity is also felt among many citizens; more than 36,000 South Koreans signed a petition during the 2019 trade dispute calling on the government to take retaliatory action against Tokyo. Many South Koreans also called for a boycott of Japanese products on social media.

The conflict even made its way into athletics, with South Korea's parliamentary committee for sports calling for a ban on the Rising Sun flag at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which has since been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.) The controversial flag symbolized Japanese imperialism and war atrocities, South Korean officials argued.

"The Rising Sun flag is akin to a symbol of the devil to Asians and Koreans, just like how the swastika is a symbol of Nazis which reminds Europeans of invasion and horror," said An Min-suk, the chair of the parliamentary committee for sports.

But the Olympic organizers refused to ban the flag from competition venues, arguing that "the flag itself is not considered to be a political statement."

Source: CNN

North Korea: Kim Jong-un says economic plan a near-total failure at rare political meeting

Ruler begins second Workers’ party congress by admitting strategy fell short in ‘almost all areas'

Photograph: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty Images

North Korea’s ruler, Kim Jong-un, has admitted that his economic policies have largely failed, and vowed to avoid a repeat of the “painful lessons” of the past at a rare meeting of the country’s ruling party.

Kim told the congress of the Workers’ party that his five-year economic plan had failed to achieve its goals “in almost all areas to a great extent”, North Korean state media said on Wednesday.

“We should further promote and expand the successes and victories that we’ve achieved through our painstaking efforts but prevent us from having the painful lessons again.”

The congress, the first for five years, opened with Kim facing the toughest challenges of his nine-year rule, caused by what he called “unprecedented” crises.

It is being closely watched for signs of a shift in economic policy, after a year in which North Korea was struck by natural disasters while contending with the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic and international sanctions imposed in response to its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

While the regime continues to claim it has not recorded a single case of Covid-19, border closures and the suspension of international flights have strained an already fragile economy.

Trade with China plummeted by almost 80% in the first 11 months of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, according to Song Jaeguk, an analyst at the IBK Economic Research Institute in Seoul. North Korea’s GDP was estimated to have contracted by 9.3% in 2020, he added.

There is anticipation, too, that in coming speeches during the congress Kim will refer to foreign policy less than a fortnight before the US president-elect, Joe Biden, is due to take office.

Relations between Pyongyang and Washington have been deadlocked since two rounds of official talks between Trump and Kim stalled over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.

There is speculation that Kim is concerned that Biden will ditch the highly personal diplomatic style preferred by Trump, whom the North Korean leader met three times, and instead opt to pressure the North into taking significant steps towards denuclearisation.

“It’s not like Kim Jong-un is going to come out and promise denuclearisation, marketisation and human rights improvements,” said Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul.

Photograph: KCNA/Reuters

“What optimists are looking for is a willingness to engage in diplomacy with the incoming Biden administration, mention of economic development opportunities, including with South Korea, and any openness to humanitarian cooperation during the pandemic. Pessimists expect the Kim regime will emphasise military strength, self-reliant socialism, and an ongoing crackdown on subversive elements.”

In his opening speech on Tuesday, Kim said North Korea had achieved a “miraculous victory” since the last congress in 2016 – a reference to missile and nuclear tests that culminated in the successful 2017 launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US mainland.

Like other world leaders, however, Kim has been forced to count the cost of the coronavirus, calling on the country’s people to embrace self-reliance in response to internal and external pressures.

Kim said there had been “shining successes achieved by our party and people”, according to the official KCNA news agency. But he added that he had “analysed the mistakes manifested in the efforts for implementing the five-year strategy for national economic development”.

He praised party workers for “ensuring stability” despite the challenges of the coronavirus. North Korea closed its borders with China and Russia early on in the pandemic and has since quarantined thousands of people suspected of having the virus.

Virus prevention measures did not appear to be in place at the congress, only the eighth in the country’s history. No one among the 4,750 delegates and 2,000 spectators appeared to be wearing masks or socially distancing.

Kim tightened his grip on power at the last congress in 2016 but observers believe this week’s meeting is an attempt to show a united front as the country enters another year of diplomatic and economic uncertainty.

The congress reflected an “urgent need for internal solidarity”, said Ahn Chan-il, a former North Korean defector and now researcher at the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul. “The party congress has to serve as a spark to restore faith among a frustrated public.”

The meeting, which began on Tuesday but was not mentioned in official reports until Wednesday, is due to last several days. Kim is expected to announce senior party appointments that could include further promotions for his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who is widely seen as the regime’s de facto second in command.

Source: Guardian