U.S. Special Representative Sung Kim met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Funakoshi Takehiro, after a U.S. assessment that the North was preparing its Punggye-ri test site for what would be its seventh nuclear test.

“We are preparing for all contingencies in close coordination with our Japanese and ROK allies,” Kim said at the beginning of the meeting, referring to South Korea by the initials of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

This year, North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles, including one thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, in violation of U.N. resolutions.

“We want to make clear to the DPRK that its unlawful and destabilising activities have consequences and that the international community will not accept these actions as normal,” the U.S. envoy said, referring to North Korea.

South Korea’s newly appointed nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, said North Korea’s “relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons will only end up strengthening our deterrence”.

“The course that Pyongyang is currently embarking on has only one inevitable destination: reduce security for North Korea itself,” the South Korean diplomat said.

Last week, the United States called for more U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion, publicly splitting the U.N. Security Council on North Korea for the first time since it started punishing it in 2006, when it conducted its first nuclear test.

Japan’s Funakoshi stressed the need for coordination, vowing to “enhance regional deterrence, including trilateral security cooperation”.

The officials said the door for dialogue was open and expressed concern over the COVID-19 situation in North Korea.

“We have made very clear directly to Pyongyang that we are open to diplomacy,” Sung Kim said later at a separate conference in Seoul, noting that Washington was willing to discuss items of interest to Pyongyang, such as sanctions relief.

“So far they have shown no interest.”

The most important thing was for the three countries to present a united front to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. envoy said.

“When he sees that we are coordinating very closely with partners and allies I hope this persuades him that the only viable path is diplomacy with us,” he said.

China and Russia were clearly not interested in working with the United States to manage North Korea’s nuclear and missile arsenal, Kim said, when asked about their veto of new sanctions.

“We’re not asking them for a favour, it’s in their interest,” he said.

The United States would not link humanitarian aid for North Korea as it battles COVID to denuclearization, U.S. officials said.

“We passed the message through our regular channel, that we were willing to provide humanitarian cooperation focused on COVID relief including vaccines,” Kim said. “But we haven’t heard back.”

It was time to look for new approaches to North Korea because Kim Jong Un would never willingly give up nuclear weapons, said Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who now serves as a member of parliament in the South.

“Nuclear weapons are the core to unite the whole North Korean people and ensure continuation of Kim family rule,” he told the conference.

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Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Dogyun Kim, Daewoung Kim, and Josh Smith; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-south-korea-japan-envoys-meet-north-korea-nuclear-tension-2022-06-03/

The post U.S., South Korea, Japan envoys meet as North Korea appears to prepare nuclear test first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Today is the day the mainstream has been dreading.  In actual fact, the abortion issue has been handed back to the states.  The 1973 ruling was invalidated as a matter of law.  The idea that the U. S. Constitution handed some sacred “right” to women was a fantastic reach in the first place.  Finally, nearly 50 years later, it’s been overturned.  Some “crowds” (to be charitable) have been parading, banging drums and chanting in front of the homes of Supreme Court Justices.  Who are these people?  Are they wearing masks outdoors for fear of COVID, or to hide their identities?

If the hard left gets its way, there will be all kinds of mayhem.  Nobody seems interested in prosecuting those trying to influence the decision, a crime though it may be.  They seem to be doing the dirty work we were promised.  Will it set off riots?  Maybe looting and burning?

It’s Trump’s fault, of course.  Him and his ultra-maga supporters.  Biden is mad,  Maxine Waters says they’re going to be out protesting in their thousands, or millions.  “We are going to make sure we fight for the right to control our own bodies.”  (Where was she during the mask mandate?)  They’ll defy the Supreme Court.  How, other than causing a ruckus, we’ll see.

Obama says the court has curtailed our freedoms.  Michelle is heartbroken.  It is a “horrifying decision.”  They’re both calling on people to join protests and give Planned Parenthood support.  The Justice Dept. says it will “use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”  It’s hard to know what that means, but the weeks ahead should give us some idea.   AOC is shown with her mouth wide open, talking about “birthing people” and  chanting with protesters.  I guess this is supposed to let us know she thinks men can get pregnant.  But sure enough, some states are announcing that abortion is illegal, as of today.

World leaders are appalled.  Especially Justin Trudeau of Canada.  He’s horrified and can’t imagine the fear and anger that it will cause.  Even Boris Johnson is bent out of shape.  Just when the whole world was seeing the light and liberalizing laws governing abortion.

It’s the second time this week they’ve seen the court rule against their  beloved philosophy.  First it struck down New York’s gun law.  So they were already ticked.  The abortion ruling though, just might drive them over the edge.  The police caught a guy who said he’d come to “kill Kavanaugh.”  No big deal, according to the mainstream media.  Hardly worth reporting.  But all bets are off as we wait to see how crazy the protesters will get.  This may well justify riots and looting.  Even if the rioters and looters don’t know what they’re mad about.  Riot police are staging outside the Supreme Court, just in case.  But not everybody is down in the dumps.  Some are celebrating.  Trump says to God be the glory.

What ever happened to Ukraine?  It’s not in the news much lately.  The last thing we heard was that we were going to send billions of dollars and more.  Apparently Russia has had to call in troops that were stationed in other hot spots.  Some are worried that this thing may drag on and that other countries may get involved causing an escalation that may get out of control.  We hope they’re wrong.

Meanwhile UN officials are warning of food shortages.  The pope is hinting at resignation.  Maybe he’s done enough damage.  The American economy is reeling from inflation being driven by the  pretend administration’s war on oil.  They want you to know there’s nothing more they can do.  But at least something’s gone right today.    Have a great Sabbath.

Mark

P.S. The new Feast brochures are printed and will be going out with the next letter, probably Monday or Tuesday.

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 24 June 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

U.S. Special Representative Sung Kim met his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Kim Gunn and Funakoshi Takehiro, after a U.S. assessment that the North was preparing its Punggye-ri test site for what would be its seventh nuclear test.

“We are preparing for all contingencies in close coordination with our Japanese and ROK allies,” Kim said at the beginning of the meeting, referring to South Korea by the initials of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

This year, North Korea has tested several ballistic missiles, including one thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, in violation of U.N. sanctions. read more

“We want to make clear to the DPRK that its unlawful and destabilizing activities have consequences and that the international community will not accept these actions as normal,” the U.S. envoy said, referring to North Korea.

South Korea’s newly appointed nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, said North Korea’s “relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons will only end up strengthening our deterrence”.

“The course that Pyongyang is currently embarking on has only one inevitable destination: reduce security for North Korea itself,” the South Korean diplomat said.

Last week, the United States called for more U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia vetoed the suggestion, publicly splitting the U.N. Security Council on North Korea for the first time since it started punishing it in 2006, when it conducted its first nuclear test. read more

Japan’s Funakoshi stressed the need for coordination, vowing to “enhance regional deterrence, including trilateral security cooperation”.

The officials said the door for dialogue was open and expressed concern over the COVID-19 situation in North Korea.

Earlier, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the United States would not link humanitarian aid for North Korea as it battles COVID to denuclearization.

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Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Dogyun Kim and Daewoung Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-south-korea-japan-envoys-meet-north-korea-nuclear-tension-2022-06-03/

The post U.S., South Korea, Japan envoys meet on North Korea nuclear tension first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

EXCLUSIVE: Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked a global crisis, and experts warn that hunger poses the greatest worldwide security threat as millions face famine and starvation.

“The conflict in Ukraine isn’t just increasing hunger conditions within the country or even within the region,” Steve Taravella, senior spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), told Fox News. “The number of people who are on the brink of famine is now about 48.9 million in 43 countries.

“That is really dramatic.”

Taravella said that roughly three-quarters of a million people are facing starvation in just five nations across the globe, including Ethiopia, Yemen, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Somalia.

RUSSIA WAR WILL HAVE ‘SHATTERING’ EFFECT ON FOOD SHORTAGES IN AFRICA: ‘YOU’RE GOING TO SEE GOVERNMENTS FALL’

“These aren’t people who just don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” he continued. “These are people who are really facing starvation.”

These highly vulnerable nations have been embroiled in brutal conflicts, which has not only made providing humanitarian care more difficult but has also stunted global production.

“The link between conflict and hunger is really essential for understanding what is happening in Ukraine,” Taravella said. “Bottom line: When people are fighting they’re not farming.”

ZELENSKYY TAKES JAB AT PUTIN OVER G20 SUMMIT, HOPES ‘NO OCCUPIERS’ WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE

Global drought and the coronavirus pandemic had already created serious hunger conditions for the most vulnerable nations, but Russia’s war in the grain-rich sector of the world has pushed dangerous conditions into catastrophic realities.

“Hunger is soaring to terrifying levels, and the global situation just keeps on getting worse. Conflict, the climate crisis, COVID and surging food and fuel costs have created a perfect storm — and now the Ukraine war is piling catastrophe on top of catastrophe,” David Beasley, head of the U.N. WFP, tweeted this week.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres echoed these comments last month when he told the Biden administration that global hunger levels had reached “a new high.”

“In just two years, the number of severely food insecure people has doubled, from 135 million pre-pandemic to 276 million today,” he said. “More than half a million people are living in famine conditions — an increase of more than 500% since 2016.”

But Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought a new reality to the alarming situation.

“It’s a global storm with a global impact,” Taravella explained.

In 2019, Ukraine provided a staggering 42% of the world’s sunflower oil. In addition, it also provided 16% of the world’s corn exports, 10% of all barley exports, and nearly 9% of all wheat exports also came from Ukraine.

Kyiv also contributed 40% of all wheat exports the WFP received to assist vulnerable nations worldwide before it became the target of a deadly conflict.

As much as 25 million tons of grain remain holed up in storage facilities in Ukraine as Russian naval vessels hold an export blockade over ports located along the Black Sea.

Taravella explained that not only is there an urgent need to distribute the grain to assist with food demands now, but its circulation is also needed to ensure that any current grain harvesting can be stored.

Food prices have risen worldwide, but countries with the lowest GPD index will see the greatest spikes in costs at the market.

ZELENSKYY’S GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS PREDICTION MAY BE 10 WEEKS AWAY, UN OFFICIAL SAYS: ‘SEISMIC’

“The people who now have to cough up the dramatically greater amounts of money for food are the very people who can least afford it,” the WFP official told Fox News.

This is largely due to the fact that countries in the Middle East and Africa have been highly reliant on Ukrainian exports and food assistance programs like the WFP – which is also incurring substantially greater costs.

Before the war, Lebanon received 80% of its wheat imports from Ukraine while Tunisia, Libya and Pakistan all received nearly 50% of their wheat needs from the former Soviet nation.

Iraq imported nearly 88% of its sunflower oil from Ukraine, while India and Egypt relied upon Ukraine for 76% and 54% of their sunflower oil needs, respectively.

Experts are concerned the food crisis will not only lead to a spike in global hunger but pose a major security threat worldwide.

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“One of the drivers of the conflict in what we now call the Arab Spring was the inability to get affordable food. When people are hungry, they become desperate and they turn to desperate measures,” Taravella said. “We are all very nervous that as the numbers of hungry grow around the world, political instability could grow with it.

“The last thing the world needs is more conflict. How many more countries in conflict can the world sustain?”

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/russia-global-food-crisis-49-million-famine-starvation-expert

The post Russia-induced global food crisis pushes 49M to ‘brink’ of famine, starvation: expert warns first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Authorities in Seoul said the missiles were fired in the space of less than an hour from the Sunan area in Pyongyang.

It comes just a day after US President Joe Biden left the region, following a trip that saw him vowing to bolster measures to deter North Korea.

North Korea has been test-firing a flurry of ballistic missiles since the beginning of this year.

Japan confirmed at least two launches happened on Wednesday but acknowledged there may have been more.

Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the first missile flew about 300km (186 miles) with a maximum altitude of around 550km, while the second, reaching as high as 50km, travelled around 750km.

Mr. Kishi criticized the launches, saying they were “not acceptable” adding that it would “threaten the peace, stability and safety of Japan and the international community”.

In a meeting convened after the missile launch, South Korea’s National Security Council called the test a “grave provocation”, the presidential office said.

The launches came hours after Mr. Biden departed for the US on Tuesday evening, after a five-day trip that saw him visit South Korea and Japan.

US and South Korean officials had earlier warned that North Korea appeared ready for another weapons test, possibly during the Biden visit.

During his visit to Seoul over the weekend, Mr. Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol agreed to hold bigger military drills and deploy more US strategic assets if necessary to deter North Korea’s intensifying weapons tests.

Mr. Biden had said the United States was “prepared for anything North Korea does”.

The timing of these launches is not an accident – just hours after President Biden completed his trip to Asia, and days after he agreed with South Korea’s president to bolster their defenses against North Korea.

For weeks intelligence suggested North Korea was planning to test something major while the president was here. Slightly less provocatively, it has waited until he had left, but only just. Air Force One hadn’t touched down on US tarmac before the missiles were fired.

At their weekend summit, President Biden and President Yoon said they were ready to take on the threat of North Korea together. This was their first test. They have responded quickly, condemning the launches, while joint-firing missiles of their own.

This marks another escalation by North Korea, which, over the past six months has become increasingly aggressive. But the concern is over what comes next. Evidence is mounting that North Korea is preparing to test a nuclear weapon. This would be its first nuclear test in five years and a major step-up.

Missiles amidst COVID ’emergency’
The latest launches come as North Korea struggles to contain a suspected outbreak of COVID amongst its largely unvaccinated population of 25 million.

More than a million people have now been sickened by what Pyongyang is calling a “fever”, and more than 68 people have died since late April, the authorities say.

On 12 May, North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles the same day that Mr. Kim declared an “emergency” over the COVID outbreak.

South Korea has said it offered humanitarian aid, but Pyongyang is yet to respond.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61560786

The post North Korea fires missiles hours after Biden leaves Asia first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A report into lockdown-breaching UK government parties says blame for a “culture” of rule breaking in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office must rest with those at the top.

The review, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray and published on Wednesday, said the “senior leadership team … must bear responsibility” for the culture that allowed events to take place that “should not have been allowed to happen”.

Ms. Gray said there had been “failures of leadership and judgement in No 10 [Downing Street]”.

The review investigated 16 gatherings that were held in 2020 and 2021 at Mr. Johnson’s official residence while the UK was under strict lockdown laws that prevented socialization with anyone outside the household.

“Those in the most junior positions attended gatherings at which their seniors were present, or indeed organized,” Ms. Gray said.

A separate police investigation resulted in 83 people getting hit with fines, including Mr. Johnson — making him the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.

The scandal has led to calls for Mr. Johnson to resign. He rebuffed those calls, apologizing but insisting he did not knowingly break the rules.
The British media and opposition politicians have found that hard to square with staff members’ accounts of “bring your own booze” parties and regular “wine-time Fridays” in the Prime Minister’s Downing Street office at the height of the pandemic.

Mr. Johnson had previously stated that no parties were held in Downing Street and no rules were broken, before photographic evidence was unearthed.

Critics, some of them inside Mr. Johnson’s Conservative Party, say the Prime Minister lied to parliament, which is traditionally an offence that leads to the head of government’s resignation.

Ms. Gray’s conclusions could revive calls from his Conservative party for a no-confidence vote in the leader who led it to a big parliamentary majority just over two years ago.

Under party rules, such a vote is triggered if 15 per cent of party politicians — currently 54 people — write letters calling for one.

If Mr. Johnson lost such a vote, he would be replaced as Conservative leader and Prime Minister.

It is unclear how many letters have been submitted so far.

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-25/boris-johnson-blamed-covid-lockdown-parties-sue-gray-report/101100204

The post Scathing report blames Boris Johnson for British government parties during COVID-19 lockdown first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Amid the scare that the pretend administration is trying to turn American sovereignty over to a faceless UN body known as the WHO, is the reality of “emergency powers.”  Isn’t that convenient?  Congress doesn’t have to pass laws.  A pint-sized twerp in a lab coat can be trotted out to make a declaration, and that authorizes all manner of stupidity.

Businesses were closed in New York, California and a host of states where the governors acted on behalf of the “public.”  Surely the “public” would be better off if they weren’t running around spreading coronavirus all over the place.  Businesses of all kinds closed, often permanently.  You probably miss some of them.  There was nothing gyms could do except lock the doors.  Some who bucked the lock-down were raided and forcibly closed by police.  What Constitution?

It appears that ways to exert authority have been discovered, and the protections that we thought were inherent in our citizenship are no protections at all when it comes to “emergency declarations.”  Governors retained the right to FORCE people to stay home, not work and hunker down.  At first, Joe Q. Public probably didn’t mind, thinking it would be a week off, maybe two.  But that was two years ago, and still we’re getting bossed around about coronavirus.  They’re trying to resurrect it in New York, where the mayor has declared that masks must be worn outdoors in public.  What!?!  These so-called emergency powers have been egregiously abused, and there are other emergencies around the corner.  We only have to wait for them to be manufactured.

The naysayers said Trump was dangerous.  They said he would bungle us into nuclear war.  They said the same thing about Ronald Reagan.  Not even close.  We were worried about North Korea.  Remember the panic in Hawaii?  People lowering their children down manhole covers, making one last call to loved ones?  They haven’t forgotten, and probably never will.  Now we’re worried about Russia.  Threats have been issued.  The last time we were this close to war with Russia was the Cuban missile crisis.  If you listen to some of the advisors you’d think it was the U. S. at war in Ukraine!  Talk about stumbling into big trouble.  At least Trump has all his marbles, and loved the country enough to sacrifice his billionaire lifestyle to make it thrive.

The election appears to have been stolen.  Saying so would get you thrown off social media platforms, not that I care.  Differing with the approved narrative was not allowed.  What are you, a source of “disinformation”?  The pretend regime thought they’d appoint someone to stamp out “dis-information” and set everybody straight.  Unfortunately they picked some hair-brain gal that’s been busy spreading nonsense, between singing to her computer and making creepy faces.  It was so ludicrous they’ve shut down, or more accurately “paused” the new department under the department of Homeland Security. Now Homeland Security has appointed Michael Chertoff to figure everything out.  Another creep.

Nobody can figure out what to do about China.  Tons of plastic junk fill the shelves of nearly every store.  But businesses can make tremendous profits if they manufacture in China.  The NBA has staked its future on the huge audience that has no chance of actually competing in the sport.  They must thrill to the athleticism on display.  Not only that, it’s the biggest imaginable market for their swag.  What do those profiting from China care?  They’ve got the money to live anywhere on Earth.  And no.  We’re not jealous.  Taiwan?  Apparently that’s a sacrifice worth making for the profits involved.  People making money off ignoring the abuses in China ought to have to live there.  Just saying.

The baby formula crisis is so bad that all the wire services have propelled it into everybody’s domain.  The first thought was that mothers would be going to the internet to find out how to make it at home.  But the news is warning that you better not.  Now there’s a news story about a mother who’s been “caught” hoarding formula to feed her babies.  What mother wouldn’t try to acquire a supply amid a crisis?  How many crises have arisen?  We’ve got more  crises than we can keep up with, and the pretend administration is only a year and a half old.

It’s as if turning back all of those evil Trump policies means that the American people have become the enemy.  Now it’s all about “social justice,” diversity, inclusion and saving the planet.  All the big corporate names are popping up to let us know they’re on board.  After all, they don’t want to be attacked by the three letter agencies that are tasked with making sure we all think the same thoughts.  It’s a joke, and a bad one at that.  But we seem to be on some kind of ride that we can’t get off.  Not to wreck your weekend by spelling out all the manufactured crises, you already know.  This can’t end well, and it won’t.  Hopefully there will be something left to save when the “adults” are no longer in charge.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 20 May 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending the Title 42 public health order on May 23 — stopping the administration from a move that had seen significant Republican and Democratic opposition amid fears it would exacerbate the border crisis.

Judge Robert Summerhays, in the Western District of Louisiana, granted a preliminary injunction on the Biden administration’s plan to end the order on May 23. It was in response to a lawsuit by two dozen Republican states, led by Arizona, Louisiana and Missouri.

“Today’s ruling is a significant win as Title 42 is one of the few policies that is actually working,” said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “I’m grateful to the court for upholding the rule of law and helping maintain some level of sanity as we continue to battle the Biden-made border crisis.”

FEDERAL JUDGE EXTENDS ORDER BLOCKING BIDEN ADMIN FROM ROLLING BACK TITLE 42 AHEAD OF HEARING

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had announced in April that the order, which has been used since March 2020 to expel a majority of migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would expire at the end of May.

“After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary,” the agency said.

The move sparked outrage from both Democrats and Republicans, who warned that the move would lead to a surge in illegal immigration at the border and more people being released into the U.S.

DHS has acknowledged these concerns, saying it is planning for up to 18,000 people a day. However, it has also said that it believes that over time it will reduce the numbers encountered at the border when it re-implements criminal penalties for repeat border crossings.

A number of moderate Democrats joined Republicans in signing onto legislation preventing the administration from lifting the order until 60 days after the CDC says the national emergency on COVID-19 is over. That legislation has not yet been voted on in the Senate.

INTERNAL CBP DOC WARNS OF ‘SIGNIFICANT SAFETY IMPLICATIONS’ OF TITLE 42 LIFT, CARTEL HOLD ON CENTRAL AMERICA

The Republican lawsuit, seeking the injunction, claimed the lifting of the order violated the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires a notice-and-comment period and also bars moves deemed “arbitrary and capricious.”

The lawsuit claims the administration failed to estimate or account for the costs to the states. They cite “increased health care costs for aliens infected with COVID-19 and the cost of increased illegal immigration caused by the Termination Order and the presence of much greater numbers of paroled aliens with non-meritorious asylum claims who were induced to enter the United States because of the Termination Order.”

“This suit challenges an imminent, man-made, self-inflicted calamity: the abrupt elimination of the only safety valve preventing this administration’s disastrous border policies from devolving into an unmitigated catastrophe,” the complaint read.

Summerhays, in his order, said that the record supports the states’ position “that the Termination Order will result in increased border crossings and that, based on the government’s estimates, the increase may be as high as three-fold.” He also agreed with states that lifting Title 42 will increase costs on healthcare and education – and said the government did not dispute that claim.

“In sum, the Plaintiff States have demonstrated that the Termination Order will affect their ‘quasi-sovereign’ interests based on its impact on their healthcare systems and their interest in the health and welfare of their citizens,” he said.

The judge also agreed with the states that the lifting of Title 42 was subject to the ACA, and that the government did not overcome “the presumption of reviewability under the APA.”

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Summerhays, a Trump nominee, was widely seen as likely to issue the injunction, particularly as he had granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Homeland Security from transitioning away from Title 42 by removing migrants via a process called “expedited removal” instead.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal the federal district court judge’s ruling, and the Supreme Court may be asked to weigh in with an emergency order, but that may not happen for the next several weeks.

Meanwhile, the number of migrants encountered at the southern border has remained at highs not seen in decades. There were more than 234,000 migrant encounters in April, compared to 178,000 in April 2021 and just 17,106 in April 2020.

Fox News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, with a focus on immigration. He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-blocks-biden-admin-ending-title-42-border-expulsions?test=38861ea43380e1402f1c90f21546ad4b

The post Federal judge blocks Biden admin from ending Title 42 border expulsions first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Biden’s administration, however, could soon find that approach hard to sustain, with senior officials from the U.S., South Korea and Japan concluding that a North Korean nuclear test — its first in nearly five years — is likely imminent.

“The United States assesses that the DPRK is preparing its Punggye-ri test site and could be ready to conduct a test there as early as this month, which would be its seventh test. This assessment is consistent with the DPRK’s own recent public statements,” U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said on May 6, using the acronym for the North’s formal name.

At a large-scale military parade late last month, Kim vowed in a speech before thousands of goose-stepping soldiers that he would speed up the development of his nuclear arsenal. At the same time, he delivered a chilling warning about its potential use should war erupt on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan has echoed the U.S. view, with Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi pointing to Kim’s stated commitment to the continued buildup of his nuclear weapons program despite crushing United Nations sanctions.

“It’s clear that North Korea intends to turn its back on the international community and continue its nuclear development, as evidenced by its repeated references to strengthening its nuclear arsenal,” Kishi said earlier this month. “This is absolutely unacceptable.”

A return to the headlines?
At the Punggye-ri site — which was closed in 2018 after Kim announced a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, with some tunnels dramatically blown up — recent satellite imagery has captured work to restore at least one tunnel, likely for its next nuclear test.

The North, likely well aware of spy satellites flying above, has done little to deny that a test could be imminent.

“Preparations for a resumption of nuclear testing are clearly underway,” said Joshua Pollack, a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

This year, the North has unleashed a record-breaking number of missile launches, conducting 16 tests — including one of an intercontinental ballistic missile that Japan’s Defense Ministry believes is capable of traveling 15,000 kilometers, putting the entire U.S. within striking distance.

The ICBM test in late March put the final nail in the coffin for Kim’s self-imposed moratorium on longer-range missile launches.

A nuclear test, however, would not only provide Pyongyang with crucial data for diversifying its arsenal of nuclear bombs, but also thrust the isolated country back into the spotlight, some experts say.

“Short-range missile tests from North Korea barely register these days for the international community, in part because we’ve become numb to the frequency of such tests, but also because of the Ukraine crisis,” said Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow and North Korea expert at the Brookings Institution think tank. “A nuclear test would certainly be a wake-up call.”

Timing ripe for nuke test
While the timing of such a move remains unclear, especially as North Korea grapples with its first publicly acknowledged outbreak of COVID-19, officials in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have all said that Pyongyang is likely to finish preparations for a test at the Punggye-ri site sometime this month.

Within that time frame, Kim has a number of opportunities to play a disruptive role.

Biden is scheduled to visit Seoul and Tokyo for five days from Friday for meetings with new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The U.S. president is then due to hold talks with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for a “Quad” summit in Tokyo.

But the recently revealed COVID-19 crisis in North Korea could put any plans for a nuclear test on ice as the country focuses its energies on the outbreak. State media reported Tuesday that the country had confirmed 269,510 more cases of “fever” symptoms as of a day earlier, bringing the total to 1,483,060, while the death toll rose to 56.

Kim has said the outbreak is causing “a great upheaval” not seen since the country’s founding. On Tuesday, state media said he had ordered the mobilization of the military for a mission aimed at “defusing the public health crisis.”

Even if Kim chooses to hold off on a seventh nuke test this month, precedent holds that he’s still likely to take such a step sometime early in the Yoon administration.

Yoon took office just last week and used his inauguration speech to highlight his hawkish stance on the South’s neighbor, calling for Pyongyang’s “complete denuclearization” and labeling its increasingly sophisticated weapons as a threat not only to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia but to the globe as well.

While Yoon did say that “the door to dialogue will remain open” to peacefully resolving the nuclear threat, offering up the possibility of economic aid to the North, this was only on the condition that Pyongyang first give up its nukes — a nonstarter for Kim, who views the weapons as essential for the survival of his regime.

“If the past is any predictor of future behavior, North Korea has tended to escalate tensions within the first couple of months of a new South Korean president, irrespective of political party,” Yeo said.

A ‘tactical’ advantage?
Although the North’s last nuclear test, in 2017, was its most powerful blast to date, observers say any new test would likely be of a smaller battlefield weapon known as a “tactical” nuclear bomb that could be deployed on its growing number of short- and midrange missiles capable of striking South Korea and Japan.

“Testing a lower-yield device would make sense, since Kim Jong Un has been talking about the development of ‘tactical’ nuclear warheads since his remarks at the Eighth Party Congress in January 2021,” Pollack said of a rare meeting of the North’s ruling party’s top officials during which Kim unveiled a wish list of weapons he was seeking.

While Kim has described his country’s “super large nuclear warheads” as already being in production, there has been a noticeable shift to focusing on the smaller tactical weapons. Indeed, state-run media was clear in its description of a test last month of the country’s newest short-range ballistic missile, which it said was “of great significance in drastically improving … the operation of tactical nukes.”

If the North were to test a smaller-yield device, which appears increasingly likely given the condition of the Punggye-ri testing site, it would give them a potent weapon that could be used as leverage in any return to long-stalled nuclear negotiations with the U.S.

It could also add momentum to an already unfolding arms race on the Korean Peninsula and with Japan.

“Testing smaller warheads would add more versatility to the regime’s toolbox of coercion and extortion,” said Yeo. “A successful test of smaller tactical nukes would definitely spur open debate about bringing tactical nuclear weapons back” to South Korea.

Yeo said that although Yoon’s team backed the idea at one point during the presidential election race, “it’s unlikely that it would support the deployment of such weapons, as this could lead to further instability in Northeast Asia. Moreover, the U.S. would likely oppose such a decision.”

A test of a North Korean tactical weapon, however, could add to growing support for Seoul developing an indigenous nuclear weapons program — which may even be the preferred route, according to a February survey that found a robust majority of public support in South Korea for the possession of the country’s own arsenal over stationing U.S. nukes there.

For Japan, the repeated missile and nuclear tests — including a number of launches that have landed in Japanese waters and territory — have been a key driver in Tokyo’s push to shed its postwar defense constraints. Most recently, Kishida has vowed to consider “all options” to strengthen the country’s defenses, including acquiring a so-called counterstrike capability that would be, in part, intended to deter a North Korean attack.

Ultimately, though, much will rest on what Kim decides to do.

For his part, Pollack believes that North Korea would have little to gain from pursuing tactical weapons, given its estimated arsenal of 20 to 60 warheads, steady supply of fissile material for more bombs and its advances in longer-range missile technology.

“They are already capable of striking essentially any target of interest, anywhere,” he said. “Kim Jong Un continually tries to alchemize nuclear weapons into the respect of the world, but the formula seems to have escaped him.”

Kim’s quest to diversify his arsenal as his country faces down the virus as well as serious food shortages, Pollack said, is “especially striking.”

“It seems like a distraction. But perhaps it’s easier to contend with external dangers than internal ones.”

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/17/asia-pacific/north-korea-nuclear-test-tactical-weapons/

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The data represents an unprecedented admission of an “explosive” outbreak in a country that had previously reported no confirmed cases since the pandemic began, and could mark a grave public health, economic and political crisis for the isolated regime.

Experts said that given North Korea’s limited testing capabilities, the numbers released so far probably represent a small fraction of the infections, and could lead to thousands of deaths in one of only two countries in the world without a COVID-19 vaccination campaign. About 187,800 people are being treated in isolation after a fever of unidentified origin has “explosively spread nationwide” since late April, the official KCNA news agency reported.

Roughly 350,000 people have shown signs of that fever, including 18,000 who newly reported such symptoms on Thursday, KCNA said. About 162,200 have been treated, but it did not specify how many had tested positive for COVID-19.

At least six people who showed fever symptoms have died, with one of those case confirmed to have contracted the omicron variant of the virus, KCNA said.

Harvard Medical School’s Kee Park, who has worked on health care projects in North Korea, said the country has been testing about 1,400 people each week, which is not nearly enough to survey 350,000 people with symptoms.

“What is more worrisome is the sheer number of symptomatic people,” he added. “Using a conservative case fatality rate of 1% and assuming the surge is due to an omicron variant of COVID-19, North Korea can expect 3,500 deaths from this outbreak.”

‘Gravest emergency’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the anti-virus command center on Thursday to check the situation and responses after declaring a “gravest state of emergency” and ordering a national lockdown, state media reported.

North Korea has said the outbreak began in the capital of Pyongyang in April. State media did not elaborate on the cause of the outbreak, but the city hosted several massive public events on April 15 and 25, including a military parade and large gatherings where most people did not wear masks.

Kim, who attended several of those events, “criticized that the simultaneous spread of fever with the capital area as a center shows that there is a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system we have already established,” KCNA said.

Kim said actively isolating and treating people with fevers is a top priority, while calling for scientific treatment methods and tactics “at a lightning tempo” and bolstering measures to supply medication.

In another dispatch, KCNA said health authorities were trying to organize testing and treatment systems and bolster disinfection work.

The rapid spread of the virus highlights the potential for a major crisis in a country that lacks medical resources, has refused international help with vaccinations and has kept its borders shut.

Analysts said the outbreak could threaten to deepen the isolated country’s already tough food situation this year, as the lockdown would hamper its “all-out fight” against drought and the mobilization of labor.

Calls for aid
North Korea said last year it had developed its own Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) equipment to conduct COVID tests. But it declined vaccine supplies from the COVAX global sharing program and China, possibly leaving the vast majority of people in a relatively young society at higher risk of infection.

North Korea has so far not publicized any new calls for help in countering the outbreak, but some observers were optimistic that the disclosure was a signal that the government would soon accept vaccines or other aid.

Kwon Young-se, South Korea’s new nominee to be the unification minister, responsible for inter-Korean ties, said at his confirmation hearing on Thursday that he was willing to push for humanitarian assistance for the North, including COVID-19 treatment, syringes and other medical supplies.

A unification ministry spokesman said on Friday that about 95.4 billion won ($74.1 million) from an inter-Korean cooperation fund was earmarked to facilitate exchanges in the health and medical area.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said it had no plans to send vaccines to North Korea but supported international efforts to provide aid to vulnerable people there, urging Pyongyang to facilitate that work.

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/05/13/asia-pacific/north-korea-covid-death/

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