United News of Bangladesh

Authorities deployed armed troops in the capital Colombo on Monday hours after government supporters attacked protesters who have been camped outside the offices of the country's president and prime minster, as trade unions began a “Week of Protests” demanding the government change and its president to step down over the country’s worst economic crisis in memory. The Indian Ocean island nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans. Its economic woes have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing widespread protests and a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Supporters of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa rallied inside his office earlier Monday, urging him to ignore the protesters' demand to step down and requesting he remain in office. After the meeting, they went to the front of the office where protesters have been demonstrating for several days. Local television channel Sirasa showed pro-government supporters attacking protesters with clubs and iron bars, demolishing and later burning down their tents. Also read: Diplomats concerned by state of emergency in Sri Lanka After the attack, hundreds of armed soldiers were deployed in Colombo as the protesters made accusations on Sirasa TV that police did not interfere to prevent the attack, despite using tear gas and water cannons on protesters as recently as Friday. Sirasa TV showed government lawmaker Sanath Nishantha was among the government supporters who attacked the protesters. At the main hospital in the capital Colombo, 23 wounded people have been admitted and their condition is not critical, an official said on condition of anonymity as she is not authorized to speak to the media. Also read: Sri Lanka leader declares emergency amid protests The attack came as protesters marked their 31st day outside the president’s and prime minister's offices. They have been demanding that the president, his older brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other powerful Rajapaksa family members quit. Similar protests have spread to other locations, with people setting up camps opposite the prime minister’s residence and in other towns across the country. So far, the Rajapaksa brothers have resisted calls to resign, though three Rajapaksas out of the five who were lawmakers stepped down from their Cabinet posts in April. Meanwhile, trade unions on Monday called for protests throughout this week, trade union activist Saman Rathnapriya said, and more than 1,000 unions representing health, port, education, and other key service sectors have joined the “Week of Protests" movement. He said during the week, the workers will stage demonstrations at their workplaces across the country. At the end of the week, they will launch a huge march up to Parliament, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's removal and a new government. For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine, most of which come from abroad. Shortages of hard currency have also hindered imports of raw materials for manufacturing and worsened inflation, which surged to 18.7% in March. People blocked main roads to demand gas and fuel. On Sunday, local television channel Hiru showed people in some areas fighting over fuel. Sri Lanka was due to pay $7 billion of its foreign debt this year out of nearly $25 billion it must pay by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Sri Lanka’s finance minister announced earlier this week that the country’s usable foreign reserves have plummeted below $50 million. As oil prices soar during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka’s fuel stocks are running out. Authorities have announced countrywide power cuts will increase to about four a day because they can’t supply enough fuel to power generating stations. Protesters have crowded the streets since March, maintaining that Rajapaksa and his family — who have dominated nearly every aspect of life in Sri Lanka for most of the last 20 years — are responsible for the crisis. On Friday, Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency, which empowers him to authorize detentions, property seizure and search of any premises. He can also change or suspend any law in the interests of public security and for the maintenance of essential supplies. Diplomats and rights groups have expressed concern over the move. Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the International Monetary Fund to get an immediate funding facility as well as a long-term rescue plan but was told its progress would depend on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. Any long-term plan would take at least six months to get.

Filipinos began voting for a new president on Monday, with the son of an ousted dictator and a champion of reforms and human rights as top contenders in a tenuous moment in a deeply divided Asian democracy. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the strongman ousted in a 1986 army-backed “People Power” uprising, has led pre-election surveys with a seemingly insurmountable lead. But his closest challenger, Vice President Leni Robredo, has tapped into shock and outrage over the prospect of another Marcos recapturing the seat of power and harnessed an army of campaign volunteers to underpin her candidacy. Eight other candidates, including former boxing star Manny Pacquiao, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and former national police chief Sen. Panfilo Lacson have lagged far behind in voter-preference surveys. Long lines of voters turned up early across most of the country without any major incident. But in southern Maguindanao province, a security hotspot, unidentified men fired at least three grenades Sunday night in the vicinity of the Datu Unsay town hall compound, wounding nine villagers who traveled there in advance from far-flung villages to be able to vote Monday. Two other grenades exploded shortly after in nearby Shariff Aguak town but caused no injuries, police said. The winner will take office on June 30 for a single, six-year term as leader of a Southeast Asian nation hit hard by two years of COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns. Still more challenging problems include a sagging economy, deeper poverty and unemployment, decades-long Muslim and communist insurgencies. There will likely also be questions over how to deal with calls demanding the prosecution of outgoing populist leader Rodrigo Duterte, whose anti-drug crackdown has left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead and sparked an investigation by the International Criminal Court. Duterte’s daughter, southern Davao city Mayor Sara Duterte, has topped surveys as Marcos Jr.’s vice-presidential running mate in an alliance of the scions of two authoritarian leaders who had long been in the crosshairs of human rights groups. The tie-up has combined the voting power of their separate northern and southern political strongholds, boosting their chances but compounding worries of human rights activists. Also Read: Philippines orders evacuation of Filipinos from Iraq “History may repeat itself if they win,” said Myles Sanchez, a 42-year-old human rights worker. “There may be a repeat of martial law and the drug killings that happened under their parents.” Sanchez said the violence and abuses that marked the martial-law era under Marcos and Duterte’s drug war more than three decades later victimized loved ones from two generations of her family. Her grandmother was sexually abused and her grandfather tortured by counterinsurgency troops under Marcos in the early 1980s in their impoverished farming village in Southern Leyte province. Under Duterte’s crackdown, Sanchez’s brother, a sister and a sister-in-law were wrongfully linked to illegal drugs and separately killed, she told The Associated Press in an interview. She described the killings of her siblings as “a nightmare that has caused unspeakable pain.” She begged Filipinos not to vote for politicians who either openly defended the widespread killings or conveniently looked away. Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte have stayed away from such volatile issues in the three-month campaign and steadfastly stuck instead to a battle cry of national unity, even though the presidencies of their fathers had opened some of the most turbulent divisions in the country’s history. “I have learned in our campaign not to retaliate,” Sara Duterte told followers Saturday night in the final day of campaigning, where she and Marcos Jr. thanked a huge crowd in a night of rap music, dance shows and fireworks near Manila Bay. In a separate rally, Robredo thanked her supporters who jammed her star-studded sorties and waged a house-to-house battle to endorse her brand of clean and hands-on politics. She asked them to fight for patriotic ideals beyond the elections. “We’ve learned that those who have awoken will never close their eyes again,” Robredo told a crowd that filled the main avenue in the capital’s Makati financial district. “It’s our right to have a future with dignity and it’s our responsibility to fight for it.” Aside from the presidency, more than 18,000 government posts are contested, including half of the 24-member Senate, more than 300 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as provincial and local offices across the archipelago of more than 109 million Filipinos. About 67 million have registered to cast their ballot during the 13-hour voting, an hour longer than the midterm elections in 2019 to compensate for the expected slower queues due to social distancing and other coronavirus safeguards. Thousands of police and military personnel were deployed to secure election precincts, specially in rural regions with a history of violent political rivalries and where communist and Muslim rebels have a presence. In 2009, gunmen deployed by the family of southern Maguindanao province’s then-governor massacred 58 people, including 32 journalists, in an attack on an election convoy that shocked the world.    

A relationship and subsequent breakup between a duo apparently played a role in the fire that broke out in a building in Indore’s Swarn Baag Colony in the wee hours of Saturday claiming seven lives, The Hindustan Times reported on Sunday from Bhopal quoting the Madhya Pradesh police Police said Shubham Dixit alias Sanjay, who allegedly set on fire the building in Indore, wanted to get back at a woman living in the building who was reportedly in a relationship with him but broke up with him and decided to marry someone else. The 28-year-old man was arrested late at night on Saturday from Lohamandi. He tried to flee and injured his leg and a hand, according to The Hindustan Times. Also read: 7 die in India building fire Police admitted him to the hospital and later arrested him, said Tehzeeb Qazi, police station in-charge, Vijay Nagar. He was scheduled to be produced before the court on Sunday. According to the police officer, Dixit, a resident of Jhansi, was sore about a woman, who used to reside with her mother in the Swarnbagh Colony building, deciding to marry someone else. He told the police that they were in a relationship and even lent her 10,000. But she recently got engaged to someone else. “Late on Friday night, he called the woman for the money. The conversation (near the building) soon turned into a bitter argument. He threatened her. Later, he came to the parking area of the building, took out petrol from a bike, poured it on the woman’s scooty and set it afire,” said Qazi. Police checked footage of at least 100 CCTV cameras during the investigation. In at least one of the video clips, police saw the man entering the building and later coming out of the building after setting the two-wheeler on fire. The man also tried to tamper with the CCTV camera and also the electricity meter. The man was seen at the crime scene a few minutes later to check the result. But by then, the fire had spread to the building, the police officer said. Also read: 7 of family killed in India road accident The woman and her mother safely came out of the building by using a rope on Saturday. Police said they will register statement of the woman who did not disclose her argument with the man earlier. “The fire broke out in the wee hours of Saturday in a building in Swarn Baag Colony. Some were burnt alive and some suffocated as it was a congested building,” Indore police commissioner HN Mishra said. The deceased include Ishwar Singh Sisodia (45), Neetu Sisodia (45), Ashish (30), Gaurav (38) and Akanksha (25). Among the dead, two people aged between 40 and 45 have not been identified yet.

An experienced Nepalese Sherpa guide scaled Mount Everest for the 26th time breaking his own record for the most climbs of the world's highest peak, expedition organizers said Sunday. Kami Rita reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit on Saturday evening leading a group of Sherpa climbers who fixed ropes along the route so that hundreds of other climbers and guides can make their way to the top of the mountain later this month. READ: Everest record-breaker Sherpa Ang Rita dies Rita and 10 other Sherpa guides reached the summit without any problems and had safely returned to lower camps, said Mingma Sherpa of the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks. The group reached the summit around 7 p.m. on Saturday, which by Everest climbing standards is late. At night, there is risk of weather conditions deteriorating and climbers losing their way on the way down. Sherpa said the guides were all highly experienced climbers. There are hundreds of foreign climbers and an equal number of Sherpa guides who will attempt to climb Everest this month. May is the best month to climb Everest since it has the best weather conditions. There are generally only a couple of windows for good weather on the highest section of the mountain in May that enable climbers to reach the summit. Rita, 52, first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since then. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the foreign climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the mountain. His father was among the first Sherpa guides, and Rita followed in his footsteps and then some. In addition to his 26 times to the top of Everest, Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

North Korea flight-tested a ballistic missile that was likely fired from a submarine on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, continuing a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations that may culminate with a nuclear test in the coming weeks or months. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred from waters near the eastern port city of Sinpo, where North Korea has a major shipyard building submarines. It said the short-range missile flew 600 kilometers (372 miles) at a maximum altitude of 60 kilometers (37 miles) but it didn’t immediately provide details about the submarine that would have been involved in the launch. South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing the launch, the military said, describing it as a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a “serious threatening act that harms international peace and stability.” Japanese Defense Minister Nobu Kishi told reporters that the missile fell outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone and that no damage to aircraft or vessels was reported. South Korea’s national security director Suh Hoon and other senior officials during an emergency meeting denounced the launch and urged North Korea to return to long-stalled talks aimed at defusing the nuclear standoff, Seoul’s presidential office said. It was apparently North Korea’s first demonstration of a submarine-launched ballistic missile system since October last year, when it fired a new short-range missile from the 8.24 Yongung – its only known submarine capable of launching a missile. The October underwater launch was the North’s first in two years. On Wednesday, the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected a suspected ballistic missile fired from near the capital, Pyongyang. Both exercises come ahead of the inauguration on Tuesday of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to take a tougher approach over the North’s nuclear ambitions. Also Read: North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising animosities Yoon’s office said in a statement that his government will pursue “actual deterrence ability” against the North’s nuclear and missile threat, but didn’t specify how. Yoon has vowed to strengthen South Korea’s defense in conjunction with its alliance with the United States, which he said would include enhancing missile striking capabilities. So far this year, North Korea has fired missiles 15 times. They include the country’s first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 in March that demonstrated a potential range to reach the entirety of the U.S. mainland. North Korea has been clearly exploiting a favorable environment to push forward its weapons program with the U.N. Security Council divided and effectively paralyzed over Russia’s war on Ukraine. The unusually fast pace in testing activity underscores a brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions, experts say. There are also signs that North Korea is restoring tunnels at a nuclear testing ground, where it had conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017, in possible preparations for another explosive test. Analysts say the North could use another nuclear test to claim it can now build small nuclear warheads for its expanding range of shorter-range weapons threatening South Korea and Japan, or put a cluster of bombs on a multi-warhead ICBM. Jalina Porter, the U.S. State Department’s deputy spokesperson, said during a briefing Friday that the United States assesses that North Korea could be ready to conduct a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri test site as early as this month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has punctuated his recent missile tests with statements warning that the North could proactively use its nuclear weapons if threatened or provoked. Experts say such rhetoric possibly portends an escalatory nuclear doctrine that would create greater concerns for South Korea and Japan. Kim made one of those statements during an April 25 parade in Pyongyang, where he showcased the most notable weapons in his military nuclear program, including ICBMs and what appeared to be a new type of missile designed to be fired from submarines that could be larger than previous models. “(North Korea’s) submarine technology probably remains short of being able to stay at sea for extended periods while avoiding detection. But the ability to launch ballistic missiles from a submarine would further complicate missions to neutralize and defend against North Korea’s nuclear forces,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University. He said the Kim regime appears to be preparing to test a miniaturized nuclear device that it can use to arm its submarine-launched or tactical missiles, and multiple warheads on its ICBMs. North Korea has been pushing hard to acquire an ability to fire nuclear-armed missiles from submarines, which in theory would bolster its deterrent by ensuring retaliation after absorbing a nuclear attack on land. Ballistic missile submarines would also add a new maritime threat to the North’s growing collection of solid-fuel weapons fired from land vehicles, which are being developed with an apparent aim to overwhelm missile defense systems in South Korea and Japan. The North in recent years has been developing and testing a family of missiles named Pukguksong, which are designed to be fired from submarines or land vehicles. Still experts say the heavily sanctioned nation would need considerably more time, resources and major technological improvements to build at least several submarines that could travel quietly in seas and reliably execute strikes. The South Korean and Japanese militaries said the North Korean missile fired on Wednesday traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) at a maximum altitude of 800 kilometers (500 miles). North Korean state media have yet to comment on that test.    

Diplomats and rights groups expressed concern Saturday after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency and police used force against peaceful protesters amid the country's worst economic crisis in recent memory. The economic and political situation in the Indian Ocean island nation has triggered countrywide protests demanding the resignation of Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family. Rajapaksa issued a decree declaring a public emergency on Friday. He invoked sections of the Public Security Ordinance that allow him to make regulations in the interests of public security and preserving public order, and for the maintenance of essential supplies. Under the emergency regulations, Rajapaksa can authorize detentions, seize possession of property and search any premises. He can also change or suspend any law. U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung tweeted Saturday that she is “concerned” by the state of emergency, adding that “the voices of peaceful citizens need to be heard.” READ: Sri Lanka leader declares emergency amid protests “And the very real challenges Sri Lankans are facing require long term solutions to set the country back on a path toward prosperity and opportunity for all. The SOE (state of emergency) won’t help do that,” Chung added. Canadian envoy David McKinnon said Sri Lankans have a right to peaceful protest under democracy and that it is “hard to understand why it is necessary, then, to declare a state of emergency.” Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy. It announced it is suspending repayment of its foreign loans and its usable foreign currency reserves have plummeted below $50 million. The country has $7 billion in foreign loan repayments due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Police used tear gas and a water cannon twice Friday at protesters near the Parliament who were criticizing lawmakers for not ousting the president and his government, whom they say are responsible for the economic crisis. Protesters are angry that lawmakers elected a government-backed deputy speaker of Parliament by a large majority when the protesters say they should be voting Rajapaksa’s government out of power. Police first fired tear gas at a student-led protest that began Thursday after the election of the deputy speaker in what was seen as a key victory for the governing coalition. Separately, police dispersed more protesters with tear gas Friday night, also near Parliament. The rights group Amnesty International said protests have been peaceful and the authorities have unlawfully restricted the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations despite the emergency law.

The deputy chief of China's securities watchdog said the country's capital market and fund industry are still in an important period of strategic opportunity despite challenges faced by the broader economy. Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, made the remarks at a meeting of the Asset Management Association of China. The fund industry should seize opportunities, focus on high-quality development, and better serve the real economy, he said. READ: 53 dead in China building collapse, search for trapped ends Last month, China stressed the role of capital at a key meeting. Efforts will be made to regulate and guide the healthy development of capital per the law and give play to the positive role of capital as a significant production factor.

Sri Lanka’s president declared a state of emergency on Friday amid widespread public protests demanding his resignation over the country’s worst economic crisis recent memory.   President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a decree declaring a public emergency effective Friday.   Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy having announced that it is suspending repayment of its foreign loans and its usable foreign currency reserves plummeting below $50 million. It has $7 billion foreign loan repayments this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026. Rajapaksa’s announcement comes as protesters demonstrate near Parliament while others continue to occupy the entrance to the president’s office, demanding Rajapaksa and his powerful ruling family to quit, holding them responsible for the economic crisis. Also Read: Sri Lanka opposition seeks no-confidence vote on Rajapaksas Similar protests have spread to other locations, with people setting up camps opposite the prime minister’s residence and other towns across the country. For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine, most of which come from abroad. Shortages of hard currency have also hindered imports of raw materials for manufacturing and worsened inflation, which surged to 18.7% in March. As oil prices soar during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sri Lanka’s fuel stocks are running out. Authorities have announced countrywide power cuts extending up to 7 1/2 hours a day because they can’t supply enough fuel to power generating stations.    

A building collapse one week ago in central China killed 53 people, state media reported Friday as the search of the large pile of debris ended after rescuers found 10 survivors. Authorities said at a news conference that all the missing had been accounted for as of 3 a.m., state broadcaster CCTV said in an online post. The residential and commercial building in the city of Changsha suddenly collapsed the afternoon of April 29. Aerial photos showed it pancaked to about the second story between other buildings about six stories tall. At least nine people have been arrested on suspicion of ignoring building codes or committing other violations. READ: Survivor found almost 6 days after China building collapse Survivors were pulled out of the rubble over several days. The 10th and last one was pulled out shortly after midnight on Thursday, 5 ½ days after the collapse. All of the survivors were reportedly in good condition after being treated in a hospital. The arrested include the building owner, three people in charge of design and construction and five others who allegedly gave a false safety assessment for a guest house on the building’s fourth to sixth floors. The building also had residences, a café and a restaurant. Rescuers used search dogs, hand tools, drones and electronic life detectors. In an account of Monday’s rescue of the eighth survivor, state media said rescuers faced an unstable pile of rubble that they had to work around rather than demolish. Prior to the rescue, they were able to feed in video equipment to communicate with the girl and establish that one of her legs was trapped. They also fed in saline solution for her to drink. An increase in the number of collapses of self-built buildings in recent years prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to call for additional checks to uncover structural weaknesses. Poor adherence to safety standards, including the illegal addition of extra floors and failure to use reinforcing iron bars, is often blamed for such disasters. Decaying infrastructure such as gas pipes has also led to explosions and collapses.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up the development of his nuclear weapons “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals. The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president takes office for a single five-year term. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was fired from the North’s capital region and flew to the waters off its eastern coast. It called North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches “a grave threat” that would undermine international peace and security and a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launch by the North. The statement said that Won In-Choul, the South Korean JCS chief, held a video conference about the launch with Gen. Paul LaCamera, an American general who heads the South Korea-U.S. combined forces command in Seoul, and they agreed to maintain a solid joint defense posture. Japan also detected the North Korean launch and quickly condemned it. “North Korea’s series of actions that threatens the peace, safety and stability of the international community are impermissible,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters during his visit to Rome. Also read: North Korea tests new weapon bolstering nuclear capability Kishida said he’ll discuss the launch when he meets Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi later Wednesday. “Naturally, we will exchange views on the regional situation in the Indo-Pacific and East Asia, and I will thoroughly explain the reality of the region including the North Korean missile launch today, to gain understanding about the pressing situation in the East Asia,” he said. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Makoto Oniki said that the missile was believed to have landed in waters outside of the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone. There has been no report of damage or injury reported from vessels and aircraft in the area. It wasn’t immediately known what missile North Korea launched. South Korea’s military said the missile flew about 470 kilometers (290 miles) at the apogee of 780 kilometers (485 miles), while Oniki of Japan said it traveled about 500 kilometers (310 miles) at the maximum altitude of 800 kilometers (500 miles). Observers say North Korea’s unusually fast pace in weapons testing this year underscores its dual goal of advancing its missile programs and applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations. They say Kim eventually aims to use his expanded arsenal to win an international recognition of North Korea as a nuclear state that he believes would help force the United States to relax international economic sanctions on the North. One of the North Korean missiles tested recently was an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially capable of reaching the entirety of the American homeland. That missile's launch broke Kim's self-imposed 2018 moratorium on big weapons tests. There are signs that the North is also preparing for a nuclear test at its remote northeastern testing facility. If made, the nuclear bomb test explosion by North Korea would be the seventh of its kind and the first since 2017. Last week, Kim Jong Un showcased his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles targeting both the United States and its allies during a massive military parade in capital, Pyongyang. During a speech at the parade, Kim said he would develop his arsenal at the “fastest possible pace” and warned that the North would preemptively use its nuclear weapons if its national interests are threatened. North Korea has previously unleased harsh rhetoric threatening to attack its rivals with its nuclear weapons. But the fact that Kim made the threat himself and in a detailed manner have caused security jitters among some South Koreans. Taken together with North Korea’s recent tests of short-range nuclear-capable missiles, some experts speculate North Korea’s possibly escalatory nuclear doctrine would allow it to launch preemptive nuclear strikes on South Korea in some cases. Wednesday’s launch came before the May 10 inauguration of South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol, who has vowed to boost Seoul’s missile capability and solidify its military alliance with Washington to better cope with increasing North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea has a history of raising animosities with weapons tests when Seoul and Washington inaugurate new governments in an apparent bid to boost its leverage in future negotiations. Also read: Ukraine: Missile attack kills 5 in Odesa Yoon’s power transition office called the latest North Korean launch “a grave provocation” and urged Pyongyang to stop acts that raise tensions and threaten international peace. It said in a statement that the Yoon government will strongly respond to North Korean provocations in close cooperation with the international community. Some experts say the Biden administration’s passive handling of North Korea as it focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China is allowing more room for the North to expand its military capabilities. The Biden administration’s actions on North Korea have so far been limited to largely symbolic sanctions and offers of open-ended talks. North Korea has rejected the administration’s offer for talks, saying it must first abandon its “hostile policy,” in an apparent reference to U.S.-led international sanctions and U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises.