North Korea could have up to 2 tonnes of highly enriched uranium: Seoul
North Korea could have up to 2 tonnes of highly enriched uranium: Seoul/node/2616639/world
North Korea could have up to 2 tonnes of highly enriched uranium: Seoul
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, second right, inspects a nuclear material production site and nuclear weapons laboratory, at an unknown location in North Korea on Jan. 29, 2025. (KCNA via KNS/AFP)
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Updated 11 min 17 sec ago
AFP
North Korea could have up to 2 tonnes of highly enriched uranium: Seoul
The North has long been known to hold a ‘significant’ amount of highly enriched uranium
The country is believed to operate multiple uranium enrichment facilities – Seoul’s spy agency
Updated 11 min 17 sec ago
AFP
SEOU: North Korea is believed to possess up to two tonnes of highly enriched uranium, South Korea’s unification minister said Thursday.
The North has long been known to hold a “significant” amount of highly enriched uranium, the key material used to produce nuclear warheads, according to South Korea’s defense ministry.
But in a rare public confirmation, South Korea’s unification minister said that “intelligence agencies estimate Pyongyang’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium – more than 90 percent pure – at up to 2,000 kilograms.”
“Even at this very hour, North Korea’s uranium centrifuges are operating at four sites,” Chung Dong-young told reporters.
“Only five to six kg of plutonium is enough to build a single nuclear bomb,” said Chung, adding that 2,000kg of highly enriched uranium, which could be reserved solely for plutonium production, would be “enough to make an enormous number of nuclear weapons.”
Chung said that “stopping North Korea’s nuclear development is an urgent matter,” but argued that sanctions will not be effective and that the only solution lies in a summit between Pyongyang and Washington.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said this week that he was open to US talks provided he can keep his nuclear arsenal.
North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is under rafts of UN sanctions for its banned weapons programs, has never publicly disclosed details of its uranium enrichment facility until last September.
The country is believed to operate multiple uranium enrichment facilities, Seoul’s spy agency has said, including one at its Yongbyon nuclear site, which Pyongyang purportedly decommissioned after talks – although it later reactivated the facility in 2021.
Trump is hosting Turkiye’s Erdogan at the White House as the US considers lifting ban on F-35 sales
Updated 1 sec ago
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday as the Republican leader has indicated that the US government’s hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara may soon be lifted. During Trump’s first term, the United States kicked out Turkiye, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after it purchased an air defense system from Russia. US officials worried that Turkiye’s use of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands. But Trump last week gave Turkiye hope that a resolution to the matter is near as he announced plans for Erdogan’s visit. “We are working on many Trade and Military Deals with the President, including the large scale purchase of Boeing aircraft, a major F-16 Deal, and a continuation of the F-35 talks, which we expect to conclude positively,” Trump said in a social media post. The visit will be Erdogan’s first trip to the White House since 2019. The two leaders forged what Trump has described as a “very good relationship” during his first White House go-around despite the US-Turkiye relationship often being complicated. US officials have cited concerns about Turkiye’s human rights record under Erdogan and the country’s ties with Russia. Tensions between Turkiye and Israel, another important American ally, over Gaza and Syria have at times made relations difficult with Turkiye. Erdogan has made clear he’s eager to see the hold on F-35s lifted. “I don’t think it’s very becoming of strategic partnership, and I don’t think it’s the right way to go,” Erdogan said in an interview this week on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.” Turkish officials say they have already made a $1.4 billion payment for the jets. President Joe Biden’s administration kept Erdogan, who has served as Turkiye’s president since 2014 and was prime minister for more than a decade before that, at an arm’s length during the Democrat’s four years in office. The reluctance to engage deeply was borne out of Turkiye’s record of democratic backsliding as well as Ankara’s close ties to Moscow. Opposition parties and human rights organizations have accused Erdogan of undermining democracy and curbing freedom of expression during his more than two decades in power. International observers say that baseless investigations and prosecutions of human rights activists, journalists, opposition politicians and others remain a persistent problem in Turkiye. But Trump sees Erdogan as a critical partner and credible intermediary in his effort to find ends to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The Trump administration is also largely in sync with Turkiye’s approach to Syria as both nations piece together their posture toward the once isolated country after the fall of Syrian leader Bashar Assad last December. Trump and European leaders have followed Erdogan in embracing Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, who once commanded a rebel group that was designated a foreign terrorist organization. Trump’s chief diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met with Al-Sharaa Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Erdogan has sought to position his country as a point of stability in a tumultuous moment. He believes Turkiye can play an essential role for European security and is able to span geopolitical divisions over Ukraine, Syria and US tariffs that have sparked a global trade war. Turkiye also believes it has emerged as a credible broker in the Black Sea region, preserving relations with both Ukraine and Russia. Turkiye is an influential actor in neighboring Syria as the rebel groups it supported during the civil war took power last December. However, the fall of Assad aggravated already tense relations between Turkiye and Israel, with their conflicting interests pushing the relationship toward a possible collision course. Trump, for his part, has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “reasonable” in his dealings with Ankara. Erdogan on Tuesday took part in a group meeting hosted by Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump gathered the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries to discuss the nearly two-year-old Gaza war. The Turkish leader has been sharply critical of Israel’s handling of the war, which was launched after Hamas militants launched an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken captive. Over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and about 90 percent of homes in the territory have been destroyed or damaged. Erdogan in his Tuesday address at the UN once again laid into Israel, alleging its forces have committed genocide, an allegation rebutted by Israel and United States. “This is not a fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said. “This is an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide and life destruction, mass destruction policy carried on by invoking the events of October the 7th.”
Trump budget office tells agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of potential shutdown/node/2616634/world
Trump budget office tells agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of potential shutdown
Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week
Move increases consequences of a potential government shutdown next week and escalates pressure on Democrats opposing Trump's funding bill
Updated 54 min 52 sec ago
AP
WASHINGTON: The White House is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the government shuts down next week.
In a memo released Wednesday night, the Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, is not otherwise funded and is “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.
A reduction in force would not only lay off employees but eliminate their positions, which would trigger yet another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.
Once any potential government shutdown ends, agencies are asked to revise their reduction in force plans “as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,” according to the memo, which was first reported by Politico.
This move from OMB significantly increases the consequences of a potential government shutdown next week and escalates pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. They have kept nearly all Democratic lawmakers united against a clean funding bill pushed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that would keep the federal government operating for seven more weeks.
OMB noted that it held its first planning call with other federal agencies earlier this week to plan for a shutdown. The budget office plays point in managing federal government shutdowns, particularly planning for them ahead of time. Past budget offices have also posted shutdown contingency plans — which would outline which agency workers would stay on the job during a government shutdown and which would be furloughed — on its website, but this one has not.
The memo noted that congressional Democrats are refusing to support a clean government funding bill “due to their partisan demands,” which include an extension of enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus a reversal of Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans’ big tax and spending law.
“As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one,” the memo reads, which also notes that the GOP’s signature law, a major tax and border spending package, gives “ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.”
OMB noted that it had asked all agencies to submit their plans in case of a government shutdown by Aug. 1.
“OMB has received many, but not all, of your submissions,” it added. “Please send us your updated lapse plans ASAP.”
Ukraine’s president says the world is in ‘the most destructive arms race in human history’
Urges EU nations to help stop Russian interference in Moldova before it's too late
Says if Putin isn’t stopped now, he will keep driving the war forward, “wider and deeper”
Updated 25 September 2025
AP
UNITED NATIONS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told global leaders Wednesday that the world is in “the most destructive arms race in human history” and urged the international community to act against Russia now, asserting that Vladimir Putin wants to expand his war in Europe.
In a bleak view of today’s world, he told the annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly that weak international institutions including the United Nations haven’t been able to stop wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere, and international law can’t help nations survive.
“Weapons decide who survives,” the Ukrainian leader said. “There are no security guarantees except friends and weapons.”
Zelensky spoke from the podium of the vast assembly chamber a day after he met with President Donald Trump, who expressed support for Ukraine’s efforts and criticized Russia. Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the US leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war sparked by President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor.
Zelensky did not comment on the surprise US pivot, saying only that he had “a good meeting” with Trump and with many other “strong leaders.”
“Together, we can change a lot,” he said, expressing appreciation for support from the United States. and Europe and urging all UN member nations to condemn Russia while it “keeps dragging this war on.”
If Putin isn’t stopped now, the Ukrainian president warned the assembly that he will keep driving the war forward, “wider and deeper.”
“Ukraine is only the first, and now Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries,” he said.
Worries about Moldova
Zelensky said neighboring Moldova is defending itself again from Russian interference and should not be allowed to move toward dependency on Russia as Georgia and Belarus are. “Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova, too,” he said, stressing that the country needs funding and energy support, not just “political gestures.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelensky said, weapons and especially drones “are evolving faster than our ability to defend ourselves.”
While drones previously were used by major countries, he said, “Now, there are tens of thousands of people who know how to professionally kill using drones.”
Recently, European airports had to shut down because of drones, Zelensky said, and last week North Korea announced the test of “a tactical drone” which means even countries with limited resources can build dangerous weapons.
“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,” he said. “Companies are already working on drones that can shoot down other drones, and it’s only a matter of time — not much — before drones are fighting drones, attacking critical infrastructure and attacking people all by themselves – fully autonomous and no human involved except the few who control AI system.”
Zelensky echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling for global rules on how AI can be used in weapons, stressing that “this is just as urgent as preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.”
Stopping Putin now is cheaper than trying to protect every port and airport and every ship from drone attacks, and having to build underground schools and health centers as Ukraine has been forced to do to protect its citizens, he said. “Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead.”
“So we must use everything we have together to force the aggressor to stop, and only then do we have a real chance that this arms race will not end in catastrophe for all of us,” the Ukrainian leader said.
The Ukrainian leader said his country doesn’t have “big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades” but it is producing drones that can fly 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers which have been used against Russia.
Zelensky said Ukraine is building a new security architecture, and more than 30 countries are part of its coalition, and “we have decided to open up for arms exports – and these are powerful systems tested in a real war when every international institution failed.”
Hillary Clinton slams RFK Jr. and the spread of ‘crackpot ideas,’ saying they are costing lives
“I mean, this is so crazy, it’s so wrongheaded, it’s so shortsighted. And it’s going to cause deaths,” Clinton said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
Updated 25 September 2025
AP
Hillary Clinton on Wednesday slammed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and accused the Trump administration of turning “the clock back” on public health.
Clinton expressed alarm about people in the country listening to “crackpot ideas” after a press conference Monday in which the Secretary of Health and Human Services and President Donald Trump made a series of unproven statements about Tylenol, childhood vaccines and autism.
“I mean, this is so crazy, it’s so wrongheaded, it’s so shortsighted. And it’s going to cause deaths,” she said during an appearance Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “These guys want to literally turn the clock back.”
Clinton, the former secretary of state and Trump’s 2016 Democratic opponent for president, said the statements would lead to confusion.
“When your president says something, when a Kennedy, who’s the secretary of HHS, says something, what are you supposed to believe?” she asked.
“You know, people are confused. And too many Americans are listening to this, you know, very destructive anti-science tirade that we’re hearing from this administration. And it’s going to cost lives. It already is costing lives.”
In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai chided Clinton, saying that her “open contempt and condescension toward everyday Americans is exactly why she so devastatingly lost in 2016 to President Trump and why she’s no longer relevant.”
Syria’s Sharaa, Trump meet on sidelines of UN General Assembly
Earlier on Monday, Al-Sharaa met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York
Trump had previously eased sanctions long imposed on Syria in a bid to ensure the country becomes a stable player in the Middle East
Updated 25 September 2025
Reuters AP
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Syrian state news agency SANA said early on Thursday.
SANA released a photograph showing Al-Sharaa shaking hands with Trump, with First Lady Melania Trump also present. The agency provided no further details.
This was the second meeting between the two leaders, following their meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in May.
Earlier on Monday, Al-Sharaa met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York, expanding relations with the West and further easing his country’s isolation. He also became Syria’s first leader to take part in a UN high-level meeting in nearly 60 years.
The last time a Syrian head of state attended the UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders was in 1967 — before the 50-year rule of the Assad family dynasty. A lightning insurgent offensive led by Al-Sharaa ousted Bashar Assad in December and brought nearly 14 years of civil war to an end.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes (left) hands with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2025. (AFP)
Since then, Al-Sharaa has sought to restore ties with Arab countries and the West, where officials were initially wary of his past ties with the Al-Qaeda militant group. The rebel group he formerly led, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, was previously designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist group.
President Trump’s administration has erased that designation and eased sanctions long imposed on Syria in a bid to ensure the country becomes a stable player in the Middle East following its global isolation under Assad.
Rubio “underscored this opportunity for Syria to build a stable and sovereign nation following President Trump’s historic announcement earlier this year on sanctions relief for the Syrian people,” the State Department said in a statement.
“They discussed ongoing counterterrorism efforts, efforts to locate missing Americans, and the importance of Israel-Syria relations in achieving greater regional security,” the department said.
However, Al-Sharaa again expressed doubt that Syria would join the Abraham Accords, which saw several Arab states normalize relations with Israel during Trump’s first term. That is even as Syria is in talks with the US and Israel over a potential security arrangement that could be finalized as early as this week.
“There’s a big difference between Syria and those members in the Abraham Accords,” he said earlier Monday at the Concordia Annual Summit, a global affairs forum in New York. “Syria is different. And those who are part of the Abraham Accords are not neighbors to Israel. Therefore, Syria as a neighbor has been subjected to over 1,000 raids, strikes and Israeli incursions.”
He added that “Syria has to be respected in this new era. There are different phases of negotiations with Israel to go back to the truce of 1974.”
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (left) applauds after US President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2025. (AFP)
The comments from Al-Sharaa came in a conversation with retired Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded troops in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and previously served as CIA director.
They met in a New York conference hall after fighting on opposite sides of the US-led war in Iraq two decades ago. Al-Sharaa was an Al-Qaeda militant imprisoned by American forces, while Petraeus was the architect of a military strategy that for a time succeeded in suppressing the extremist group.
At the forum, Al-Sharaa praised Trump, whom he met in in May, for taking a “bold decision” on lifting many sanctions against Syria. “I think Syria deserves a new opportunity,” Al-Sharaa said.
However, some sanctions remain, and the State Department had to waive Assad-era visa restrictions on Syria for Al-Sharaa and his delegation so they could participate in the UN meeting of world leaders, which kicks off Tuesday.
Al-Sharaa urged the United States to remove the remaining sanctions, saying Syria needs help as it comes out of war and crisis.
“The Syrian people should not be killed another time through the sanctions,” he said. “The Syrian people love work. Lift the sanctions, and don’t worry about them.”
He also met in New York with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Gregory Meeks, ranking Democrats on the foreign relations committees, and Shaheen emphasized that Congress should pass legislation she is co-sponsoring to lift penalties still in place, according to a statement from the Senate committee.
Asked about atrocities committed against members of minorities in the coastal region and the southern province of Sweida that have caused alarm in the US and elsewhere, Al-Sharaa said “there was major chaos and everyone made mistakes.”
He noted that for the first time in 60 years, Syria has allowed international fact-finding teams into the country.
“The Syrian state will work on accountability against those found guilty even if they were the closest people to us,” he said.
