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A North Korean base has mockups of South Korean cities, POW in Ukraine says

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Read a version of this story in Korean North Korean troops train at a base designed to emulate the layout of Seoul and other major South Korean cities, a South Korean lawmaker said, citing testimony from North Korean prisoners of war in Ukraine. If the testimony is true, it is an indication that North Korea has not given up on the possibility of invading the South, a South Korean ministry official said. The POW’s testimony was revealed during an interview — broadcast on South Korean radio and simultaneously livestreamed on YouTube — with National Assemblyman Yu Yong-weon about his recent visit to Ukraine, where he met with two North Korean POWs. North Korea has sent an estimated 12,000 soldiers to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, although neither Moscow or Pyongyang has publicly confirmed this. During the interview, Yu said that one POW identified as Ri told him that the base was located in Koksan county, North Hwanghae province, just over 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the DMZ that divides North from South. Urban warfare training center(Paul Nelson/RFA) Based on the satellite images, The entire base is approximately 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) long and 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) wide, with the model buildings spread over approximately 40 hectares (100 acres) “The base complex is split up into 4 sections of MOUT across the area,” Bogle said, using the abbreviation for “military operations on urbanized terrain.” “Most are simple, there may be around 5 structures that are two floors, but the vast majority are single-story structures, but some are as long as 36 meters (40 yards),” he said. Korean People’s Army special operations force train at a five-story building at a base, Sept. 11, 2014.(KCNA) The Koksan Training Base is also believed to have been visited by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un in Sept. 2024, when state media reported that he gave onsite guidance to soldiers at a training ground. NK news, a U.S. media outlet specializing in North Korea, analyzed a documentary video broadcast on the state-run Korean Central Television in January about the visit, and reported it likely took place in Koksan. On Friday, during a press briefing by the South Korean Ministry of Unification, a reporter asked spokesperson Goo Byung-sam about Ri’s testimony and the satellite imagery in the Korean version of this report, which was published on Thursday. The spokesperson said it was a military matter and that it would be inappropriate for the Ministry of Unification to comment. “That said, if this report is true, it would be yet another piece of evidence that North Korea has not abandoned its ambitions of invading the South,” Goo said. Translated by Claire S. Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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China warns US against containment as Trump’s second term reshapes relations

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TAIPEI, Taiwan – No country should expect to suppress China and maintain good relations with it, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, as he warned of a reaction if the United States tried to contain his country. But in response to questions about U.S. relations as President Donald Trump begins his second term, Wang also held out the prospect of a successful partnership between the world’s two biggest economies. “No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain a good relationship with China at the same time,” Wang told a news conference on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing. “Such two-faced acts are not good for the stability of bilateral relations or for building mutual trust.” The United States has imposed tariffs of 20% on Chinese goods since Trump took office – 10% last month and a further 10% coming into effect on Tuesday. Trump imposed the tariffs in retaliation for what he says is China’s refusal to stop the outflow of precursors for the synthetic opioid fentanyl. U.S. officials blame fentanyl for tens of thousands of deaths each year. China moved swiftly to retaliate with tariffs of its own on American agricultural and food products while accusing the United States of “bullying.” Wang said the U.S. should reassess its policies, particularly on tariffs. He also dismissed U.S. criticism over fentanyl, describing it as a domestic issue that the U.S. must confront internally. The U.S. “should not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason,” he said, adding that China had provided the United States with “various assistance” to tackle the flow of fentanyl precursor drugs into the U.S. “If one side blindly exerts pressure, China will resolutely counter that,” Wang said. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (podium, 2nd L) speaks at a press conference during the ongoing National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 7, 2025.(Jade Gao/AFP) Wang warned of the “law of the jungle” in international relations if powerful countries bullied smaller ones. “Small and weak countries will get burned first, and the international order and rules will be under severe shock,” he said. “Major countries should undertake their international obligations … and not seek to profit from and bully the weak.” He said China welcomed more countries into a “community of a shared future.” “History proves that the only way to be a real winner is to care for everyone,” he added. ‘Playing with fire’ On broader U.S.-China relations, Wang denounced “unjustified external suppression” of China’s technology sector and reiterated Beijing’s opposition to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy. Wang called on the U.S. to foster “positive and pragmatic cooperation and dialogue,” while emphasizing that mutual respect remained the foundation of U.S.-China ties, and their economic and trade ties were interdependent. “The two countries can be partners that contribute to each other’s success,” he said. Wang held out the prospect of good ties with the European Union as well, noting that annual China-EU trade has grown to US$780 billion. “We also believe that Europe can be a reliable partner. Both sides have the ability and wisdom to properly handle existing issues through friendly consultations,” he said. RELATED STORIES US charges 12 Chinese hackers and officials, offers $10M in rewards Trump hails retaliatory tariffs in defense of America’s jobs and its soul China announces 7.2% defense budget hike, reaffirms opposition to Taiwan independence Wang reaffirmed Beijing’s position on self-ruled Taiwan and accused outside powers of fueling instability, adding that anyone supporting Taiwan’s independence would get burned. “Taiwan has never been a country; it was not in the past, and it will never be in the future,” he said, warning that “allowing Taiwan independence undermines stability in the Taiwan Strait.” Wang further criticized “external support” for the island’s independence. “Supporting Taiwan independence is playing with fire,” he said. On the war in Ukraine, Wang repeated China’s stance of support for political negotiations to end a conflict that he said “could have been avoided.” “China has been advocating for peace talks since the first day of the crisis,” he said. “All parties should learn something from the crisis,” he said. “Among many other things, security should be mutual and equal, and no country should build its security on the insecurity of another,” he said. Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Exclusive: World’s ‘largest online black market’ loses banking license

Editor09 mins

Huione Pay, the banking arm of what’s been called the world’s “largest ever illicit online marketplace,” has been stripped of its banking license, the National Bank of Cambodia confirmed to RFA this week. The company is part of the wider Huione Group of Cambodia, a conglomerate which operates several “Huione” products, including marketplaces, banking and finance apps. One of these, a Telegram marketplace, has been identified as a notorious place for crime tied to up to $24 billion in illicit transactions. Huione Pay’s license was withdrawn owing to its noncompliance with “existing regulations and recommendations that may have been made by the regulators,” a National Bank of Cambodia spokesperson told RFA by email on Thursday. The spokesperson did not say when the license was withdrawn or what repercussions the company might face if they continue to operate. Huione did not respond to RFA’s requests for comment before publication. It has previously denied criminal activity– when Huione was identified by the cryptocurrency compliance firm Elliptic to have facilitated millions of dollars in criminal payments, it issued a statement insisting that it was a mere “information publishing and guarantee trading platform” bearing no responsibility for the goods and services others used it to trade. RELATED STORIES World’s ‘largest illicit online marketplace’ is just a download away Report: Online cybercriminal marketplace is part of Cambodian conglomerate Hun To went after the press; who really won? A March 6, 2025 post to the official Telegram channel of Huione Pay offering loans to customers in both dollars and cryptocurrencies.(RFA) However, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, Huione’s Telegram marketplace has become one of the main arteries of illicit commerce in Southeast Asia, a region grappling with an epidemic of human trafficking and internet fraud. The UNODC’s regional representative, Benedikt Hofmann, welcomed the termination of Huione Pay’s license. The withdrawal “will send an important signal, especially given the high profile of Huione and its outsize role for the region’s criminal ecosystem,” he told RFA. Hofmann cautioned, however, that this latest development would not be a cure-all for the region’s crime epidemic – nor would it necessarily mean the end of Huione. “Huione is in many ways the tip of the iceberg and we will see users shifting to other, similar providers which have emerged in the region,” he added. Much of the money that was being moved through Huione Pay came from illicit activities linked to cyberscamming, the UNODC found. For more than half a decade the region in which Huione operates has been dotted with compounds housing what the U.N. says are hundreds of thousands of enslaved workers forced to perpetrate a type of cyberscam commonly known as “pig butchering”. The practice is estimated to swindle billions of dollars from its victims around the world every year. Elliptic, the cryptocurrency compliance firm, traced billions of dollars flowing from Huione Guarantee, the Telegram marketplace, to Huione Pay. This was “likely so that these criminally-derived funds could be cashed out,” firm founder Tom Robinson told RFA. “I think this will be a blow to Huione Guarantee,” Robinson added. “We have direct evidence of Huione Pay laundering money from scam victims around the world, including the elderly and vulnerable. They are willing facilitators of pig butchering and other fraud, so any regulatory action against them should be welcomed.” The loss of Huione Pay’s license, which has not been previously reported, does not seem to have curtailed the company’s activities, however. As recently as Thursday the company’s official Telegram channel, linked to on its website, was offering loans to customers. A post on February 27th promoted the launch of a Huione-branded Visa card. Visa did not respond to requests for comment by press time. News of Huione Pay’s license being withdrawn was greeted as overdue by a former employee who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. They told RFA it was openly acknowledged within the company that there were two sets of accounts maintained. “They cook the books,” the former employee said. While the company handled billions of dollars, “close to none” of those transactions were made available to the compliance department, which was relegated to the role of advisors, “ whose advice were never taken seriously,” the former employee said. One of Huione Pay’s three directors is Hun To, a cousin of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. Official censure of a company so close to the inner circle of Cambodia’s ruling family is unusual. But Jacob Sims, an expert on transnational crime at the United States Institute of Peace, told RFA that the withdrawal of Huione’s banking license should not be read as a herald of reform. “It all ultimately amounts to a brand switch,” Sims said. “It’s basically an easy thing for the regime to point to and say, ‘Look, we’re cracking down on this’ without doing really anything but consolidating Huione’s available brands.” For Sims, there’s one way the Cambodian government could show it was serious about cracking down on the crime wave Huione has been surfing: “Arrest all the people involved in Huione.” Edited by Abby Seiff and Boer Deng We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar sends first workers to Russia; junta chief to Belarus

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Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese. Myanmar has sent workers to Russia for the first time with 24 skilled construction employees setting off on Wednesday, Myanmar’s military government said, after the junta leader met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, flew to Moscow on Monday for his first official visit with Putin. Russian media broadcast video of the two hugging as they met. The Myanmar military chief, on his fourth visit to Russia since he ousted a civilian government in a coup in 2021, thanked Putin for delivering six fighter jets to the junta, which has been embroiled in a civil war. Putin thanked the Myanmar leader for giving Russia six elephants last year, media reported. In talks on Tuesday, Myanmar’s military junta predicted Russia’s eventual victory over Ukraine in the three year-long war. The military’s Ministry of Information said in a statement that the first 24 workers had left for Russia under a memorandum of understanding that was still being worked out. “Both countries are looking forward to their friendship and to sending the workers,” the ministry said. The ministry did not say how many workers might follow the first batch of 24 or which industries they might be employed in. A Myanmar employment official said in December the military government was preparing to send workers to Russia at its request, to help make up for a shortage of foreign workers in agriculture and manufacturing amid its war with Ukraine. Charles Myo Thant, chairman of the Myanmar Overseas Employment Agencies Association, said they would take up jobs in agriculture, livestock, construction and factories, and they will need to learn Russian. Myanmar has for years sent workers abroad to places like Thailand and Singapore under government agreements. Many Myanmar people have also moved abroad to look for work, especially since the 2021 coup, which seriously undermined the economy. But junta authorities have recently placed restrictions on people going abroad for work as it seeks to fill the ranks of its armed forces through conscription. People of military age have been banned from applying for work abroad through employment agencies, and those allowed to leave for work have been told they may be ordered back to serve in the military. A labor activist based in the city of Yangon questioned the Russian agreement. “We can’t go to other countries, so why can we go to Russia?” said the activist, who declined to be identified for safety reasons. He also wondered what type of work they would be doing, saying hard labor or with no opportunities for training would not be popular. RELATED STORIES No limits to the lawlessness of Myanmar’s predatory military regime Trump extends ‘national emergency’ declaration for Myanmar Junta forces, Russian navy train together off western Myanmar coast Myanmar junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, with Russia’s President of Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow March 4, 2025.(Myanmar Defense Services) Russia has been a steady supplier of weapons to the Myanmar military and its media reported that Min Aung Hlaing had also discussed cooperation in “all areas of the defense sector” in talks with Russian defense officials. The junta chief traveled from Moscow to the city of St. Petersburg and on Friday he was due to travel to Belarus at the invitation of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Myanmar military said. Political analyst Than Soe Naing said the focus of Min Aung Hlaing’s trip appeared to be ensuring security “under the umbrella of Russia’s empire.” “Going to Belarus is laying a foundation for security,” he said. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Mother of Cambodian teen found dead says she was working to pay family debts

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A Cambodian woman who authorities say was killed by two Chinese nationals last month dropped out of school when she was 15 to help her parents pay off bank debts, her mother told Radio Free Asia. Police found the heavily bruised and naked body of 18-year-old Heng Seavly in a shallow grave near a lake in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district on March 1. On Monday, investigators announced the arrests of her boyfriend, 30-year-old Chen Cong, and 34-year-old Li Haohao. Police said the suspects confessed to the killing, adding that they believed she was about to leak information about a cyberscam operation in Phnom Penh. Relatives held a funeral for Heng Seavly in her hometown in southern Kampot province on Tuesday. “When I saw her brought into the temple, my energy and soul flew out of my body,” said her mother, Tim Sophy. “My daughter was naked when they killed her,” she told RFA. “This is so brutal. As a mother, I am shocked and speechless.” As the eldest daughter, Heng Seavly left home to work as a goods vendor in Sihanoukville to help her parents support her two younger siblings, Tim Sophy said. She was later persuaded by her boyfriend to move to Phnom Penh, the mother said. Tim Sophy, mother of Heng Seavly talks with RFA, in southern Kampot province, Cambodia, March 4, 2025.(RFA) “She was my fabulous daughter,” she said. “She never missed sending US$250 to $300 each month.” Police have said the two suspects acted on the orders of another Chinese national, 26-year-old Yang Kaixin, who remains at large. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Edited by Matt Reed. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Myanmar army tries to clear fighters from road, 20,000 villagers flee, rebels say

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Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese. Myanmar’s military has launched air and artillery strikes as it tries to clear pro-democracy fighters from the vicinity of a major north-south road and nearly 20,000 villagers have fled from their homes to escape the violence, an insurgent fighter told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday. The army has been targeting more than 20 villages along the road in the Kanbalu township of the central Sagaing region since late February, they said. The road links Myanmar’s second largest city of Mandalay with Myitkyina city in the north. “The battles are intensifying. The junta is conducting so many offensives,” said a member of a rebel militia, or People’s Defense Force, in the area. The fighter, who declined to be identified for safety reasons, said recent fighting had been particularly heavy near Hnget Pyaw Taing village. “The people from evacuated villages need to run … they are now attacking with drones,” he said. RFA tried to contact Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson, Nyunt Win Aung, for information but he did not respond by the time of publication. The junta that seized power in an early 2021 coup faced major setbacks last year, losing ground in different parts of the country to PDFs and their ethnic minority insurgent allies. The army now controls about half the country, security analysts say, but it has been trying to regain lost ground during the current dry season. RELATED STORIES Fighting near Chinese enclave in Myanmar’s Rakhine state uproots 20,000 Myanmar’s junta leader meets Putin, predicts Russian victory in Ukraine Nearly 30,000 civilians displaced by fighting in Myanmar’s heartland Clashes have been particularly heavy in central areas, like Sagaing, where members of the majority Burman community have for the first time taken up arms in a bid to end military rule. The United Nations says about 3.5 million people have been displaced by both fighting and a natural disaster and the country is facing a humanitarian crisis, with widespread hunger looming. People displaced in the fighting in Kanbalu had to deal with a lack of water, the PDF member said. “Because now it’s the dry season and water is scarce, it’s difficult for people to flee,” he said. Junta forces also torched 250 houses at a major intersection near Hnget Pyaw Taing village late last week and into this week, he said. The anti-junta fighter said 21 members of the military’s Battalion 361 had been killed and 57 wounded while only five members of the PDF were wounded. RFA could not independently verify the casualties. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Philippines accuses Chinese state outlet of ‘deceptive messaging’ on disputed shoal

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MANILA, Philippines – Philippine authorities accused a Chinese government-owned broadcaster of deceptive messaging and propaganda after it reported that a Philippine ship had deliberately engaged in acts to pollute South China Sea waters. China Global Television Network, or CGTN, released a video Saturday showing smoke emanating from the BRP Sierra Madre at the contested Second Thomas Shoal. The report said the smoke was caused by trash being burned by Filipino marines stationed aboard the rusting Philippine Navy ship. “Heavy smoke was seen from an apparent burning activity on a grounded Philippine military vessel on Friday,” CGTN said on Facebook. “The footage highlights a series of environmentally damaging activities onboard, which could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem at Ren’ai Jiao,” the report said, using the Chinese name for the shoal. To Filipinos, Second Thomas Shoal is known as Ayungin Shoal. “A report released in July last year suggests that the vessel has gravely damaged the diversity, stability, and sustainability of the coral reef ecosystem in the area,” it added. Philippine authorities on Tuesday refuted the Chinese state media report that the Filipino crew was allegedly causing pollution, and dismissed the claim as propaganda. “It’s part of the deceptive messaging of the Chinese Communist Party,” Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, told reporters. Manila refers to South China Sea waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea. RELATED STORIES Chinese, Philippine social media users at odds over claim on Palawan South China Sea: 5 things to watch in 2025 Second Thomas Shoal: Deal or no deal? The Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that Manila ran aground on the shoal in 1999 to mark out the Philippines’ territorial claim and serve as its military outpost in the disputed waters. The shoal is located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, or EEZ. Manila runs regular rotation-and-resupply missions to the ship manned by Philippine marines. Trinidad said Filipino troops had burned “combustible materials” on the BRP Sierra Madre on Feb. 28 as part of a fire drill. However, strong winds caused the fire to spread. “But they were able to put everything in control,” Trinidad said, referring to the troops aboard the ship. “There was no damage to the environment, all the men aboard the ship are safe. The exercise was conducted successfully,” Trinidad said. He said fire drills such as this are conducted aboard navy ships at least once every month. “There was no problem. The men of the ship are always prepared to respond to any eventuality to keep everything under control,” said Trinidad. A post on Chinese social media depicting Palawan island as part of China.(Douyin) Palawan, the posts claimed, was once named Zheng He Island, in honor of a Chinese explorer. However, although Zheng He’s existence and travels to Southeast Asia are well documented, there has never been a historical account that he visited the Philippine province. “Such statements about Palawan are baseless. They are bereft of legal references,” Trinidad said. “They are beyond common sense. In short, totally absurd.” Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año agreed. “These assertions are outright fabrications intended to distort history, deceive the public and challenge the Philippines’ sovereignty over its lawful and internationally recognized territory,” Año said in a statement. Año urged Filipinos to remain vigilant against disinformation campaigns and “rely on verified historical and legal sources rather than propaganda designed to advance geopolitical agenda at the expense of truth.” He said Philippine authorities were tracing who started the post. Año also said that there had never been a “historical record or legal precedent” to support the claim. “Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines,” Año said in a statement issued Tuesday. Año said that even if Zheng did in fact visit Palawan, this “does not equate to ownership, just as the voyages of other explorers do not alter the sovereignty of nations today.” While the “false narratives” did not come from official government sites, Año said they appeared to be part of a “broader effort to undermine Philippine sovereignty and manipulate public perception both in the Philippines and China.” BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Tougher times for Myanmar’s political prisoners, a parent and rights group say

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Read RFA coverage of this story in Burmese. Military authorities in Myanmar have imposed harsher conditions and punishments on political prisoners, restricting their access to parcels, books and medicine and beating those who complain, a rights group and a family member said. The military has struggled to suppress a groundswell of public defiance, as well as a growing insurgency, since it overthrew an elected government in 2021 and more than 6,000 people have been killed and nearly 29,000 have been arrested for their opposition, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, or AAPP said. Many of those detained have been young people, infuriated by the 2021 ouster of a civilian government after a decade of tentative reform raised hopes for change in a country that had seen largely unbroken military rule since 1962. The AAPP, in a statement on Monday, said conditions for political prisoners across the country were getting worse, with more restrictions on what they could get from outside. A parent of a political prisoner being held in the Thayarwady Prison in the central Bago region, agreed, saying supplies to inmates were not getting through. “I sent some medicine because they were sick, and although it was accepted by the mail department, it didn’t reach the children,” said the parent who declined to be identified for safety reasons. The Thayarwady Prison is notorious for being cramped and crumbling. “In the rainy season, there’s rain, and in the hot season bits fall from the ceiling all the time, like rain,” said the parent. “I ask them about it but they won’t do anything about it,” said the parent, referring to prison authorities. The AAPP, which monitors human rights conditions in Myanmar from the border with Thailand, also said prison authorities were putting restrictions on deliveries of packages and books, and some prisons had banned visits altogether. Political prisoners also complained of inadequate medical care and torture, the group said. RELATED STORIES Myanmar junta frees nearly 1,000 Rohingya from prison, group says Myanmar junta says it releases 600 political prisoners in mass amnesty Thousands freed from Myanmar scam centers are stranded due to official inaction In Yangon’s infamous Insein Prison, trade union leader Thet Hnin Aung, photojournalist Sai Zaw Thike, and another man named Naing Win were beaten after speaking to representatives of Myanmar’s Human Rights Commission about prison conditions during a visit. “Three political inmates … were taken to the prison’s interrogation center, where they were tortured and beaten before being placed in solitary confinement,” the group said in a statement published on Monday. RFA could not reach the office of deputy director-general of the Prisons Department for comment. The AAPP also said that three prisoners died due to lack of medical care in February after being detained by junta authorities in prisons and police stations. Myanmar’s junta has faced accusations from human rights groups of not providing adequate medical care for prisoners, and of often releasing sick prisoners days before they die. In 2024, 31 political prisoners died in custody, among them two members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy administration that was overthrown in 2021, the former chief minister of Mandalay region, Zaw Myint Maung, and minister of electricity and energy Win Khaing. Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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INTERVIEW: ‘North Korea could have 300 nuclear warheads within 10 years’

Editor016 mins

Ankit Panda, an expert on North Korea’s nuclear program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was interviewed by Radio Free Asia regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions and how its capabilities might be improved through North Korea’s support of Russia in its war with Ukraine. Panda, a Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at Carnegie, also said that North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, very likely can be used to attack an American city, and that Pyongyang might have as many as 300 warheads within the next 10 years. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. RFA: If North Korea were to launch an ICBM at the U.S. right now, do you think the U.S. would be vulnerable? Ankit Panda: That’s a good question. First of all, would North Korea launch an ICBM? Probably not — it would be essentially suicidal. There’s no reason for North Korea to attack the United States unprovoked. But the technical question that you asked, “Can North Korea essentially detonate a nuclear warhead over an American city?” — the answer to that question in my view is very probably yes, and that’s a carefully chosen phrase, “very probably yes.” The North Koreans, the reliability that they have is probably a lot lower than what the United States has, but it’s probably sufficient for the purposes that Kim Jong Un seeks which is to deter the United States. The only question that Kim has to ask himself is, “In a serious crisis or a war between the United States and North Korea, would an American president be worried that if the war got out of control, American cities could be vulnerable to nuclear attack?” And I think the answer there is absolutely. RFA: But can’t the United States intercept North Korean ICBMs with its missile defense system? Panda: The U.S. has a very limited homeland missile defense capability. We have a total of 44 interceptors that are capable of destroying incoming ICBMs. These interceptors are actually deployed in Alaska. There’s 40 of them in Alaska and four of them in California at Vandenberg Air Force Base. These are designed to deal with North Korean ICBM threats. But it gets a little complicated here because it’s not that there’s 44 interceptors, which means the U.S. can defend against 44 North Korean ICBMs. Probably the U.S. would look to use 3 to 4 interceptors against one incoming ICBM reentry vehicle. And so then if you’re in North Korea, you have a solution to this problem, right? You build more ICBMs. And so that is where the North Koreans have gone. I would argue that that is a chance that would be very difficult for an American president to take — this idea that the North Koreans could launch ICBMs and our interceptors might not actually work. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Workers’ Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un after signing the ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement’ at the Kumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang in June 2024.(Yonhap News) So we know from Ukrainian intelligence that there has been change in the KN-23s. … They used to be very inaccurate when they were first used. And it turns out there was a report in December 2024 that the precision has improved significantly, and that is a very, very important milestone for the North Koreans because — especially if they do want to deploy tactical nuclear weapons — precision of the missile system matters quite a bit because the yield of the weapon is a lot lower, the yield being the explosive power. And so if you’re trying to leverage those types of tactical nuclear weapons for maximal military utility–let’s say you want to hit an airfield in South Korea that has F-35s that you can’t deal with once they take off, so you have to destroy them before they take off. You really need to make sure that the the yield of the weapon and the precision of the missile match essentially in terms of the mission that you’re trying to accomplish. And so I really think that we shouldn’t underrate the ways in which North Korea’s missile transfers to Russia are very directly augmenting Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions and strategy. RFA: When we talk about North Korean involvement in Ukraine, experts and officials say that North Korea is getting from Russia food or other kinds of support, but regarding missile technology, what does Pyongyang need that Moscow can give? Panda: The area where I think the Russians can really help them is with guidance computers, cruise missile maneuvering, cruise missile control and potentially even countermeasures, other types of ways in which to just improve the reliability of North Korea’s manufacturing standards for missile systems. So all of that, I think will will happen is probably happening in some form space launch technologies, too. I think the Russians will be very, very eager to to help the North Koreans out. That has been the most public facing component of technical cooperation. RFA: As North Korea and Russia grow closer, is there a possibility that Russia will recognize North Korea as an official nuclear state? Panda: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pretty explicitly said that Russia no longer views North Korea as a nonproliferation concern. Essentially, you know, since the early 1990s, the major powers China, Russia, the United States and Japan, South Korea, the European Union, the whole world has seen North Korea as a nonproliferation problem. They’re the only country to have signed the Nonproliferation Treaty, left that treaty and built nuclear weapons. So it matters how you deal with North Korea for that reason. But it also matters in a big way that the North Koreans are really presenting unacceptable nuclear risks, in my opinion, to the United States and its allies, and so that demands a focus on risk reduction. President Donald Trump and North Korean General Secretary Kim Jong Un meet in Singapore on June 12, 2018.(Yonhap News)…

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Thailand considers building a wall on its border with Cambodia

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BANGKOK – Thailand is considering building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to tackle illegal crossings, particularly by gangsters involved in online scam centers and drug smugglers, a government spokesman said on Monday. There was no immediate comment from Cambodia on the proposal but the neighbors have a long-standing and bitter dispute over part of their 817 kilometer (507 miles) land border, and another dispute over their maritime border that has stymied the exploitation of offshore gas reserves. “The prime minister directed the cabinet and relevant agencies to further study the idea of erecting a wall between Thailand and Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings and travels of call-center gangsters as well as the drugs and contraband trades,” Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab told reporters. Thailand, at China’s urging, has been cracking down on call centers over its border in eastern Myanmar, which researchers say are responsible for extensive financial fraud around the world and for trafficking in people to work in the centers. Cambodia is also home to call-center operations, including in its western border town of Poipet and the southern seaside town of Sihanoukville. Jirayu mentioned the possibility of putting up a wall in the area opposite Poipet. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra floated the idea of a wall amid reports that scammers from Myanmar were migrating to Poipet, and Thailand planned to discuss the idea with Cambodian authorities. “The foreign ministry and the defense ministry shall coordinate with other relevant agencies and talk with Cambodia on how to make it, if we would, and what the result will be – will it solve problems?” Chinese pressure on its Southeast Asian neighbors to tackle the scam centers has also led to Cambodian action. Over the weekend, Cambodia repatriated 119 Thai nationals following raids in Poi Pet. RELATED STORIES EXPLAINED: What are scam parks? Residents: Scam center workers smuggled into Cambodia via the Mekong River Hun Sen, Cambodia’s powerful former prime minister, complained that Cambodia was not getting the credit it deserved for its action against the scam centers. “Countries on the border with Thailand, including Cambodia, have also tried to suppress the same thing,” Hun Sen said in a post on Facebook on Saturday. “Sadly, Thailand’s success is considered by some journalists and politicians as a failure of neighboring Cambodia,” he said. “The crime story is not over, it continues to be scandalous, which requires intergovernmental cooperation to be done effectively.” Edited by Mike Firn We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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