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UN Sanctions N’ Korea Over Nuclear Weapons
Faced with a fresh refusal by North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the communist regime has “no friends left” to shield it from United Nations penalties.
“North Korea’s continued pursuit of its nuclear ambitions is sure to elevate tensions on the Korean peninsula and could provoke an arms race in the region,” Clinton told a news conference after conferring with officials from 26 other countries and organisations. She cited near unanimity on fully enforcing the latest U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its repeated nuclear and missile tests.
Clinton said the U.S. will continue to insist that North Korea return to the bargaining table and verifiably dismantle its nuclear programme. At the same time, she held out the prospect of restoring U.S. diplomatic ties to North Korea and other incentives — actions the Obama administration would be willing to consider only if the North Koreans take irreversible steps to denuclearize.
Just before she spoke, a North Korean official declared that six-party talks on denuclearising North Korea was over. And the North Korean Foreign Ministry ridiculed Clinton, saying in a statement that she has “made a spate of vulgar remarks” that “suggest that she is by no means intelligent.”
Before departing for Washington after a weeklong trip to India and Thailand, Clinton offered a somewhat more optimistic message about another trouble spot on the U.S. foreign policy agenda: Myanmar, the military-run southeast Asian nation also known as Burma.
“There is a positive direction that we see with Burma,” she said. She praised Myanmar’s government for committing to enforce the U.N. sanctions against North Korea, calling it important in light of Myanmar’s suspected secret military links to North Korea.
And she suggested Myanmar may have played a role this month in persuading a North Korean cargo ship suspected of carrying weaponry in violation of the sanctions to return home instead of continuing to its destination, which U.S. officials said was probably Myanmar.
Clinton also called on Myanmar to unconditionally release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest.
On North Korea, Clinton stressed a point she has made repeatedly — that a fully nuclear North Korea might compel other countries in Asia to follow suit. She mentioned no names, but Japan and South Korea are thought to be among those that might go nuclear under circumstances in which they felt threatened by the North and less than fully confident of protection under a U.S. nuclear umbrella.
Clinton also said, “I wanted to make very clear that the United States does not seek any kind of offensive action against North Korea.” She said a North Korean delegate at Thursday’s meeting complained of being subjected to U.S. nuclear threats, but she said this showed a disconnect with reality, given that U.S. nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea nearly 20 years ago.
She said the world — including China, which has been North Korea’s most loyal supporter — has made it clear to Pyongyang that it has “no place to go.”
“They have no friends left that will protect them from the international community’s efforts to move toward denuclearization,” she said.
Just moments before she spoke at this southern Thai seaside resort, a spokesman for the North Korean delegation at the Phuket conference said his government will not return to six-party talks with the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, citing the “deep-rooted anti-North Korean policy” of the United States.
“The six-party talks are over,” Ri Hung Sik said.
The Phuket forum, known as the Asian Regional Forum and drawing senior officials from 27 nations, is one of the rare instances of U.S. and North Korean diplomats appearing together, although U.S. officials said there was no substantive contact. Clinton told the news conference she was disappointed in what she heard from the North Korean delegate who addressed the conference.
“The question is: Where do we go from here?” she asked.
Her reply, essentially, was that the U.S. and its negotiating partners will not back down from their insistence that North Korea not only resume negotiations but scrap its nuclear program in a verifiable way and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And she said the U.N. sanctions will be applied as strictly and fully as possible.
“The bottom line is this: If North Korea intends to engage in international commerce its vessels must conform to terms” of the U.N. sanctions, “or find no port,” she said.
Clinton said the Obama administration would soon send Philip Goldberg, its coordinator for implementing the U.N. sanctions that were approved by the Security Council in June, back to Asia for a new round of consultations on enforcement.
And, in what she called an illustration of U.S. concern about the welfare of North Korea’s people, Clinton said the administration intends to appoint a special envoy to focus on North Korean human rights.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, still smarting from an earlier Clinton comment likening the regime to “small children” demanding attention, released a statement Thursday saying: “We cannot but regard Mrs. Clinton as a funny lady as she likes to utter such rhetoric, unaware of the elementary etiquette in the international community. Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping.”
President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerian youths to leverage the skills acquisition programme of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) for gainful employment.
Tinubu made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of NASRDA skills acquisition project being executed in collaboration with Grassroots Bridge Builders (GBB), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
Represented by Mr Adewale Adeogun, Chairman, Tinubu National Think Tank (TnT), he said the project was part of the many initiatives of the government under its Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Tide source reports that the project targets to train 60,000 youths with relevant life changing skills.
“Most of our people are not aware of some of the policies that the President have brought forward because they were not informed, misinformed.
“The NASRDA/GBB project is here to educate, train and allow NGOs, corporate bodies, religious bodies, some support group leaders on these activities and we have millions of people unaware.
“We want Nigerians embrace this programme, come up with ideas of how we can get millions, at least 50 million Nigerians out of this unemployment circle,’’ Tinubu said.
He said the Federal Government was in discussions with companies, government institutions to employ the youths who had benefited from the project.
“These youths, when trained through our platform, we will introduce them to ministries, agencies, parastatals and industries for employment.’’
Director-General of NASRDA, Dr Matthew Adepoju, said that Nigerian youths were intelligent, hardworking and creative, adding that the government was committed to giving them skills for development.
“We can use the space science and technology to empower the youth to function in their own ecosystem,’’ he said.
He recalled the agency already started a pilot skills acquisition programme on mast installation, maintenance and management of telecom infrastructure, with over 60 youths in participation.
According to him, the training is expected to touch on different sectors, states and local government levels because that is where the bulk of our youths reside.
Dr Haruna Mohammed, Technical Adviser to the D-G, said they were at the level of profiling the participants.
‘’The first was the pilot project, which we had over 60 participants, and we are scaling it up now, and we are profiling them, gathering data, trying to know how to spread it across the country.
“For this next stage, we are proposing 5000 youths and we recently had a request from some ministries to train about 60,000 youths,’’ he said.
Mohammed said that the youths would be trained on 27 different skills such as artistry, carpentry and painting.
Mr Ibrahim Igoche, Chief Executive Officer, GBB, encouraged other NGO, partners to join the government in building the skills of Nigerian youths to reduce poverty.
Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo has raised the minimum wage for Edo workers from N70,000 to N75,000 to further improve their standard of living.
The governor announced this during his May Day speech at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.
The governor, while appreciating Edo workers’ contributions to the state’s development, said his administration would always look for ways to improve the welfare of Edo workers.
“Today, I am proud to announce that our administration has approved a new minimum wage of N75,000 per month for all Edo workers.
“It’s our way of saying thank you, Edo workers. We believe this makes a real difference, and we count on your dedication to a better Edo.
“Since taking office, my administration has prioritised workers’ welfare.
” One early action was converting over 1,000 casual workers, including cleaners, into permanent civil service employees,” he said.
Okpebholo disclosed that his administration had also hired 500 teachers, adding that he was reviewing over 3,000 casual teachers for full employment.
“We also approved recruitment of 450 clinical and non-clinical hospital staff and regularised 126 contract workers at Edo State Specialist Hospital for stability and growth,” he added.
The governor also disclosed that his administration had cleared outstanding salary arrears owed to Edo Polytechnic staff.
“In the judiciary, judges whose appointments were delayed have been properly sworn in and are now actively performing their constitutional duties without further administrative hindrances.
“To prove our commitment, we approved health insurance for retirees because we believe support must continue after workers leave active service,” the governor said.
Okpebholo reiterated his administration’s dedication to prompt salary and pension payments, structured recruitment, workers’ welfare and professional development
“As we celebrate today, I join President Tinubu and fellow governors in wishing Nigerian workers a peaceful, fulfilling celebration. Your efforts build our nation daily.”
Acting NLC Chairman, Edo chapter, Comrade Bernard Egwekhide, praised Governor Okpebholo for laudable policies that ease the hardship experienced by workers and pensioners across the state.
He said the theme, “Reclaiming the Civil Space Amid Economic Hardship,” was appropriate and highlighted the critical issues faced by Nigerian workers in today’s tough economy.
Egwekhide appreciated the governor’s seriousness towards workers’ welfare, noting that recent interventions had significantly improved the lives and civil rights of Edo workers.
“Within six months in office, you have performed excellently for Edo workers. Your achievements surpass our expectations and show real commitment to the needs of workers
“We also thank President Bola Tinubu for supporting Edo State. The first flyover is under construction, and a second has already been approved for development.
“Additionally, federal roads across the state are now receiving the urgent attention they have long needed, thanks to the partnership with the Federal Government,” Egwekhide said.
Rivers State is set for the first round of the Oral Polio Vaccine Immunization Campaign from the 3rd through to the 6th of May, 2025.
This was disclosed by the state Director, Community Health Services, Dr. Joy Tonye Wihioka, during a sensitization meeting with the Social and Behavioral-Change Communication Committee (SBCC) and stakeholders for the round one of the National Immunization Pulse Days (NIPDs) in Port Harcourt.
According to Dr. Wihioka, this campaign is targeted at the hard to reach areas and will focus on children within the age range of zero to five years.
The Immunization exercise according to her, will basically go from house to house, community to community and school to school campaign.
She said the meeting is primarily a Clarion call to all relevant stakeholders to create awareness on the improvement of the programme in the state.
Dr. Wihioka explained that the Rivers State government is striving towards sufficient coverage in the vaccination exercise, noting that the state has recorded over 90% coverage of the vaccination exercise, save for the hard to reach areas, hence this exercise is deliberately targeted at these areas, as all necessary logistics have been put in place to ensure the successful implementation of the immunization campaign.
She said that one great achievement of the state is the near eradication of measles and whooping cough, even as the the state is not resting on its oars in carrying consistent surveillance for other vaccine preventable diseases.
She explained that it is the testament of the vaccination successes that most of these diseases have been eradicated in our dear state, that over the years it has been proven that vaccines are safe in managing preventable diseases.
On her part, the State Health Educator, Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board (RSPHCMB), Dr Babbo Diana, said one day had been designated to school children for the first round of the Oral Polio Vaccine Immunization Campaign, explaining that children between the ages of zero to five years, would be targeted in churches, mosques, market places and schools for them to be vaccinated.
He added that this year’s exercise would address the high number of unresolved non compliance cases.
Earlier, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Ajawa Chibuzor, had pledged the support of the WHO in curtailing the issue of vaccine preventable diseases in the state.
Chibuzor who is an Assistant Health Public Officer said the Organisation is fully committed to ensuring that Rivers State is free from all vaccine preventable diseases.
Also speaking, the representative of the United Nation International children Educational fund (UNICEF), Sandra James, said that UNICEF would encourage the Rivers State Health Care Management Board (RSPHCMB) to have a healthy State free of Polio.
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