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<keyword id="105048" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russian-President" source="Orion">Russian President</keyword> Vladimir <keyword id="15170014" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Putin-signed-into-law-four-unification-treaties" source="Orion">Putin signed into law four unification treaties</keyword> with the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, on Wednesday morning, local media reported.<br /><br />Earlier the documents were unanimously endorsed by the <keyword id="1153848" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Federation-Council" source="Orion">Federation Council</keyword>, the upper house of the Russian parliament. The agreements were ratified on Monday by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, after they were certified as lawful by the country's Constitutional Court over the weekend, RT reported.<br /><br />The agreements were signed by <keyword id="6355086" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Putin" source="Orion">Putin</keyword> and the heads of the four former Ukrainian regions on Friday, after the residents of the territories overwhelmingly backed the idea of joining Russia during referendums held between September 23 and 27. The votes have been firmly rejected by Kiev and its Western backers, who have vowed to never accept their results nor recognize the four regions' accession, RT reported.<br /><br />The DPR and LPR split from Ukraine in 2014 in the aftermath of the Maidan coup and the civil conflict in the country's east that followed. Shortly after launching a military operation in February this year, Russia seized Kherson Region and a larger part of Zaporozhye Region.<br /><br />Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev's main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and "create powerful armed forces".<br /><br />In February 2022, the Kremlin recognised the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.<br /><strong>SEE ALSO:</strong><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/biden-sends-letter-to-yoon-expressing-willingness-for-talks-on-ira/articleshow/94659633.cms" style="">Biden sends letter to Yoon expressing willingness for talks on IRA</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-to-begin-beta-trial-of-5g-in-four-cities-on-dussehra-with-unlimited-data/articleshow/94645577.cms" style="">Reliance Jio to begin beta trial of 5G in four cities on Dussehra with unlimited data</a><br />

Putin signs unification treaties for new regions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A South Korean outlet said that North Korea executed dozens of teens for watching South Korean dramas.</li><li>It said the shows were reportedly stored on USBs that were floated over the border by defectors.</li></ul><p>In North Korea, watching your favorite Korean dramas could end in tragedy.</p><p>According to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyIJa3XZ6us">report</a> by South Korean broadcaster Chosun TV, around 30 middle schoolers were publicly shot last week for watching South Korean dramas.</p><p>The shows were reportedly stored on USBs that were floated over the border by North Korean defectors, it said.</p><p>Business Insider was unable to independently verify the report.</p><p>South Korean officials did not comment directly on the report, but according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-11/national/northKorea/North-Korea-executes-30-teens-for-watching-South-Korean-TV-shows-Report/2088417">Korea JoongAng Daily</a>, one unnamed South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters that "it is widely known that North Korean authorities strictly control and harshly punish residents based on the three so-called 'evil' laws."</p><p>One of these is North Korea's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/north-korea">Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act</a>, which forbids individuals from disseminating media that originates in South Korea, the US, or Japan.</p><p>It is unclear whether those restrictions apply to foreigners visiting the country, like the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-kid-stayed-north-korea-summer-camp-songdowon-tried-brainwash-2024-7">Russian schoolchildren preparing to attend summer camps</a> in the country.</p><p>Greg Scarlatoiu, the executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, told BI that "under the circumstances created by the intensified crackdown on information from the outside world, initially conducted under the pretext of COVID, these reports are definitely plausible."</p><p>This is not the first instance of North Koreans reportedly being killed for their association with content from their southern neighbor.</p><p>According to a 2022 UN Secretary-General report, a man in Kangwon Province was killed by a public firing squad after his neighborhood watch unit saw him selling digital content from South Korea.</p><p>A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.korea.net/Government/Briefing-Room/Press-Releases/view?articleId=54305&amp;insttCode=A260105&amp;type=N">2024 report on North Korean Human Rights,</a> released by South Korea's Ministry of Unification, claimed that phones in North Korea are regularly checked for "South Korean-style language" and that wearing white wedding dresses is punished for being "reactionary".</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-teens-get-12-years-hard-labour-watching-k-pop-video-2024-01-19/">A video was released</a> earlier this year showing two teenagers being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for watching a K-pop video.</p><p>Despite eyewitness accounts compiled by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa240011997en.pdf">Amnesty International</a>, the North Korean government has denied that public executions take place in the country.</p><p>According to North Korean authorities, the last execution took place in 1992.</p><p>North Korea is still technically at war with its southern counterpart, with their conflict in the 1950s ending in a truce rather than a peace treaty.</p><p>A defector told the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240627050611">Korea Herald</a> that in 2020, North Korean parents were forced to sign a pledge stating they would ensure their children do not watch "impure video content" at home.</p><p>Recently, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-troops-russia-ukraine-numbers-not-effectiveness-experts-2024-6">experts have speculated</a> that North Korean military personnel could be sent to aid Russian efforts in Ukraine, following <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-north-korea-have-put-south-korea-in-a-predicament-2024-7">closer ties</a> between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.</p><p>Representatives from North Korea didn't immediately reply to requests for comment.</p><p><em>Correction: July 16, 2024 — An earlier version of this story stated that more than one news outlet had reported the initial claim, rather than a single broadcaster.</em></p>

North Korea accused of executing dozens of teens for watching South Korean dramas

Russian citizens called up from the reserve as part of partial mobilisation have begun intensive combat training in the zone of the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine.<br /><br />Footage of the newly-arrived reservists undergoing training as part of platoons and assault groups has been made public by the Russian Ministry of Defence.<br /><br />The videos show "experienced mentors" from <keyword id="6358826" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword>'s <keyword id="2769108" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="airborne-forces" source="Orion">Airborne Forces</keyword> giving lessons in combat coordination to the military personnel.<br /><br />Honing skills in fire training with standard weapons - including shooting from <keyword id="747340" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalashnikov" source="Orion">Kalashnikov</keyword> (AK-74) assault rifles, machine guns and RPG-7 hand grenade launchers - as well as storming buildings, installing, detecting and neutralizing explosive devices, tackling radiation, chemical and biological hazards are all part of their extensive drills which are being conducted "day and night".<br /><br />In the course of combat coordination, the military personnel will also master the skills in providing first aid to the wounded and conducting evacuation from the battlefield.<br /><br />"After the combat coordination, the units, staffed by mobilised citizens and volunteers, will begin to carry out the tasks for which they were intended," the Russian Defence Ministry detailed.<br /><br />Even as the military personnel learn skills of operating as part of units and master the military equipment and weapons, the process of sending mobilized citizens continues all over Russia.<br /><br />Ceremonies are being conducted to send hundreds of citizens to the training grounds of various military districts as the military orchestra performs 'Farewell of Slavianka' - the famous Russian patriotic march.<br /><br />Far away at one of the training grounds of the <keyword id="1850693" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-sea-fleet" source="Orion">Black Sea Fleet</keyword> in Crimea, the reservists are learning to operate unmanned aerial vehicles, including quadcopter drones.<br /><br />The crews are also trained to drop a payload simulating an explosive device from a special device attached to the drone.<br /><br />The purpose of the training course, says the Russian Defence Ministry, is to develop the skills necessary for conducting aerial reconnaissance, geospatial orientation, and recognition of various objects, including camouflaged ones.<br /><br />Calling out his countrymen for military service in the eighth month of ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russian President <keyword id="43440" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vladimir-putin" source="Orion">Vladimir Putin</keyword> had announced the partial mobilisation on September 21.<br /><br />"If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff," Putin said in a TV address to the nation.<br /><br />As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier, Russia plans to utilise the resources of its vast - almost 25 million - reserves who have combat experience and military specialty.<br /><br />"The time has come to put into practice the experience gained during the annual strategic exercises," said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/putin-signs-unification-treaties-for-new-regions/articleshow/94659919.cms">Putin signs unification treaties for new regions</a><br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/biden-sends-letter-to-yoon-expressing-willingness-for-talks-on-ira/articleshow/94659633.cms">Biden sends letter to Yoon expressing willingness for talks on IRA</a><br /></strong>

Kalashnikovs to quadcopter drones - Russian reservists are back in boot camp to master weapon skills

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Azerbaijan reignited a longstanding conflict with Armenia last week.</li><li>The two countries are part of a web of partnerships with Russia and its Western rivals.</li></ul><p>Azerbaijan began shelling positions across its border with Armenia last week, reigniting a longstanding conflict between the two countries.</p><p>Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought multiple wars over the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a primarily Armenian ethnic enclave within Azerbaijan that Armenia recognizes as a separate republic called Artsakh, and with which Armenia has long desired unification.</p><p>An Armenian victory in the early 1990s gave it control over Nagorno-Karabakh and a large corridor of Azerbaijani territory linking it to Armenia proper, but a war in 2020 resulted in a decisive Azeri victory that reestablished Azerbaijan's control over the disputed territories.</p><p>The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is only one part of a broader geopolitical contest, however.</p><div type="image" title="Azerbaijan troops in Lachin" height="1362" width="2000" msid="94500826" hostid="261" sizebytes="115068"></div><p>While Armenia and Azerbaijan both have warm relations with Russia, Armenia has a security agreement with Russia as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), an alliance of six post-Soviet states in Central Asia.</p><p>Azerbaijan, on the other hand, whose population is primarily ethnically and linguistically Turkic and religiously Muslim, enjoys firm support from Turkey.</p><p>Turkey and Armenia have long been at odds, and the shadow of the Ottoman genocide of Armenians in 1915 continues to fall over relations between the neighboring countries.</p><p>In recent years, Ankara has sought an independent course with Moscow, despite being a NATO member. On the one hand, Erdogan has sought to maintain cordial relations with Putin, particularly in the <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/friend-need-russia-and-turkey-after-coup">wake of a failed 2016 coup</a> which raised suspicions in Ankara about the West's complicity. More recently, Erdogan has acted as a diplomatic broker in the Ukraine war and has bucked Western sanctions by purchasing Russian military hardware.</p><p>On the other hand, Turkey and Russia compete for influence over the states surrounding the Caspian Sea, a region which both Moscow and Ankara view as a rightful inheritance of their imperial legacy. Russia and Turkey also backed opposite sides during the brutal Syrian civil war, culminating in a momentary international crisis following the Turkish downing of a Russian fighter jet in 2015.</p><div type="image" title="Relatives of troops wounded in Azerbaijan Armenia fighting" height="1335" width="2000" msid="94500829" hostid="261" sizebytes="187426"></div><p>It is probable that the timing of the most recent flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan was not coincidental.</p><p>Azerbaijan was likely emboldened to launch the recent attack on Armenia by the successful Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kharkiv and Russia's generally poor performance during the Ukraine war.</p><p>Armenia's devastating defeat in 2020 led <a href="https://www.russiamatters.org/analysis/look-military-lessons-nagorno-karabakh-conflict">analysts</a> to conclude that Russian-supplied equipment was ineffective in combating <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/nagorno-karabkah-drones-azerbaijan-aremenia/2020/11/11/441bcbd2-193d-11eb-8bda-814ca56e138b_story.html">advanced drone technology</a> supplied to Azerbaijan by Turkey and Israel, while the Atlantic Council <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/ukraine-can-learn-from-azerbaijans-recent-victory/">interpreted</a> Russia's unwillingness to intervene directly on Armenia's behalf as a sign of underlying weakness.</p><p>The US has characterized its competition with Russia and China as a battle between democracy and autocracy for the future of the "rules-based international order." But the not-so-frozen Azeri-Armenian conflict provides an ironic counterpoint, belying the narrative that Putin is primarily motivated by a fear of democracies or popular revolutions among Russia's neighbors.</p><p>Armenia, a small democracy that underwent a revolution in 2018, has mainly been backed by Russia and Iran, while Azerbaijan, a dynastic dictatorship with much greater wealth and population, has been consistently supported by both NATO-member Turkey and Israel, which claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East.</p><div type="image" title="Azerbaijan troops in Lachin" height="1333" width="2000" msid="94500833" hostid="261" sizebytes="296574"></div><p>The ironies don't end there. Armenian-Americans have a potent lobby in the US based in congressional districts like California's 28th, home to Rep. Adam Schiff, who, among other roles, is the <a href="https://anca.org/armenian-caucus/">vice-chair</a> of the Congressional Armenian Caucus and has been <a href="https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/congressman-schiff-awarded-state-order-for-strengthening-ties-between-us-and-armenia">awarded the State Order</a> by the Armenian government.</p><p>Schiff made a national name for himself as the ranking member of the House Select Intelligence Committee, and one of the most public faces of the "Russiagate" investigation that contributed towards souring US-Russian relations.</p><p>During the first impeachment of Trump in January 2020, Schiff <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-116sdoc18/html/CDOC-116sdoc18-vol2.htm">stated that</a> "the United States aids Ukraine and her people so that we can fight Russia over there and we don't have to fight Russia here." Yet in the wake of Russia's setback in Ukraine, Azerbaijan's attack on Armenia drew <a href="https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/congressman-schiff-on-unprovoked-azerbaijan-attacks-on-armenia-and-artsakh">swift condemnation</a> from Schiff, who has <a href="https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/armenian-caucus-co-chairs-introduce-resolution-condemning-unprovoked-attacks-on-armenia-demanding-end-to-us-assistance-for-azerbaijan">introduced legislation</a> to halt US aid to Azerbaijan.</p><p>The complex politics of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict demonstrate the folly of conducting US foreign policy according to a Manichean division between "good" democracies and "bad" autocracies. They also highlight the fact that a military alliance like NATO does not necessarily equal a permanent harmony of interests between all its members.</p><p>Finally, as Russia totters from its failures on the battlefield in Ukraine, and as renewed tensions flare between other post-Soviet states like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, it is worth considering what the unintended consequences of a destabilized Russia might be for its Eurasian neighbors.</p><p><em>Christopher McCallion is a fellow at Defense Priorities.</em></p>

A small war in Central Asia is a big problem for Joe Biden's narrative about taking on Russia and China

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12062974" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nazi-germany" source="Orion">Nazi Germany</keyword>'s two Bismarck-class battleships were the most imposing it built during <keyword id="11938566" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="world-war-ii" source="Orion">World War II</keyword>.</li><li>The threat they posed to convoys and warships made them a special target for the Allies.</li></ul><p>Early on November 12, 1944, 29 Lancaster bombers of the British Royal Air Force took off from their bases in northern Scotland and headed to Norway. Their target was the German <keyword id="12532576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="battleship" source="Orion">battleship</keyword> Tripitz, Germany's biggest warship.</p><p>Nicknamed "The Beast" by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, <keyword id="12532575" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tirpitz" source="Orion">Tirpitz</keyword> was one of two Bismarck-class battleships built before the war.</p><p>The two ships were the largest and most powerful warships Germany had ever built and represented the pride of the Kriegsmarine.</p><p>They were also the German surface fleet's biggest threat to Allied navies, which made their destruction a top priority - especially for Britain, which relied heavily on its navy to avoid being cut off from the world.</p><h2>The <keyword id="12532574" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bismarck" source="Orion">Bismarck</keyword> class</h2><div type="image" title="Nazi Germany navy battleship Bismarck" height="717" width="2000" msid="87706270" hostid="261"></div><p>The Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I, prohibited Germany's navy from building large warships.</p><p>In the years that followed, however, Germany was able to either roll back or ignore those restrictions. In 1935, Britain and Germany signed the <a href="https://totallyhistory.com/the-anglo-german-naval-agreement/" target="_top">Anglo-German Naval Agreement</a>, a last attempt to limit Germany's navy, now known as the Kriegsmarine.</p><p>The agreement allowed Germany to build a navy equal to 35% of the total tonnage of the Royal Navy and permitted construction of large warships and submarines. A year after it was signed, the first battleship, Bismarck, was laid down, followed by Tirpitz four months later.</p><p>The ships were named after important figures in German history: Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor who led German unification and built the German Empire in the 1800s, and Alfred von Tirpitz, the grand admiral who turned the Imperial German Navy into a world-class fleet in the early 1900s.</p><div type="image" title="Hitler at launch of German battleship Tirpitz" height="2768" width="2000" msid="87706271" hostid="261"></div><p>They were worthy of their namesakes. Each was over 800 feet long and had as their primary armament eight 15-inch guns mounted in four turrets.</p><p>The guns could fire shells weighing some 1,700 pounds over 20 miles. The ships also had 12 5.9-inch secondary guns in six turrets and over 40 anti-aircraft guns.</p><p>They were also heavily armored - 12.5 inches of steel armor in their main belt along with 8.7-inch armored bulkheads and 14.1 inches of armor on the main gun turrets.</p><p>Both were launched in 1939. Bismarck was commissioned in August 1940 and Tirpitz in February 1941.</p><h2>Bismarck</h2><div type="image" title="Nazi Germany navy battleship Bismarck" height="1350" width="2000" msid="87706273" hostid="261"></div><p>As soon as the war started, the Kriegsmarine set out to attack Allied shipping lanes.</p><p>Hoping to avoid expected budget cuts to the surface fleet, Grand Adm. Erich Raeder, head of the Kriegsmarine, planned a large commerce raid in 1941 that would involve both Bismarck-class battleships and the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.</p><p>But Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were under nearly constant attack by RAF bombers while in port in France, and Tirpitz's crew was still being trained.</p><div type="image" title="Nazi Germany navy battleship Bismarck" height="1383" width="2000" msid="87706274" hostid="261"></div><p>Unwilling to delay the operation, the Germans sent Bismarck out with only one accompanying ship, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunt-for-battleship-bismarck-proved-uboats-were-nazis-best-weapon-2021-5" target="_top">Operation Rheinübung</a>, as it was codenamed, would be Bismarck's first and only mission.</p><p>The Royal Navy, recognizing the threat Bismarck posed to its vital supply lines, hoped to intercept Bismarck before it reached the Atlantic.</p><p>On May 24, British battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Hood, widely considered the pride of the Royal Navy, caught up with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen as they sailed through the Denmark Strait.</p><p>The older British ships were outclassed by Bismarck. Just minutes into the battle, HMS Hood was hit by rounds from Bismarck's guns, causing a massive explosion that sunk Hood and killed all but three of its 1,415-man crew.</p><p>HMS Prince of Wales was also heavily damaged and had to withdraw.</p><div type="image" title="Dorsetshire Bismarck survivors" height="1499" width="1999" msid="87706275" hostid="261"></div><p>Enraged at the loss of the Hood, the Royal Navy threw almost all its available ships in the area into the hunt for Bismarck.</p><p>Bismarck had separated from Prinz Eugen and was heading to France after taking slight damage to its fuel tank. It briefly evaded its pursuers, but a British reconnaissance aircraft, <a href="https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-american-who-helped-sink-the-bismarck/" target="_top">flown by a US Navy pilot</a>, found it on May 26.</p><p>After a strike by carrier aircraft, British warships pounced on May 27. With Bismarck dead in the water, its sailors scuttled the ship with explosives. British heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire later finished it off with torpedoes. Only 115 of Bismarck's 2,221-man crew survived.</p><p>Despite some <a href="https://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=265" target="_top">success</a> against convoys, the loss of Bismarck and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-navy-sinks-german-ship-graf-spee-in-first-naval-battle-of-wwii-2017-12" target="_top">other capital ships</a> proved to Hitler that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunt-for-battleship-bismarck-proved-uboats-were-nazis-best-weapon-2021-5" target="_top">U-boats were the best weapon against Allied convoys</a>.</p><h2>Tirpitz</h2><div type="image" title="German battleship Tirpitz during World War II" height="1242" width="2000" msid="87706277" hostid="261"></div><p>Even before work on Tirpitz finished in early 1941, the British were trying to destroy it. RAF bomber raids on its harbor never hit it directly, but they did slow its construction.</p><p>With Bismarck gone, Tirpitz became the pride of the Kriegsmarine, but Hitler forbade surface ships from Atlantic commerce raiding after Bismarck was sunk. Instead, the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet was ordered to occupy the Baltic and waters around Norway.</p><p>Tirpitz's first deployment was to the Baltic, where it guarded against a breakout by the Soviet Baltic Fleet, based in what is now St. Petersburg, during Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union.</p><p>The Baltic Fleet never tried to break out, however, and Tirpitz was redeployed to Norway.</p><div type="image" title="British air force navy bombs Tirpitz World War II" height="1465" width="2000" msid="87706278" hostid="261"></div><p>The move was strategic. German warships and planes in Norway could intercept Arctic supply convoys headed to the Soviet Union and fend off an Allied invasion of Norway, which Hitler worried about constantly.</p><p>Tirpitz's mere presence was enough to concern Allied commanders. In July 1942, the Allied warships escorting <a href="https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-convoy-pq-17.htm" target="_top">convoy PQ-17</a> abandoned the convoy to search for Tirpitz after a report that the German ship left its port in northern Norway.</p><p>They didn't find Tirpitz, and German U-boats and aircraft sunk 23 of the 35 defenseless merchant ships.</p><p>Apart from a shore bombardment of Spitzbergen on September 8, 1943, Tirpitz never engaged enemy forces in offensive action. This was partly because of constant Royal Navy and Air Force attacks - with everything from bombers and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hkbwNogUhs" target="_top">carrier aircraft</a> to <a href="https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-source-the-british-midget-submarine-attack-on-the-tirpitz/" target="_top">mini-submarines</a> - while it was in port.</p><p>On September 15, 1944, RAF bombers flying from the USSR managed to hit Tirpitz with a single 12,000-pound <a href="https://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/chronicles/the-tallboy-bomb-a-lancaster-delivered-earthquake/" target="_top">Tallboy bomb</a>, causing major damage.</p><div type="image" title="British bomber attack on German battleship Tirpitz" height="1257" width="1676" msid="87706280" hostid="261"></div><p>Tirpitz was moved south to Tromsø. That put the battleship in range of RAF bases in Scotland, though to reach the target bombers had to be modified to add two fuel tanks and remove excess weight.</p><p>After a failed raid on October 29, the RAF tried again on November 12, sending the raiders briefly into Swedish airspace to get a better angle of attack.</p><p>Two Tallboy bombs <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a03CwVfWfZ0&amp;t=125s125s" target="_top">struck Tirpitz</a>, detonating a magazine and blowing off one of the turrets. The warship was rocked by massive shockwaves from multiple near misses and eventually capsized.</p><p>Over 900 of Tirpitz's more than 2,000 crewmen died as a result of the raid, which dealt the final blow to the pride of Germany's surface fleet.</p>

The Nazis built their 2 most powerful warships before World War II. Here's how the British hunted them down.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Korea Summit Press Pool/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will come face-to-face again in September, though an official date has not yet been released. </strong></li><li><strong>The two are slated to meet in Pyongyang.</strong></li><li><strong>The move follows through on promises made during their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-live-interkorean-summit-kim-jong-un-moon-jae-in-meeting-korea-2018-4">April summit</a> where they agreed to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-pursue-signing-a-peace-treaty-2018-4">pursue a peace treaty</a> to end the decades-long war between them.</strong></li></ul><p><br />North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will come face-to-face again in September, following through on promises made during their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-live-interkorean-summit-kim-jong-un-moon-jae-in-meeting-korea-2018-4">April summit</a>. </p><p>The agreement was discussed Monday during high-level talks between North and South Korean officials. Talks were held on the Northern side of the <span>Panmunjom truce village that separates the Koreas. </span></p><p><span>The South's Unification Ministry released a <a href="http://www.unikorea.go.kr/unikorea/news/live/?boardId=bbs_0000000000000003&amp;mode=view&amp;cntId=54591&amp;category=&amp;pageIdx=">joint press release</a> confirming the meeting.</span></p><p><span>"The two sides seriously discussed the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration and seriously discussed the issues to be more actively implemented," it read. </span><span>"They also agreed to hold the inter-Korean summit meeting in Pyongyang in September."</span></p><p><span> It did not specify a date. </span></p><p><span>The summit meeting would mark the third time Moon and Kim have come face-to-face. </span></p><p><span>In April, the leaders met for the first time in an historic summit, where they </span>agreed to<span> </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-pursue-signing-a-peace-treaty-2018-4">pursue a peace treaty</a><span> </span>to end their decades-long war that ended in an armistice in 1953.</p><p>Kim became the first North Korean leader to ever cross over to South Korean soil, and the two agreed to hold another summit in autumn, this time on the Northern side.</p><p>The two also held a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-south-korea-hold-surprise-meeting-amid-planned-trump-kim-jong-un-summit-2018-5">surprise meeting in May</a>, in anxious preparation for a planned summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.</p><p>In June, Kim and Trump met for the first time and signed a<span> "comprehensive" and "historic" agreement - according to Trump - which called for establishing new US-North Korea relations, building a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the agreement reached in April between Kim and Moon Jae-in, and recovering prisoner of war remains.</span></p><p><span>The North also agreed to "</span><span>commit to work towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," though the international community is still waiting to see if the North will begin to abandon its nuclear weapons program. </span></p><p>North Korea is believed to have followed through on its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-repatriation-us-military-remains-returned-2018-7">return of the remains of US service members who died during the Korean War</a>. However, recent discussions between the US and North Korea <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-denuclearization-talks-with-pompeo-regrettable-2018-7">have gone sour</a>, and North Korea is growing impatient under crippling sanctions that remain in place. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-west-point-united-states-military-academy-army-cadets-reception-day-2018-7">INSIDE WEST POINT: What it's really like for new Army cadets on their first day</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in will come face-to-face again in September

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/KCNA</span></p><p class="caption">Honor guards march in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 23, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The North Korean defector whose escape was caught on video has reportedly confessed to a crime "that led to a death."</strong></li><li><strong>Intelligence officials have publicly denied that a statement had been made.</strong></li><li><strong>Although the defector appears to be recovering, government sources say that his testimony has been shifting depending on his mood.</strong></li></ul><p><br />The 26-year-old North Korean defector who successfully made it across the North Korean border and into South Korea under a hail of gunfire was reportedly involved in a crime "that led to a death," according to South Korean intelligence officials cited in <a href="http://news.donga.com/List/PoliticsNK/3/000301/20180123/88312257/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donga Ilbo</a>, a South Korean newspaper, on Tuesday.</p><p>Chung-sung Oh reportedly confessed to the alleged crime, according to intelligence officials who are investigating his background as part of the standard procedure involving North Korean defectors. The National Intelligence Service, the primary intelligence agency in the country, was said to be looking into all circumstances of the alleged death, including whether it was a murder or an accidental death.</p><p>A reporter from Chosun Ilbo, another South Korean news organization, also said he received a similar unconfirmed report in December, in which Oh is believed to have been involved in a vehicle accident involving another person, and may have defected in fear of being punished.</p><p>Oh, who has been recovering after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, is said to have a carefree personality, according to government sources. But those sources noted that his testimony seemed to change depending on his mood. The investigation is expected to extend beyond February.</p><p>If Oh's statement proves to be true, it could complicate the proceedings and exclude him from benefits for North Korean defectors, according to the South Korean newspaper. But because the government does not have an extradition treaty with North Korea, Oh does not appear to be at risk of being sent back to the North.</p><p>Meanwhile, South Korean intelligence officials have publicly denied Oh's testimony and said those involved with the matter had "never made a statement of that kind."</p><p>The Ministry of Unification, the government body responsible for inter-Korean relations, said that it <a href="http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2018/01/23/0200000000AKR20180123052000014.HTML?input=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could not confirm</a> the account because the investigation was still ongoing.</p><p>News surrounding Oh has become a hot-button subject in Korea after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-defector-video-2017-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">footage of his dramatic escape</a> in November was captured in stunning detail. Following Oh's rescue, those involved in the recovery, including his physician, have been the center of media attention in the country.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-kim-jong-un-scariest-dictators-2016-1">North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un is 34 -here's how he became one of the world's scariest dictators</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

North Korean defector reportedly confessed committing a crime 'that led to a death'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia has been bullying Georgia for years and quietly seizing territory along the ill-defined borders of disputed territories.</li><li>A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill - the Georgia Support Act - that Georgia's new prime minister, Giorgia Gakharia, views as critical to thwarting Russia's encroachment in the region. </li><li>The bill's passage comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Georgia linked to anti-Kremlin protests that occurred in Tbilisi in June after a Russian lawmaker spoke in Georgia's parliament. The protests prompted Moscow to suspend travel to Georgia.</li><li>Gakharia's critics have characterized him as too cozy with the Kremlin, but he strongly rejected that characterization: "Our government and our party have done more to stand up to Russia and fight for full integration into the EU and NATO than any previous Georgian government."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>A little over a decade after the two countries fought a five-day war in August 2008, Russia continues to bully Georgia and has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-quietly-seizing-territory-in-georgia-10-years-after-the-war-2018-8">quietly seizing more territory</a> along the disputed border of the former Soviet republic. </p><p>Russia's so-called "borderization" tactics in Georgia have split communities apart and sparked allegations of serious human rights abuses. </p><p>A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill - <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/598">the Georgia Support Act</a> - that Georgia's new prime minister, Giorgia Gakharia, views as critical to thwarting Russia's encroachment in the region. </p><p>"Our government has been relentless in making sure the Georgia Support Act passed with bipartisan support at the committee level that is now working its way forward in the US Congress," Gakharia told Insider ahead of the bill's success in the House in his first comments to US media since he became prime minister in early September.</p><p>He added: "Only through strong international support will we be able to restore our territorial integrity peacefully."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><h2>The 2008 Russia-Georgia war is in many ways ongoing</h2><p>The 2008 Russia-Georgia war was primarily fought over the disputed territories of South Ossetia (or the Tskhinvali Region) and Abkhazia. The Kremlin has occupied these territories since the short-lived conflict ended, and recognizes the independence of the two breakaway regions. Both territories host <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45100160">Russian military bases and troops.</a></p><p>Georgia, however, sees Abkhazia and South Ossetia as part of its sovereign territory, and along with most of the international community views Russia's presence there as an illegal occupation of roughly 20% of its land. The international community does not recognize the Russia-backed governments in South Ossetia or Abkhazia. </p><p>The subject of who sparked the 2008 war is a matter of debate, though an <a href="https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/HUDOC_38263_08_Annexes_ENG.pdf">independent report commissioned by the European Union</a> pointed to Georgia as firing the first shots. The report also said that Russia's response, which involved its forces going well beyond the disputed regions, was excessive and stood in violation of international law.</p><p>Meanwhile, a <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur56/0581/2019/en/">July 2019 report</a> from Amnesty International on Russia's occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, along with the "borderization" tactics, has led to "severe" restrictions on freedom of movement and a slew of human rights violations. </p><p>Russia and allied forces in the region have set up various physical boundaries along the disputed border, including barbed wire, fences, and ditches, that Amnesty said has cut locals off from "farmland, water sources, places of worship and even family burial sites."</p><p>The Georgia Support Act authorizes sanctions against those responsible for or complicit in human rights violations in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It's not clear whether the bill will pass in the Senate and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider on whether President Donald Trump supports the legislation and would sign it. </p><p>The Trump administration has spoken out against Russia's activities in and around Georgia in the past. The State Department in August, for example, <a href="https://ge.usembassy.gov/the-department-of-states-statement-on-borderization-in-georgia-august-21/">condemned Russia's "borderization" in Georgia</a> and called on it to "suspend its illegal occupation of 20 percent of Georgian territory."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div></p><h2>'We live in a tough neighborhood'</h2><p>The US and Georgia have had close relations for years - particularly after the 2008 war - and Washington has provided Tbilisi with millions in aid as it continues to face Russian aggression. This is also linked to Georgia's contributions in Afghanistan - it's played a major role in supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) there as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).</p><p>Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Afghanistan veteran who introduced the Georgia Support Act with his House Foreign Affairs committee colleague Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, celebrated the passage of the bill in a statement that cited Georgia's support for NATO and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-nato-split-on-message-to-send-georgia-on-membership-hopes-2015-11">longtime desire to join the historic alliance</a> as it continues to face Russian aggression. </p><p>"The US plays a pivotal role in encouraging our Georgian allies to continue working towards independence and complete separation from their aggressive neighbor, Russia. I'm proud of their efforts and aspirations to join the NATO alliance, and applaud their commitment to democratic values," <a href="https://kinzinger.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402181">Kinzinger said.</a></p><p>Echoing these sentiments, Connolly in <a href="https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3708">a statement said</a>: "With this vote, the House sends a clear and unequivocal statement of support to the people of Georgia in their struggle against an ever-looming Russian threat."</p><p>Connolly also said he's "particularly" pleased the bill "recognizes that Georgia has been a longstanding NATO-aspirant country."</p><p>Georgia has been trying to join NATO for years, but the 2008 war threw a wrench in the process. Russia continues to warn against it as well, and has suggested it could trigger a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-nato-georgia/russian-pm-warns-nato-admission-of-georgia-could-trigger-terrible-conflict-idUSKBN1KR1UQ">"terrible conflict."</a></p><p>Despite Russia's threatening language, Georgia is still pressing ahead with NATO membership. Gakharia told Insider that Georgia's desired integration with NATO as well as the European Union is an essential aspect of its "own democratic transformation" and central to its efforts to push back against Russia.</p><p>"We have made it clear that the EU and NATO are Georgia's choice," Gakharia said. "Georgia is, and will remain firmly oriented, toward the West. That is our culture, that is our history, that is what our people want."</p><p>"Our focus on Western alliances is essential for us to protect our sovereignty and maintain peace and stability," Gakharia said. "As you are aware, we live in a tough neighborhood where Russia continues its illegal occupation of twenty percent of our territory, constantly building its military presence in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Peaceful unification of Georgia remains our goal." </p><h2>'Russia does not define Georgia, and Russia will not define our future'</h2><p>Gakharia's ascent to the role of prime minister was controversial among many Georgians and came after a dramatic summer that saw tensions rise to historic heights between Tbilisi and Moscow. </p><p>In June, the Georgian capital was consumed by protests after a Russian lawmaker was permitted to address the Georgian parliament in Russian from the speaker's chair. Riot police were sent to disperse the demonstrators as they tried to storm parliament, and approximately 240 people were hurt in the brutal crackdown. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48710042">according to BBC News</a>. </p><p>Members of the opposition party, the United National Movement, have called on Gakharia - who was interior minister at the time - to resign over the crackdown. Protests also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-protests/thousands-gather-in-tbilisi-for-protest-against-georgian-government-idUSKBN1W527K">continued in Tbilisi against Gakharia's ruling Georgian Dream party</a> shortly after he was named prime minister in late September.</p><p>Critics of Gakharia and his party view him as too cozy with the Kremlin, but the Georgian prime minister told Insider he "would strongly disagree with that characterization."</p><p>"Our government and our party have done more to stand up to Russia and fight for full integration into the EU and NATO than any previous Georgian government," he said. "We will not back down from that proposition. Russia does not define Georgia, and Russia will not define our future."</p><p>Russia suspended travel to Georgia following the anti-Kremlin protests in June, though there are <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-georgia-protests/thousands-gather-in-tbilisi-for-protest-against-georgian-government-idUSKBN1W527K">signs that flights could resume</a> in the near future. </p><p>Gakharia said the ban "clearly impacted our economy" but that the government "appreciated the solidarity and upswing in tourism from other countries who also believed the ban was unreasonable."</p><p>The Georgian prime minister said he welcomes the resumption of flights between Russia and Georgia, adding: "We didn't agree with the suspension and neither did Russian tourists who found ways to travel to Georgia despite the flight ban."</p><p>Gakharia said he has "no quarrel with the people of Russia who want to experience our culture."</p>

Russia has bullied Georgia and quietly seized territory for a decade. Its new leader vows to stand up to Moscow, and just got a boost from Congress.

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Alik Keplicz</span></p><p class="caption">German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble speaks during a press conference after talks with his French and Polish counterparts in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 6, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Wolfgang Schaeuble gets bad press. The German finance minister is used to being Europe's bogeyman.</p><p>In Greece, the "no" campaign in July's bailout referendum even tried to associate him with the "yes" campaign, knowing how deeply unpopular he is.</p><p>In the final stages of the country's bailout negotiations in July, Schaeuble offered the chance of a temporary exit from the euro - along with a bundle of cash to smooth the departure - but his idea fell flat and another bailout was agreed. </p><p>For this and his generally stern approach to negotiations over Greece's bailout, Schaeuble is often reviled, but that seems deeply unfair. </p><p>He's not a genius, and there may well be better <em>ideas </em>out there for how to make the eurozone function - but Schaeuble seems to have the only one that's likely to happen.</p><p>Schaeuble is often seen defending European rules on things like government spending (some of which were broken by Germany in the early 2000s), and is widely mocked for it. But while major decisions are made by negotiation with 19 governments, it is genuinely difficult to understand how the eurozone is meant to work without them.</p><p>Appeals for finance ministers to offer Greece more lenient conditions out of a sense of European solidarity are clearly well-intentioned. It certainly seems like it would be better, for example, if the German and French governments (among others) simply took a massive haircut on their Greek debt holdings - they're far more capable of taking that hit.</p><p>It's probably more difficult to see it from that perspective if you're elected by and ultimately representing the interests of French and German voters.</p><p><span>The Eurogroup meetings that have passed in the last eight months would be recognisable to </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Vienna">Metternich or Talleyrand, participants in the 1815 Congress of Vienna held two centuries ago</a><span>. It's an intergovernmental negotiation, and the outcome will always be something of a hash, with dozens of attendees trying to get their own voices heard and their own priorities recognised.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Mike Bird, Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Schaeuble featured on Greek political posters advocating a "No" vote in the bailout referendum in uly, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The only alternative seems to be a federal Europe - exactly what Schaeuble has advocated for 20 years and more.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/brnote_coreeurope_feb04-3835.pdf">Schaeuble wrote about the need for a federal structure</a> based on a "core Europe" when Alexis Tsipras was still at university. Back in 1994, he was pushing for a political union to go along with the coming monetary union. </p><p>In fact, it's <a href="http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/e335_federalism-2185.pdf">French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur who shot down Schaeuble's suggestion</a> in his own 1994 response:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Must Europe move towards a federal system? Why revive this ideological debate? The time for this is past: an enlarged Europe, including a greater number of member-states, could not be federal ... Only flexible forms of organisation in such a group can be considered.</p><p>Here's what Schaeuble said about Federalism in a 2006 speech: </p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">In the context of European unification, some in Germany have called - fortunately not very loudly - for doing away with federalism. I think that is a bad idea. However, I am well aware that, when it comes to concrete issues, public opinion is not all that enamoured of federalism: Whenever problems are serious, then public opinion polls quickly show a majority in favor of centralized solutions.</p><p>And he's not wrong on public opinion, at least in his own country and the rest of the "core". <a href="http://openeurope.org.uk/blog/appeal-of-ending-ever-closer-union-stretches-well-beyond-the-uk/">An Opinium survey conducted just this month</a> showed that though the concept of "ever-closer union" in Europe commands the support of over 40% of people in Italy and over 50% in Spain and Portugal, in Germany it falls to 30%, in France to below 25% and in the Netherlands to below 20%.</p><p>Schaeuble has spent most of his political life constructing a version of European federalism that might be palatable to German voters - and the honest truth is, if it's not palatable to southern Europe, then there probably won't be a federal Europe at all.</p><p>I think that Syriza are <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/syriza-is-right-about-debt-and-everyone-needs-to-get-over-it-2015-1">probably right about Greece's debt burden</a>, and its growth prospects more generally. But that's unacceptable politically, not just to Germany but to tens of millions or people across the rest of the continent. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Rainer Klostermeier</span></p><p class="caption">Schaeuble has been in front-line <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> for a very long time - German's reunification treaty even bears his signature.</p></div><p></p></div></div>There's also a completely reasonable argument that a less austere approach to the Greek crisis and southern Europe's depression might be beneficial in the long-run to Germany. That argument may be entirely right. But given that it's been seven years after the financial crisis and five years since the first bailout programmes began, it doesn't seem like Berlin's mind is going to change at any time soon.</p><p>It's hard to think of a major crisis or turning point in the last 200 or 250 years of European history that didn't have its origins or resolutions in Germany, at least in large part. It's had a huge influence on the eurozone's institutions too - particularly the European Central Bank.</p><p>Similarly, it's extremely difficult to see how some solution to Greece's crisis, or any further major advances in European integration can go ahead without Germany probably leading the process. </p><p>For all of the discussion of a potential Franco-Italian alliance to build an agreement on Greece, all that has been achieved is another can-kicking. The fiscal cliff for Greece's government has been extended into the future, painful and perhaps impossible reforms will be pursued, and growth will be slow if not non-existent. </p><p>If Francois Hollande has a grand plan for the future of Europe he is largely keeping it to himself, and Matteo Renzi has enough problems to deal with at home.</p><p>So there are very few options left for Europe. One is some version of what exists now - a monetary union that sometimes looks more like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_exchange-rate_system">a fixed exchange rate system</a>, in which countries get little support (without serious conditions) and can drop if needs be.</p><p>The other is Wolfgang Schaeuble's stern federalism, centred on France and Germany. You might not like the taste, but nothing else really seems to be on the menu.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uber-helicopters-nyc-airports-low-price-gotham-air-2015-6">The 'Uber of helicopters' can get you from Manhattan to JFK for much less than you think </a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="tuMGh4dTrxXrtV4qUhqZEiSDVwRtqa4G" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The hated Wolfgang Schaeuble may be the only man who can make Europe work

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source">REUTERS/Kyodo </p><p class="caption">North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R), flanked by his uncle North Korean politician Jang Song-thaek, leaves a military parade to mark the birth anniversary of the North's late leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 16, 2012.</p></div><p></p></div></div>SEOUL (Reuters) - North <keyword id="43918" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Korea">Korea</keyword> could be facing its most serious defection in 15 years as South Korean media said on Friday that a man who managed funds for the ousted uncle of leader Kim Jong Un had fled the isolated country and sought asylum in South Korea.</p>
<p>The aide, who was not named, was being protected by South Korean officials in a secret location in China, cable news network YTN and Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the matter.</p>
<p>South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) had no knowledge of the defection, lawmakers said in Seoul after they were briefed by the head of the spy agency.</p>
<p>YTN said the man managed funds for Jang Song Thaek, whose marriage to Kim's aunt and proximity to the young leader made him one of the most powerful men in North Korea.</p>
<p>Jang was relieved of his posts last month, according to the NIS, and the television network said the sacking could have followed the aide's defection.</p>
<p>YTN said the aide also had knowledge of funds belonging to Kim and his father, former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. If true, the defection would likely be the first time in 15 years a significant insider from the Pyongyangregime has switched sides.</p>
<p>Impoverished but nuclear-capable North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.</p>
<p>A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, Kim Eui-do, and officials at the Foreign Ministry said the defection report could not be confirmed.</p>
<p>Jung Chung-rae, a member of the South Korean parliament's Intelligence Committee, told reporters the intelligence service had said it did not know about the defection, but that two of Jang's relatives who were serving in embassies overseas had been recalled.</p>
<p>"It is true that Jang's brother-in-law and nephew have been called back to North Korea," Jung cited the NIS as saying.</p>
<p>Jang himself is alive and appears to be safe, South Korean officials have said.</p>
<p>Jang has survived previous purges and official displeasure, thanks largely to his sometimes tempestuous marriage to Kim Kyong Hui, the daughter of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung.</p>
<h3>"WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION," CHINA SAYS</h3>
<p>North Korea's ruling Kim family is deeply venerated and feared. It is ruthless about protecting its security and privacy and little is known about the inner workings of the regime.</p>
<p>The aide requested asylum about two months ago and was currently in China, YTN said. In Beijing, there were no signs of any additional security around the South Korean embassy.</p>
<p>Asked about the South Korean media reports, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "We have noted the reports, but do not understand the situation."</p>
<p>South Korea's intelligence service has also said two of Jang's close associates were executed last month for corruption.</p>
<p>These reports have not been confirmed either.</p>
<p>YTN said Jang's aide fled to China some time in late September or early October and that Jang could have been sacked because of this.</p>
<p>"A source familiar with the matter said the aide immediately requested asylum from the South Korean governmentand South Korean officials are currently protecting him at a secret place in China," it said.</p>
<p>China, Pyongyang's only major ally, usually resists allowing defectors from North Korea to seek asylum elsewhere.</p>
<p>YTN said the aide tried to escape to Laos, a route favored by other defectors, but Chinese authorities prevented him from leaving.</p>
<p>U.S. officials have also sought custody of the aide, the television station said.</p>
<p>About 25,000 North Koreans have defected to the South but few of them were highly placed in Pyongyang.</p>
<p>The major defectors include Hwang Jang Yop, a high-level Worker's Party ideologue who was the architect of the Juche (self-reliance) ideology of North Korea, who sought asylum in the South in 1997.</p>
<p>Kim Jong Un's aunt, his mother's sister, fled to the United States in 1998, media reports have said.</p>
<p>In 2002, a North Korean nuclear scientist named Kyong Won Ha escaped the country, although few details are known.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Jack Kim; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)</p>

Kim Jong-un's Uncle And Former 'Power Behind The Throne' May Be Headed To South Korea

<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>The Economist</span></p></div><p></p></div>The post-Soviet world order was far from perfect, but Vladimir Putin's idea for replacing it is much worse.</em></p>
<p>"In people's hearts and minds," Vladimir Putin told Russia's parliament this week, "Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia."</p>
<p>He annexed the peninsula with dazzling speed and efficiency, backed by a crushing majority in a referendum (see "The Ukraine crisis: Responding to Mr Putin"). He calls it a victory for order and legitimacy and a blow against Western meddling.</p>
<p>The reality is that Mr Putin is a force for instability and strife. The founding act of his new order was to redraw a frontier using arguments that could be deployed to inflame territorial disputes in dozens of places around the world. Even if most Crimeans do want to join Russia, the referendum was a farce. Russia's recent conduct is often framed narrowly as the start of a new cold war with America. In fact it poses a broader threat to countries everywhere because Mr Putin has driven a tank over the existing world order.</p>
<h3>The embrace of the motherland</h3>
<p>Foreign policy follows cycles. The Soviet collapse ushered in a decade of unchallenged supremacy for the United States and the aggressive assertion of American values. But, puffed up by the hubris of George Bush, this "unipolar world" choked in the dust of Iraq. Since then Barack Obama has tried to fashion a more collaborative approach, built on a belief that America can make common cause with other countries to confront shared problems and isolate wrongdoers.</p>
<p>This has failed miserably in Syria but shown some signs of working with Iran. Even in its gentler form, it is American clout that keeps sea lanes open, borders respected and international <keyword id="6355470" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Law">law</keyword> broadly observed. To that extent, the post-Soviet order has meaning.</p>
<p>Mr Putin is now destroying that. He dresses up his takeover of Crimea in the garb of international law, arguing for instance that the ousting of the government in Kiev means he is no longer bound by a treaty guaranteeing Ukraine's borders that Russia signed in 1994, when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons. But international law depends on governments inheriting the rights and duties of their predecessors.</p>
<p>Similarly, he has invoked the principle that he must protect his "compatriots"--meaning anybody he chooses to define as Russian--wherever they are. Against all evidence, he has denied that the unbadged troops who took control of Crimea were Russian. That combination of protection and subterfuge is a formula for intervention in any country with a minority, not just a Russian one.</p>
<p>Brandishing fabricated accounts of Ukrainian fascists threatening Crimea, he has defied the principle that intervention abroad should be a last resort in the face of genuine suffering. He cites NATO's bombing of Kosovo in 1999 as a precedent, but that came after terrible violence and exhaustive efforts at the UN--which Russia blocked. Even then Kosovo was not, like Crimea, immediately annexed, but seceded nine years later.</p>
<p>Mr Putin's new order, in short, is built on revanchism, a reckless disdain for the truth and the twisting of the law to mean whatever suits those in power. That makes it no order at all.</p>
<p>Sadly, too few people understand this. Plenty of countries resent American primacy and Western moralising. But they would find Mr Putin's new order far worse. Small countries thrive in an open system of rules, albeit imperfect ones. If might is right, they have much to fear, especially if they must contend with an aggressive regional power. Larger countries, especially the new giants of the emerging world, face less threat of bullying, but an anarchic, mistrustful world would harm them all the same.</p>
<p>If international agreements are robbed of their meaning, India could more easily be sucked into a clash of arms with China over Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh with Pakistan. If unilateral secession is acceptable, Turkey will find it harder to persuade its Kurds that their future lies in making peace. Egypt and Saudi Arabia want Iran's regional ambitions to be tamped down, not fed by the principle that it can intervene to help Shia Muslims across the Middle East.</p>
<p>Even China should pause. Tactically, Crimea ties it in knots. The precedent of secession is anathema, because of Tibet; the principle of unification is sacrosanct, because of Taiwan. Strategically, though, China's interests are clear. For decades, it has sought to rise peacefully within the system, avoiding the competition that an upstart Germany launched against Britain in the 19th century and which ended in war. But peace is elusive in Mr Putin's world, because anything can become a pretext for action, and any perceived aggression demands a riposte.</p>
<h3>Act now or pay later</h3>
<p>For Mr Obama, this is a defining moment: he must lead, not just co-operate. But Crimea should also matter to the rest of the world. Given what is at stake, the response has so far been weak and fragmented. China and India have more or less stood aside. The West has imposed visa sanctions and frozen a few Russians' assets. The targets call this a badge of honour.</p>
<p>At the very least, the measures must start to exceed expectations. Asset freezes can be powerful, because, as the Iran sanctions showed, international finance dreads being caught up in America's regulatory machinery. Mr Putin's kleptocratic friends would yelp if Britain made London unwelcome to Russian money linked to the regime (see "Russian money in Britain: Honey trapped").</p>
<p>France should withhold its arms sales to Russia; and, in case eastern Ukraine is next, Germany must be prepared to embargo Russian oil and gas. Planning should start right now to lessen Europe's dependence on Russian energy and to strengthen NATO.</p>
<p>Ukraine needs short-term money, to stave off collapse, and longer-term reforms, with the help of the IMF, backed by as much outside advice as the country will stomach. As a first step, America must immediately pay its dues to the fund, which have been blocked by Congress for months.</p>
<p>Even if the West is prepared to take serious measures against Mr Putin, the world's rising powers may not be inclined to condemn him. But instead of acquiescing in his illegal annexation of Crimea, they should reflect on what kind of a world order they want to live under. Would they prefer one in which states by and large respect international agreements and borders? Or one in which words are bent, borders ignored and agreements broken at will?</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist.</p>
<p></p>

Putin's New World Order Is A Threat To Countries Everywhere

<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>The Economist</span></p></div><p></p></div>The post-Soviet world order was far from perfect, but Vladimir Putin's idea for replacing it is much worse.</em></p>
<p>"In people's hearts and minds," Vladimir Putin told Russia's parliament this week, "Crimea has always been an inseparable part of Russia."</p>
<p>He annexed the peninsula with dazzling speed and efficiency, backed by a crushing majority in a referendum (see "The Ukraine crisis: Responding to Mr Putin"). He calls it a victory for order and legitimacy and a blow against Western meddling.</p>
<p>The reality is that Mr Putin is a force for instability and strife. The founding act of his new order was to redraw a frontier using arguments that could be deployed to inflame territorial disputes in dozens of places around the world. Even if most Crimeans do want to join Russia, the referendum was a farce. Russia's recent conduct is often framed narrowly as the start of a new cold war with America. In fact it poses a broader threat to countries everywhere because Mr Putin has driven a tank over the existing world order.</p>
<h3>The embrace of the motherland</h3>
<p>Foreign policy follows cycles. The Soviet collapse ushered in a decade of unchallenged supremacy for the United States and the aggressive assertion of American values. But, puffed up by the hubris of George Bush, this "unipolar world" choked in the dust of Iraq. Since then Barack Obama has tried to fashion a more collaborative approach, built on a belief that America can make common cause with other countries to confront shared problems and isolate wrongdoers.</p>
<p>This has failed miserably in Syria but shown some signs of working with Iran. Even in its gentler form, it is American clout that keeps sea lanes open, borders respected and international law broadly observed. To that extent, the post-Soviet order has meaning.</p>
<p>Mr Putin is now destroying that. He dresses up his takeover of Crimea in the garb of international law, arguing for instance that the ousting of the government in Kiev means he is no longer bound by a treaty guaranteeing Ukraine's borders that Russia signed in 1994, when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons. But international law depends on governments inheriting the rights and duties of their predecessors.</p>
<p>Similarly, he has invoked the principle that he must protect his "compatriots"--meaning anybody he chooses to define as Russian--wherever they are. Against all evidence, he has denied that the unbadged troops who took control of Crimea were Russian. That combination of protection and subterfuge is a formula for intervention in any country with a minority, not just a Russian one.</p>
<p>Brandishing fabricated accounts of Ukrainian fascists threatening Crimea, he has defied the principle that intervention abroad should be a last resort in the face of genuine suffering. He cites NATO's bombing of Kosovo in 1999 as a precedent, but that came after terrible violence and exhaustive efforts at the UN--which Russia blocked. Even then Kosovo was not, like Crimea, immediately annexed, but seceded nine years later.</p>
<p>Mr Putin's new order, in short, is built on revanchism, a reckless disdain for the truth and the twisting of the law to mean whatever suits those in power. That makes it no order at all.</p>
<p>Sadly, too few people understand this. Plenty of countries resent American primacy and Western moralising. But they would find Mr Putin's new order far worse. Small countries thrive in an open system of rules, albeit imperfect ones. If might is right, they have much to fear, especially if they must contend with an aggressive regional power. Larger countries, especially the new giants of the emerging world, face less threat of bullying, but an anarchic, mistrustful world would harm them all the same.</p>
<p>If international agreements are robbed of their meaning, India could more easily be sucked into a clash of arms with China over Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh with Pakistan. If unilateral secession is acceptable, Turkey will find it harder to persuade its Kurds that their future lies in making peace. Egypt and Saudi Arabia want Iran's regional ambitions to be tamped down, not fed by the principle that it can intervene to help Shia Muslims across the Middle East.</p>
<p>Even China should pause. Tactically, Crimea ties it in knots. The precedent of secession is anathema, because of Tibet; the principle of unification is sacrosanct, because of Taiwan. Strategically, though, China's interests are clear. For decades, it has sought to rise peacefully within the system, avoiding the competition that an upstart Germany launched against Britain in the 19th century and which ended in war. But peace is elusive in Mr Putin's world, because anything can become a pretext for action, and any perceived aggression demands a riposte.</p>
<h3>Act now or pay later</h3>
<p>For Mr Obama, this is a defining moment: he must lead, not just co-operate. But Crimea should also matter to the rest of the world. Given what is at stake, the response has so far been weak and fragmented. China and India have more or less stood aside. The West has imposed visa sanctions and frozen a few Russians' assets. The targets call this a badge of honour.</p>
<p>At the very least, the measures must start to exceed expectations. Asset freezes can be powerful, because, as the Iran sanctions showed, international finance dreads being caught up in America's regulatory machinery. Mr Putin's kleptocratic friends would yelp if Britain made London unwelcome to Russian money linked to the regime (see "Russian money in Britain: Honey trapped").</p>
<p>France should withhold its arms sales to Russia; and, in case eastern Ukraine is next, Germany must be prepared to embargo Russian oil and gas. Planning should start right now to lessen Europe's dependence on Russian energy and to strengthen NATO.</p>
<p>Ukraine needs short-term money, to stave off collapse, and longer-term reforms, with the help of the IMF, backed by as much outside advice as the country will stomach. As a first step, America must immediately pay its dues to the fund, which have been blocked by Congress for months.</p>
<p>Even if the West is prepared to take serious measures against Mr Putin, the world's rising powers may not be inclined to condemn him. But instead of acquiescing in his illegal annexation of Crimea, they should reflect on what kind of a world order they want to live under. Would they prefer one in which states by and large respect international agreements and borders? Or one in which words are bent, borders ignored and agreements broken at will?</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist.</p>
<p></p>

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