Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately

Seoul demands North Korean troops leave Russia immediately

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South Korea has summoned the Russian ambassador, seeking the “immediate withdrawal” of North Korean troops which it says are being trained to fight in Ukraine.

About 1,500 North Korean soldiers, including those from the special forces, have already arrived in Russia, according to Seoul’s spy agency.

In a meeting with the ambassador Georgiy Zinoviev, South Korea’s vice-foreign minister Kim Hong-kyun denounced the move and warned that Seoul will “respond with all measures available”.

Mr Zinoviev said he would relay the concerns, but stressed that the cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is “within the framework of international law”.

It is unclear what cooperation he was referring to. The ambassador did not confirm allegations that North Korea has sent troops to fight with Russia’s military.

Later on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters the cooperation between the two nations is “not directed against third countries”.

He added it “should not worry anyone”, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

Pyongyang has not commented on the allegations.

South Korea has long accused the North of supplying weapons to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, but it says the current situation has gone beyond the transfer of military materials.

Some South Korean media reports have suggested as many as12,000 North Korean soldiers are expected to be deployed.

“[This] not only gravely threatens South Korea but the international community,” Kim said on Monday.

Moscow and Pyongyang have stepped up cooperation after their leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a security pact in June, which pledges that their countries will help each other in the event of “aggression” against either country.

Last week, Putin introduced a bill to ratify the pact.

Pyongyang’s deployment of troops to fight with Russia “would mark a significant escalation” in the conflict, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday.

In a phone call with Rutte on Monday, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol urged the alliance to explore “concrete countermeasures”, adding that he will take steps to strengthen security cooperation between South Korea, Ukraine and Nato.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy, who is visiting Seoul, called Russia’s actions “reckless and illegal”, adding that London would work with Seoul to respond, according to Yoon’s office.

The United States and Japan have also condemned the deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia.

Meanwhile, in response to a BBC question about the alleged North Korea-Russia cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that China hopes all parties will work to de-escalate the situation and aim for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.

Some defence experts told BBC Korean that North Korea’s involvement could complicate the war.

“North Korea’s involvement could open the door for greater international participation in the conflict, potentially drawing in more countries,” said Moon Seong-mok from the Korea National Strategy Institute.

“The international community will likely increase sanctions and pressure on both Russia and North Korea, but it remains to be seen whether North Korea’s involvement will truly benefit either country,” Dr Moon said.

But others believe the Russian military units will have difficulties incorporating North Korean troops into their frontlines.

Apart from the language barrier, the North Korean army has no recent combat experiences, they said.

Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defence Express, said the North Korean soldiers could be asked to guard sections of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which will free up Russian units to fight elsewhere.

“I would rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front line,” he said.

Additional reporting by Sangmi Han, Jake Kwon and Hosu Lee in Seoul


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South Korea calls for immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops allegedly in Russia

South Korea calls for immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops allegedly in Russia

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea on Monday demanded the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia as it summoned the Russian ambassador to protest deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

South Korea’s spy agency said Friday it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia this month to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said his government had intelligence that 10,000 North Korea soldiers were being prepared to join invading Russian forces.

During a meeting with Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev, Vice South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun “condemned in the strongest terms” North Korea’s troop dispatch that he said poses “a grave security threat” to South Korea and the international community, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kim said that South Korea in collaboration with the international community will mobilize all available means to deal with an act that threatens its vital national security interests, according to the statement. The Russian Embassy quoted Zinoviev as saying that the Russian-North Korean cooperation is not aimed against the security interests of South Korea.

In a telephone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Seoul won’t sit idly by “reckless” military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. Yoon said South Korea will soon send a delegation to NATO to exchange information about Russian-North Korean cooperation, according to Yoon’s office. Rutte wrote on X that North Korea possibly fighting alongside Russia would “mark a significant escalation.”

The U.S. and NATO haven’t confirmed that North Korean troops were sent to Russia. But the reports of their presence have already stoked concerns in South Korea that Russia might provide North Korea with sophisticated technologies that can sharply enhance the North’s nuclear and missile programs in return for its troop dispatch.

North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal is a major security threat to South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently took steps to permanently terminate all relations with South Korea and threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively. Some observers say South Korea will likely consider supplying weapons to Ukraine if Russian transfers of high-tech nuclear and missile technologies to North Korea are verified.

South Korea has joined U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But South Korea hasn’t directly provided arms to Kyiv, citing its longstanding policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflicts.

Russia has earlier denied using North Korean troops in its war with Ukraine. North Korea’s state media hasn’t commented on the matter. Ukrainian officials released a video allegedly showing North Korean soldiers lining up to collect Russian military clothes and bags at an unknown location. The Associated Press couldn’t verify the footage independently.

Asked about the North Korean troops during a conference call with reporters Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “we are seeing a lot of contradictory information.”

“South Koreans say one thing, then the Pentagon says it has no confirmation of such statements. There is a lot of contradictory information,” Peskov said. ”It must be treated as such.”

At a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday on Ukraine, Western ambassadors raised the South Korean intelligence, but none confirmed it.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said that if true, it marks “a dangerous and highly concerning development” and noted that the U.S. was “consulting with our allies and partners on such a dramatic move.”

Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said it’s “highly likely” North Korea agreed to send troops in support of Russia’s war.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the South Korean assertion as well as Western allegations of Iran supplying Russia with missiles and China providing arms components. He accused the West of “circulating scaremongering with Iranian, Chinese and Korean bogeymen, each one of which is more absurd than the one before.”

North Korea’s troop deployment to Russia would be its first participation in a major war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Many experts question how much North Korean troops would help Russia on the battlefield, citing their lack of combat experience.

Cooperation between North Korea and Russia has flourished over the past two years. The U.S., South Korea and their partners have accused North Korea of supplying conventional arms to Russia in return for economic and military assistance. In June, Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pact stipulating mutual military assistance if either country is attacked.

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Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.


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Lake Lure, North Carolina.

North Carolina dam holds after heavy rains, concerns about condition force evacuations

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A structural engineer assessed the Lake Lure dam Friday evening and determined its failure is not imminent, a town official said.

The Lake Lure dam in western North Carolina overtopped Friday after Hurricane Helene inundated the area, forcing evacuations and prompting warnings from officials early Friday morning that the dam could fail.

Olivia Stewman, the Lake Lure town manager, said a structural engineer “found it in stable condition,” despite damage that had been reported earlier Friday. The dam lost power early Friday, but that has been restored.

Stewman said residents who evacuated might not be able to return to their homes for now because it was difficult to travel through the area, with downed trees and other hazards. The area still did not have cell service, Stewman said.

The Friday evening update was the second piece of positive news.

Another warning of a potential dam failure in the state — at the Walters Dam less than 100 miles from Lake Lure — had also prompted warnings of failure that did not come to fruition. Although the dam was not breached, residents of Newport, Tennessee, downstream from the Walters Dam, were still asked to evacuate because of flooding.

Concern about the Lake Lure dam, which is located about 25 miles east of Asheville, grew early Friday morning, when officials sent out urgent warning messages.

“RESIDENTS BELOW THE LAKE LURE DAM NEED TO EVACUATE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY!!” the Rutherford County Emergency Management department wrote in a Facebook post at about 11 a.m. ET on Friday. It said dam failure was imminent.

As of 1:30 p.m., water was overtopping the dam, the emergency management agency said. 

“Structural supports have been compromised but the Dam wall is currently holding,” the agency wrote on Facebook. “Emergency personnel are working with the structural engineers and are going house to house to ensure all citizens have been evacuated.” 

The 124-foot tall hydroelectric dam, which is on the Broad River, about 25 miles from Asheville, is operated by the town of Lake Lure, according to the National Inventory of Dams. Its maximum storage is 44,914 acre-feet, roughly equivalent to the volume of water in 22,500 Olympic swimming pools. 

Lake Lure in North Carolina as seen from Chimney Rock National Park.BSPollard / Getty Images / iStockphoto

On Friday afternoon, Stewman said water was flowing around the dam on one side.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality said on its website on Friday morning that the 480-foot long dam was eroding on one side. An update posted earlier in the day said that dam operators had lost power but were able to operate floodgates manually. 

Southern Appalachia has been under deluge for several days, after a precursor storm brought rainfall that should be expected only once every 1,000 years to some areas. Then, the remnants of Hurricane Helene struck overnight and into Friday morning. 

Jared Klein, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the area near Lake Lure has been hammered by extreme rainfall over the past three days. 

“You’re looking at 8 to 16 inches of rain in the area of the lake,” Klein said. 

Lake Lure is considered a “high” hazard dam, according to the National Inventory of Dams — a classification that means failure or malfunction is likely to cause loss of life. The dam was described as in “fair” condition in a March 2023 inspection, the inventory said. 

The town of Lake Lure has been trying to replace the aging dam. As of June 2023, it had received at least four grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency designed to help rehabilitate or replace high-hazard dams. It also received $16.5 million for the project in 2022 from the state of North Carolina.

Earlier this year, the water level was lowered in the lake to replace key infrastructure, according to the city website. Over the summer, contractors were working on a project to install a reservoir drain, described as an “emergency preparedness feature” that would allow the lake to be lowered before a storm. 

Meanwhile, confusion reigned in Newport, Tennessee, on Friday afternoon, after local officials announced that the Walters Dam — also known as the Waterville Dam — had “suffered a catastrophic failure.”

However, Kristin Coulter, communications director for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said later in the day that it was a false alarm, but that the town of Newport remained at risk.

“It’s not failing,” Coulter said. “Officials have asked residents to evacuate.”

United States Geological Survey stream data showed that the Pigeon River downstream of the dam was experiencing major flooding.

Valerie Patterson, a Duke Energy spokeswoman, said the dam and its floodgates were performing “as expected” and that the company “has all gates open at the Waterville Dam and continues to pass water through the dam.”

The statements about the dam’s failure came from Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis, who later declared a state of emergency for the county, according to a Facebook post. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency shared the warning from Mathis.

In an email Friday evening, Mathis said he did not refute Duke Energy’s account, but that water levels remained concerning. “The evacuation is still on effect,” he wrote. “Water levels continue to rise and are expected to rise several more feet.”

As a whole, America’s dams — more than 92,000 in total — are aging and many need costly restoration. Few dams were designed for today’s climate, with a warmer atmosphere that can hold and deliver more intense rain. Meanwhile, more people have moved into inundation zones below these dams. 

In a report last year, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimated that it would take $157.5 billion to bring nonfederal U.S. dams up to par.

From 2013 to 2023, 283 dams in the U.S. experienced some kind of failure, according to data provided by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and analyzed by NBC News this summer. Most dam failures didn’t ultimate cause public safety problems, but in 2019, a dam failure in Nebraska drowned a man whose home washed away.


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University of North Carolina Athletics

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— James Madison took control with a dominant second quarter and held on for a 70-50 win over North Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium.
 
The 120 combined points are the second-most in a game in UNC history and the record for any game in Kenan Stadium. JMU’s 70 points tie the most ever allowed by Carolina in a game.

JMU scored touchdowns on five consecutive first-half drives and outscored Carolina, 42-7, to close the first half after UNC took a 14-11 lead late in the first quarter.

“We just didn’t communicate, I don’t know why,” said Tar Heel head coach Mack Brown. “I have no idea what happened. I sat there and watched it and listened to it. We had guys in the wrong place. The first drive was frustrating, we tried to do too much. I was frustrated at halftime, I thought we would come out and stop them… We did a little better in the second half.”

Both teams started strong and traded long scoring plays and the lead in a back-and-forth first quarter that included impressive touchdowns by both squads, a blocked punt, a successful onside kick and more.
 
 Carolina fell behind, 11-0, in the opening five minutes but raced back to retake the lead shortly thereafter at 14-11. The Dukes seized momentum in the final four minutes of the first quarter with back-to-back touchdowns, leading 25-14 after the first 15 minutes. The teams combined for 444 offensive yards in the wild first quarter.
 
JMU dominated the second quarter, outscoring UNC, 28-7, to take a 53-21 halftime lead.

Carolina put together a better half offensively in the second half and outscored the Dukes, 29-17, after the break.

JMU improved to 4-0 with the victory, while Carolina took its first loss of the season and fell to 3-1.

 

Jacolby Criswell completed 28 of 48 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns, shattering his previous career high of 161 passing yards set last week against NC Central.

“He made some great throws in what was really his first start,” Brown said of Criswell. “He will keep getting better and better. He saw a ton of different looks. He was the one bright spot. He’s going to continue getting better.”

 

How It Happened

First Quarter

• JMU took the opening kickoff and took a 3-0 lead on a five-play, 44-yard drive to start the game. Noe Ruelas connected on a 50-yard field goal try for the early advantage.

• On Carolina’s ensuing drive, Criswell connected on a 42-yard pass to Christian Hamilton to move the ball to the JMU 33-yard line. Two plays later, Criswell hit Hamilton again to move inside the Dukes’ 10-yard line, only to see Hamilton lose a fumble and turn the ball over in the red zone.

• The Dukes made it 11-0 when Terrence Spence blocked a Tar Heel punt and Jayden Mines recovered it and ran it in from 14 yards out. JMU converted a two-point conversion try to make it 11-0 less than five minutes into the game at the 10:36 mark.

• Carolina replied by marching right down the field for a touchdown to make it 11-7 as Criswell connected with John Copenhaver for a 35-yard score midway through the first quarter.

• After the Tar Heel defense forced a punt, Omarion Hampton ran it in from 28 yards out to make the score 14-11 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

• JMU roared back two plays later with a 69-yard scoring pass from Alonza Barnett III to Omarion Dollison, making the score 18-14 in favor of the Dukes after another two-point conversion.

• The Dukes recovered an onside kick on the following play, then drove in for another touchdown to make it 25-14, which was the score at the end of the first quarter.

 

Second Quarter

• The offensive fireworks continued in the second quarter.

• Criswell started strong in the second quarter, leading a six-play, 75-yard drive in under two minutes to make it 25-21 JMU with 14:33 left before halftime.

• The Dukes replied with an eight-play, 75-yard drive to up their lead to 32-21 when Barnett connected with Cam Ross for a six-yard TD.

• Taylor Thompson caught a 13-yard scoring pass from Barnett to up JMU’s lead to 39-21 with 8:45 left before halftime.

• JMU made it 46-21 with 7:14 left in the half on a 27-yard rush by Barnett.

• Terrence Spence intercepted Criswell and ran it back for a 33-yard touchdown with 56 seconds left in the second quarter, making the score 53-21.

 

Third Quarter

• UNC outscored JMU, 17-7, in the third quarter.

 

Fourth Quarter

• JMU scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to Carolina’s seven to preserve the victory.

 

 

 

Inside the Box Score

• After the loss, Carolina leads the all-time series with JMU, 3-1.

• Former Tar Heel George Pettaway, who transferred to JMU, ran 16 times for 87 yards on Saturday. Barnett led the Dukes with 99 yards on the ground with two touchdowns.

• JMU averaged 10.4 yards per offensive play and 6.8 yards per rushing attempt in the first half.

• Carolina is 73-9 under Brown when scoring 30-plus points and 48-2 when scoring 40 or more.

 

 

Up Next

Carolina will hit the road next Saturday Sept. 28 for a 4 p.m. date at Duke. ESPN2 will carry the game live.

 

 

 

Follow Tar Heel football on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.




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There’s still time to register for the 15th Annual North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) Red Drum Tournament

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Photo by NCBBA

The 15th annual North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA) Red Drum Tournament is scheduled for October 23 to October 26, 2024, and tournament organizers state that the 500 available spots are already filling up fast for this popular annual event.

“Registration is ahead of previous years to date, and if you want to enjoy the competition and 60 hours of wide open fishing, it would be wise to register now,” stated the NCBBA in an update.

Participants must also sign up by Monday, September 23, to receive a tournament T-shirt. “This is the latest that we can order T-shirts and have them in time for the tournament,” stated the NCBBA. “We may have some extra shirts for sale, but no guarantee of available sizes.”

The 2023 NCBBA Tournament featured a record 455 anglers, with 120 red drum caught and released.

2023 Youth Winner Henry Lee Bowman from FL

The annual tournament offers miles of naturally isolated fishing grounds along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and anglers fish from ORV Ramp 23 to Ramp 45, if availability permits.

“Because of a King Tide and beach erosion we had to make some changes in the ramps that we were using for the 2023 tournament,” stated the NCBBA. “The addition of ramp 45 was well received and was very popular. We will keep that ramp as part of this year‘s tournament [and] we hope to have all the previous ramps available to us as well.”

During the 60 hours of wide-open fishing, anglers may fish where and when they wish, with no assigned stations, if the area is accessible by vehicle from midnight on Wednesday to noon on Saturday.

Judges are still needed for the tournament, and all are welcome to apply. If you choose to judge two 6-hour sessions, your entry fee is refunded and you will be eligible for a $1,000 cash prize in the “judges only” category, while also vying for all the additional prizes which totaled over $13,000 in value in 2023.

For questions about judging please contact Al Adam at al.adam@ncbba.org. For more information on the tournament and to secure a spot now before time runs out, visit https://www.ncbba.org/red-drum-tournament/.




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