BEIJING/SEOUL: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all sides to exercise restraint on Monday in a telephone call about North Korea with US President Donald Trump, as Japan conducted exercises with a US aircraft carrier strike group headed for Korean waters.
Trump sent the carrier group for exercises in waters off the Korean peninsula as a warning, amid growing fears North Korea could conduct another nuclear test in defiance of UN sanctions.
Angered by the approach of the USS Carl Vinson carrier group, a defiant North Korea said on Monday the deployment was “an extremely dangerous act by those who plan a nuclear war to invade.”
“The US should not run amok and should consider carefully any catastrophic consequence from its foolish military provocative act,” Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary on Monday.
“What’s only laid for aggressors is dead bodies,” the newspaper said.
Two Japanese destroyers have joined the carrier group for exercises in the western Pacific, and South Korea said on Monday it was also in talks about holding joint naval exercises.
The US and its allies fear North Korea could be preparing to conduct another nuclear test or launch more ballistic missiles.
China is North Korea’s sole major ally but has been angered by its nuclear and missile programs and is frustrated by Pyongyang’s belligerence.
China, which has repeatedly called for the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula, is increasingly worried the situation could spin out of control, leading to war and a chaotic collapse of its isolated, impoverished neighbor.
Xi told Trump in their latest telephone conversation that China resolutely opposed any actions that ran counter to UN Security Council resolutions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
China “hopes that all relevant sides exercise restraint, and avoid doing anything to worsen the tense situation on the peninsula,” the ministry said in a statement, paraphrasing Xi.
The nuclear issue could only be resolved quickly with all relevant countries pulling in the same direction, and China was willing to work with all parties, including the US, to ensure peace, Xi said.
The issue has gained added urgency as North Korea prepares to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People’s Army on Tuesday. It has marked similar events in the past with nuclear tests or missile launches.
Trump was critical of China in his election campaign but he has in recent days praised its efforts to rein in what he called the “menace of North Korea.”
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the call between the two presidents was the latest manifestation of their close communication, which was good for both of their countries and the world.
Trump also spoke by telephone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who later described the conversation as a “thorough exchange of views.”
“We agreed to strongly demand that North Korea, which is repeating its provocation, show restraint,” Abe told reporters.
“We will maintain close contact with the US, keep a high level of vigilance and respond firmly,” he said.
Abe also said he and Trump agreed that China should play a large role in dealing with it.
A Japanese official said the phone call between Trump and Abe was not prompted by any specific change in the situation.
Envoys on the North Korean nuclear issue from the US, South Korea and Japan are due to meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The US government has not specified where the carrier strike group is, but US Vice President Mike Pence said on Saturday it would arrive “within days.”
South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun gave no details about the South’s plan to join the approaching US carrier group for exercises, apart from saying Seoul was holding discussions with the US Navy.
“I can say the South Korean and US militaries are fully ready for North Korea’s nuclear test,” Moon said.
South Korean and US officials have feared for some time that North Korea could soon carry out its sixth nuclear test.
Satellite imagery analyzed by 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, found some activity at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site last week.
However, the group said it was unclear whether the site was in a “tactical pause” before another test or was carrying out normal operations.
Adding to the heightened tension, North Korea detained a US citizen on Saturday as he attempted to leave the country.
US carrier group heads for Korean waters; China calls for restraint
US carrier group heads for Korean waters; China calls for restraint
Family of Palestine Action hunger-strike detainee warn she could die
- Teuta Hoxha, among 8 people held on remand for over a year, has not eaten in 43 days
- Campaigners slam treatment of pro-Palestine prisoners on hunger strike
LONDON: A Palestine Action prisoner in the UK could die if the government does not step in over her hunger strike, her family have warned, amid claims that authorities have been “deliberately negligent” in the treatment of other detained hunger strikers.
Teuta Hoxha, 29, is on day 43 of her strike, having been held on remand in prison for 13 months over charges relating to a break-in at an Israel-linked arms manufacturing facility in August 2024.
She is one of eight people on hunger strike who were detained for their part in the incident at the Elbit Systems UK site.
Her sister Rahma said she can no longer stand to pray, and suffers from headaches and mobility issues.
“I know that she’s already instructed the doctors on what to do if she collapses and she’s instructed them on what to do if she passes away,” Rahma, 17, told Sky News.
“She’s only 29 — she’s not even 30 yet and nobody should be thinking about that,” Rahma added. “She’s been on remand for over a year, her trial’s not until April next year and bail keeps getting denied.”
The eight hunger strikers charged over the Elbit Systems break-in, who deny all charges against them, are demanding an end to the operation of weapons factories in the UK that supply Israel.
They are also calling for Palestine Action, which is banned in the UK, to be de-proscribed, and for their immediate bail.
They are not the only members of Palestine Action in prison carrying out hunger strikes. Amu Gib, imprisoned over a break-in at a Royal Air Force base earlier this year, was taken to hospital last week, having not eaten in 50 days.
Gib was initially denied access to a wheelchair after losing mobility, and campaigners said it was “completely unacceptable” that this had led to a missed doctor’s appointment, adding that Gib was also denied access to the vitamin thiamine.
Campaign group Prisoners for Palestine said: “At this trajectory, the hunger strikers will die unless there is urgent intervention by the government.
“It is completely unacceptable and deliberately negligent to pretend the hunger strike is not happening, or to dismiss the prisoners’ demands.
“They are in the custody of the state, and any harm that comes to them is a deliberate outcome of the government’s negligence and the politicisation of their detention.”
A relative of Gib told The Independent: “We wouldn’t know if Amu is in a coma or had a heart attack. I’m the next of kin and it’s on Amu’s medical record that I am to be contacted in the event of their hospitalisation.
“But it’s been complete agonising silence for 57 hours. I’m furious and outraged that the prison was withholding thiamine from the hunger strikers, without which they are at high risk of brain damage.”
The treatment of the hunger strikers has drawn high-profile criticism, with Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician and lecturer at University College London, telling The Independent that they “are dying” and would require specialist medical help.
Around 900 medical professionals in the UK have written to government ministers David Lammy and Wes Streeting urging them to facilitate medical treatment for the strikers.
Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the governing Labour Party, posted on Instagram that he had visited Gib in prison.
Seven hunger strikers have so far been hospitalized since Nov. 2, when the first prisoners began to refuse food.
Jon Cink and Umar Khalid both ended their strikes for medical reasons, having been hospitalized, while Kamran Ahmed told the Sunday Times last week that dying for his cause would be “worthwhile.”
He added: “Every day I’m scared that potentially I might die. I’ve been getting chest pains regularly … There have been times where I felt like I’m getting tasered — my body’s vibrating or shaking. I’ll basically lose control of my feelings.
“I’ve been scared since the seventh day when my blood sugars dropped. The nurse said: ‘I’m scared you’re not going to wake up (when you go to sleep). Please eat something.’
“But I’m looking at the bigger picture of perhaps we can relieve oppression abroad and relieve the situations for my co-defendants … Yes, I’m scared of passing away. Yes, this may have lifelong implications. But I look at the risk versus reward. I see it as worthwhile.”
Under UK law, time limits are set out for those in custody awaiting trial to prevent excessive periods in pre-trial detention.
But UK Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said in relation to the Palestine Action detainees: “These prisoners are charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage.
“Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.
“Ministers will not meet with them — we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.
“It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.”
Rahma says her sister calls her from prison every day, despite her predicament, to help with her studies.
“Our mother passed away when I was really young. Teuta took care of me and my siblings and made sure to read us bedtime stories.
“She’s always there for me and even from prison, she’s helping me do my homework and revise for exams.”
Rahma added: “My sister is a caring and loving person It feels like the state has taken a piece of me.”
She continued: “The only form of resistance she has is her body and that’s what she is using against the state.”
