Work to begin on Ashford’s first-ever Primark in former Debenhams

North Korea on Tuesday accused the United States of driving the global nuclear order into "the worst crisis" through its "nuclear proliferation activities" and used the accusation to defend its own nuclear program. The accusation came in a foreign ministry's "memorandum" carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), hours after Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong told the U.N. General Assembly in New York that North Korea's nuclear program is an "irresistible" force needed to protect its sovereignty and security against external threats. Washington has "irresponsibly abandoned its disarmament obligations as a nuclear-weapon state," the memorandum said. Its rapid buildup of nuclear forces and "blatant" nuclear proliferation, it said, left Pyongyang no choice but to "play a more active role" "as a responsible nuclear-weapon state." The document cast the U.S. as the main culprit behind global nuclear proliferation, citing its nuclear buildup and modernization and its withdrawal from arms-control treaties. North Korea also pointed to U.S. nuclear-powered submarine cooperation with Seoul a

Chief financial regulators from South Korea and Japan agreed Tuesday to further cooperate on capital market policies. Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), held a meeting with Japan's Financial Services Agency Commissioner Yutaka Ito earlier in the day. They exchanged views on the financial situation and agreed to work together to further boost financial cooperation, according to the FSC.

North Korea allegedly runs a secret detention facility in its embassy in China to interrogate and repatriate its nationals deemed threats to the regime, a report said Tuesday. The claim was made in a report titled "North Korea's Transnational Repression: China" released Tuesday by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), a Seoul-based human rights group. Based on interviews with multiple sources, including a former North Korean diplomat, the report claimed North Korea operates the facility in the basement of its embassy in Beijing, where surveillance, pursuit and arrest, detention and interrogation, and forced repatriation take place. The secret operation is overseen by a "security representative" who holds a consular post but is reportedly a North Korean intelligence agency officer on a temporary assignment. Cases are reported to Pyongyang within 12-24 hours, according to the report. The report details the account of North Korean hacker Pae Yong-ju, who was arrested by Chinese authorities in Inner Mongolia while trying to flee to South Korea. After being interrogated by Chinese aut

The foreign ministry said Tuesday that South Korea and Ukraine had reached a "clear understanding" in keeping the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) to Seoul confidential, pushing back against Kyiv's denial of such an agreement. South Korea has demanded an official apology and explanation from Ukraine, accusing it of breaching a non-disclosure agreement over the transfer of the two North Korean POWs to Seoul and later denying that such an agreement existed. "We understand that the two sides reached a clear understanding during consultations at various levels to keep the matter confidential, given its implications for the safety of the soldiers and their families," ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said at a press briefing. "The two countries had held close consultations on the issue in a manner consistent with the prisoners' free will, international law and humanitarian principles," he added. Citing a senior Ukrainian official, the Financial Times reported Monday there had been no agreement at the presidential level to keep the transfer private, though the issue had b

Korea has discussed a stalled air defense system export project with India during their regular defense cooperation dialogue, Seoul's arms procurement agency said Tuesday, amid renewed prospects for New Delhi's potential purchase of the anti-aircraft platform. The Biho Hybrid air defense system was among the topics discussed between officials of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and India's defense ministry during their joint commission on defense and logistics in New Delhi on Tuesday, DAPA said in a release. India had previously considered purchasing the Biho Hybrid armored vehicle system in a potential deal estimated at $2.5 billion, but the project did not make headway amid the Indian government's push for domestic defense manufacturing. The Biho Hybrid air defense system, built by Hanwha Aerospace, features twin 30 millimeter rapid-fire cannons for close-range targets with missiles for longer-range threats. It is considered an effective platform to counter drones and low-flying jets. Media reports have said India is taking a fresh look at the Biho Hybrid system ag

More than 80 percent of South Koreans viewed South and North Korea as separate states, a survey showed Tuesday. According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea and commissioned by Seoul National University's Institute for Peace and Unification Studies (IPUS), 81.8 percent said they viewed South and North Korea as two separate states. The poll showed that 53.5 percent of the respondents recognized North Korea as a state, while 38.7 percent viewed it as a partner for cooperation, up 4.7 percentage points from the previous year. Notably, 62.4 percent of liberals saw North Korea as likely to stage a military provocation, higher than 54.2 percent among conservatives. "This is a highly unusual phenomenon, as security concerns tended to decline among liberal supporters, while rising among conservatives under liberal administrations," Kim Byung-ro, a researcher at IPUS, said as the institute announced the findings. When asked about South Korea's territory, 60.8 percent viewed the country's territory as limited to the area under its effective control in the South, while 28.3 percent said it encomp

A tropical fish enthusiast said he was “shocked” to find the tap water in his aquarium contained a potentially toxic level of nitrates.

A primary school will have a relocated off-licence on its doorstep after an application to serve alcohol was approved.

The prime minister is expected to address energy costs and social care in his first leader's speech

A multi-million-pound flood defence scheme has been completed with new measures to reduce the flood risk for 1,870 homes and 575 businesses.

The Prime Minister set out his vision for the country in his first Labour leader conference speech