North Korea tests exploding drones as Kim calls for mass production

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North Korea tests exploding drones as Kim calls for mass production

2024-11-15 10:00 Last Updated At：10:10

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea tested exploding drones designed to crash into targets and leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating mass production of the weapons, state media said Friday.

The country’s latest military demonstration came as the United States, South Korea and Japan engaged in combined military exercises involving advanced fighter jets and a U.S. aircraft carrier in nearby international waters, in a display of their defense posture against North Korea.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency published photos of Kim talking with officials near at least two different types of unmanned aerial vehicles. They included those with X-shaped tails and wings that look similar to the ones the country disclosed in August, when Kim inspected another demonstration of drones that explode on impact.

The drones flew various routes and accurately struck targets, KCNA said. Its images showed what appeared to be a BMW sedan being destroyed and old models of tanks being blown up.

Kim expressed satisfaction with the weapons’ development process and stressed the need to “build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” noting how drones are becoming crucial in modern warfare.

KCNA paraphrased Kim as saying drones were easy to make at low cost for a range of military activities. The report didn’t say if Kim spoke directly about rival South Korea, which the North Korean drones are apparently designed to target.

North Korea last month accused South Korea of sending its own drones to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the North's capital of Pyongyang, and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again. South Korea’s military has refused to confirm whether or not the North’s claims were true.

Tensions in the region have escalated as Kim flaunts his advancing nuclear and missile program, which includes various nuclear-capable weapons targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the U.S. mainland.

Kim is also allegedly sending military equipment and troops to Russia to support President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, which raised concerns in Seoul that he would get Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.

In addition to his intensifying nuclear threats, Kim has also engaged in psychological and electronic warfare against South Korea, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash in the South and disrupting GPS signals from border areas near the South’s biggest airport.

South Korean officials say North Korea will be a key topic in a trilateral summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba this week at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Peru.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on the margins of the APEC on Thursday and discussed “strong concerns” over deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, particularly the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said.

Masses of residents flee homes in Haiti's capital as gangs ratchet up violence

2024-11-15 09:59 Last Updated At：10:00

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Masses of residents fled a running battle Thursday between gang members and police in one of the few neighborhoods of Haiti’s capital that hadn't already been fully taken over by gangs, as violence flared amid political turmoil.

Families frantically packed mattresses and furniture into cars and carried their belongings on their heads as they left the Solino neighborhood, one of a handful of areas in Port-au-Prince where a coalition of gangs, called Viv Ansanm, and police were locked in a violent firefight over the past several days.

“We barely made it out,” said 52-year-old Jean-Jean Pierre, who carrying his son in his arms as he fled the neighborhood with throngs of people. “I've lived here 40 years of my life and I've never seen it this bad.”

Violence has exploded in the capital since Sunday when Haiti's transitional council created to restore democratic order fired the interim prime minister amid political infighting. The Caribbean nation hasn't held an election since 2016, largely because of the gang violence.

The U.N. International Office for Migration reports that since Sunday more than 4,300 people have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince and neighboring towns, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the U.N. in New York on Thursday,

Gangs like the Viv Ansanm coalition often seize on moments of political chaos to make power grabs like the one seen in Solino in recent days.

Gangs also largely shut down the country's main airport by shooting a number of planes, wounding one flight attendant on Monday. The United Nations said that it documented 20 armed clashes in Port-au-Prince in just one day. The U.N. estimates that gangs control 85% of the city.

A U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police sent to subdue the gangs has been unable to quell the violence.

Pierre, the fleeing father, said he hasn't seen any presence of the U.N.-backed mission in his neighborhood, and that he and his family don't know where they'll go. Other residents said gang members had forced them from their homes and burned their belongings.

“These gangs are more powerful than the police,” Pierre said.

The United Nations has mobilized help, spokesman Dujarric said.

In the past two days, he said the U.N. children's agency UNICEF provided cash to nearly 1,500 people in displacement sites in the capital and the U.N. population and migration agencies deployed mobile health clinics and are providing clean water. Starting Thursday, he said, the U.N. World Food Program delivered food to more than 50,000 displaced people in Port-au-Prince.

“Across Haiti, WFP has also provided cash to nearly 100,000 people and is delivering daily meals to 430,000 children in 2,000 schools across the country," Dujarric said.

The country's new interim prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, has been largely silent about the violence since he was sworn in on Monday, but on Wednesday released a statement condemning the plane shootings. His office said that he ordered police to regain control of the airport and nearby areas.

Meanwhile, videos on social media have shown smoke rising up from the Solino area, as gunfire has echoed from the neighborhood's streets in recent days.

While it wasn’t immediately clear how many people were fleeing the violence in Solino, it appeared that much of the neighborhood was emptying out.

Residents said that gang members had killed a police officer who was known as a community leader fighting back against the gangs. That killing also was reported by local media, though The Associated Press wasn't able to confirm the death with authorities.

In October, the same gang coalition made a similar violent push into the Solino neighborhood, setting fire to homes and leaving many fleeing with all they could carry or calling radio stations to plead for help.

Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america