Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ruichi in Tokyo.
China's foreign ministry says Japanese nationals will temporarily not need visas for short-term visits.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has stressed his intention to continue the country's nuclear and missile development. It's believed the comments were made with future U.S. diplomacy in mind. North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper says Kim made the remarks at the opening ceremony of an arms exhibition in Pyongyang on Thursday. Photos were released that show an intercontinental ballistic missile and what the North claims to be a hypersonic missile.
Kim said his experience of negotiations with the U.S. has convinced him that Washington's hostile policy toward Pyongyang will never change. He said his country needs to keep modernizing its weapons as long as there are forces that infringe upon our sovereignty.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency says the remarks could dash prospects for bilateral talks or another summit with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Ukrainian strike on Russia has reportedly wounded a senior North Korean general. U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal cites Western officials. They say this is the first time a high-ranking military officer from the North has become a casualty in the conflict. The paper reports the attack happened recently in the western region of Kursk. Ukrainian military forces have been engaged in a months-long cross-border offensive there.
The U.S. government says North Korean soldiers recently dispatched to Russia are participating in combat operations in the region. Western media outlets say Ukrainian forces have begun using long-range missiles supplied by the United States and the UK for attacks inside Russian territory. They reportedly fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Kursk on Wednesday. Ukraine's president earlier said the number of North Korean troops deployed in western Russia could grow to 100,000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that his country fired a new type of middle-range ballistic missile into eastern Ukraine on Thursday.
He said the launch was in response to the deployment of US and British long-range weapons supplied to Kiev. The Kremlin released an eight-minute video of Putin speaking on Thursday.
The Russian leader said his forces had combat-tested a medium-range missile system that carries a hypersonic ballistic missile known as Arsenic. His comments appeared to contradict an earlier announcement by the Ukrainian Air Force. It said that missiles targeting critical infrastructure in the eastern city of Dnipro included an intercontinental ballistic missile launched from Russia's southern region. Putin said that Orishinik missiles fly at a speed of Mach 10, or about 2.5 to 3 kilometers per second.
He claimed that current defense systems are not capable of intercepting them.
Putin went on to say that the Ukraine conflict was provoked by the West and had assumed elements of a global nature.
He added that Moscow may further deploy intermediate range and shorter range missiles depending on the actions of the United States and its NATO allies. Putin said his country is entitled to use its weapons against the military infrastructure of countries that allow the use of their weapons against Russian targets.
US President-elect Donald Trump has named his new nominee for Attorney General.
He's chosen Pam Bondi after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, dropped out.
Bondi worked as a prosecutor before becoming Florida's first female attorney general. She also worked on Trump's defense during his first impeachment trial. In a social media post Thursday, Trump said Bondi will return the Department of Justice to its intended purpose of fighting crime and making America safe again.
Trump had initially picked former US Congressman Matt Gaetz. But he withdrew his nomination Thursday after it became clear he wouldn't get Senate approval easily. Gates was facing criticism even among Republicans. The Ethics Committee launched a probe into allegations of sexual misconduct with a teenaged girl.
Iran says it will turn on a large number of centrifuges for enriching uranium. It's in response to condemnation from the UN's nuclear watchdog over the country's poor cooperation. The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors passed a resolution by a majority vote on Thursday. Four Western powers proposed it. The resolution addresses issues that include traces of uranium found in 2019 and 2020 at undeclared sites in Iran.
It condemns the country for insufficient cooperation with the IAEA's investigation. It also calls for the organization to issue a comprehensive report on Iran's nuclear activities by next March. Iran calls the resolution unjustified. The government says its principled policy has always been based on constructive interaction with the IAEA, and continued cooperation is part of that. It also says it will take effective measures, including the launch of a large collection of new and advanced centrifuges of various types. Iran had agreed to take steps to cap its stock of highly enriched uraniumWhen the director general of the IAEA visited the country last week, concerns were growing that Iran's nuclear development will speed up if Tehran moves ahead with its countermeasures.
Japanese superstar Otani Shohei has been chosen as Most Valuable Player for the third time in Major League Baseball. It's the second year in a row he has received the honor and his first playing in the National League. The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger made MLB history in 2024 by hitting 50 homers and stealing 50 bases in a single season. He's the first designated hitter to win MVP.
Otani played in 159 of his team's 162 games, the most ever for him in a regular season. He finished with a .310 batting average, the second highest in the league, and hit 54 homers and 130 RBIs.
His performance of 59 stolen bases and 134 runs scored broke the former records by a Japanese player set by Suzuki Ichiro.
Otani also won the Hank Aaron Award for the second year in a row. It recognizes the best hitter in each league. He's the first MLB player to win the award in both the American and National Leagues.
Work has begun to dismantle part of a collapsed stone wall at Kumamoto Castle in southwestern Japan. The restoration work is part of an ongoing project to rebuild the centuries-old castle. It suffered serious damage in the major earthquake that hit the region in 2016. The Uto Tarit is among a number of structures within the castle complex damaged by the quake. It's a majestic five-story wooden building designated as an important cultural asset by the government. The stone wall supporting the Uto Tarit partially collapsed and it has to be taken down. So the stones can be put back in place properly. On Thursday, workers began carefully removing the stones, some weighing as much as two tons.
Uto turret is a popular spot, so it's extremely important to restore it properly, and I feel a heavy responsibility.
Officials overseeing the restoration projectsay the work to dismantle the stone wall is expected to continue through September next year. It's estimated that the restoration of the Uto turret will be completed by 2032.
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Please do access the NHK World Japan website for more details.
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Autumn is still in full swing here in Japan, but the first winter storms have reached large parts of Europe. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
A couple of storm systems are creating snowy conditions. People in Paris had their first major snow accumulation on Thursday. Parisians saw early snow on Thursday, covering some of the city's iconic monuments. As magical and beautiful as the day seemed, unfortunately, the Eiffel Tower had to close as precaution.
Strong winds caused significant delays and cancellations at the main international airport in Paris.
Officials urged the modelists to be careful so as to avoid their vehicles from being stranded due to icy roads. The system is expected to move to Italy and the Balkans on Friday, bringing strong winds and heavy snowfall. A high-pressure system is dominating France and the Iberian peninsula,Behind it, the next storm is approaching the British Isles. It will not only bring rain, but also warm air in the front of the system, leading to weak temperature changes over the weekend. So the high in Powys will jump to 10 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday.
Moving to Japan, a typical winter pattern with a high pressure in the west and a low pressure in the east is expected. So sea effect snow is possible in northern Japan with risks of strong winds, lightning, and even isolated tornadoes.
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That wraps up this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo.
Thank you very much for joining us.
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