Hello and welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Yoshikawa Ryuichi in Tokyo.
South Korean investigators have summoned President Yoon Suk-yeol for questioning.
Yoon is under scrutiny for briefly declaring martial law, plunging the country into political chaos.
It's the second time the joint investigation team has issued a summons.
Yoon failed to appear before South Korea's corruption watchdog on Wednesday. He's been called in again next week.
Yoon is under investigation on suspicions of insurrection and abuse of power. Yonhap News Agency reports that officials could file a court warrant to detain Yon if he continues to ignore the summons. Multiple teams have been investigating the case, issuing several summons requests.
Yoon's lawyers have criticized the investigation.
The defense chiefs of the United States and South Korea have reaffirmed that their country's alliance remains ironclad despite Yoon's suspension from duties.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korea's acting National Defense Minister Kim Sun-ho talked by phone on Friday. South Korea's defense ministry said the pair agreed on a combined defense posture in case of North Korean provocations.
South Korean officials also met to discuss stabilizing the domestic political situation. They focused on possible economic fallouts and the impact on people's everyday lives.
They are set to announce next year's economic policies before the year end.
On the diplomatic and security fronts, they said the country will establish a decisive strategy for dealing with North Korea in cooperation with the U.S. and Japan.
And now turning to Brussels, where EU leaders have been discussing how to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the summit.
He stressed his wish to hold talks with European nations on how a ceasefire with Russia can be achieved once U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
We all need to understand that we cannot live with a frozen conflict in our territory. When it comes to a ceasefire, in any conflict, in any war, people know what will happen afterwards, how it will all end. We need to know what tomorrow will be in order to bring about a ceasefire today.
Zelensky expressed his desire to start drawing up a serious plan to deter Russian President Volodimir Putin after Trump's inauguration next month.
He has consistently argued that ending Russia's invasion and guaranteeing Ukraine's security are preconditions for ceasefire and starting peace talks with Moscow.
Some European nations are proposing that foreign troops be deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire takes effect.
Zelenskyy said that the idea could be considered as an option until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO. The president added that he wants talks on the way forward to continue.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has reiterated his intention to forge ahead with the invasion. He has also demanded concessions from Kiev impossible ceasefire negotiations.
Putin spoke in an annual televised year end news conference on Thursday. He also answered questions from the public.
Our troops are advancing on the front line every day and regaining territory.
We are heading toward achieving the priority goals that we outlined at the start of the operation.
The President also commented on Ukraine's cross-border incursion into the western Russian region of Kursk. He said Russian forces will undoubtedly drive Ukrainian troops out of the area.
Concerning peace talks, Putin stressed that Russia is always ready for negotiations and compromises and that the opposite side needs to be ready for them too. Putin had set out his conditions for negotiations earlier this year. They included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia, four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin says it annexed in 2022. Putin also said in the event that he has not talked to Donald Trump for more than four years, but he's ready to meet him at any time.
The UN General Assembly is putting pressure on Israel to facilitate aid to Palestinians. The body has adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice to assess Israel's obligations.
Members voted on the resolution, led by Norway, on Thursday. It earned the support of 137 countries, including Japan. Twelve countries, including the United States, voted against. The ICJ's advisory opinions are not legally binding.
We are confident in our positions. Israel, under international law, has an obligation to provide assistance, to collaborate with all those entities, the UN, humanitarian organizations, and third states, and let them help those who are suffering.
Israel's ambassador to the UN dismissed the resolution as political theater.
Thursday's vote follows Israel's decision to ban the UN-Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from operating in the region. The ban is due to take effect in January. A UN Secretary-General spokesperson says that if UNRWA is not able to operate, it will be up to Israel to provide supports.
Authorities in Washington are gearing up for the inauguration of the new president one month ahead of the official ceremony. And Donald Trump is already weighing in on federal policies. He's rejecting a bipartisan deal to prevent a government shutdown.
Trump will be inaugurated on January 20. That's two weeks after Congress formally confirms him as the winner of the election. He'll take the oath of office in front of the Capitol.
Trump has already been giving shape to his government. He's announced his cabinet members and some ambassadors.
He says he'll push ahead with his campaign promises, including policies on undocumented immigrants. He said on Wednesday that he opposes a stop-gap bill that would keep the government running. That was brokered between the Republican Speaker of the House and Democrats.
The bill includes disaster aid for states hit hard in recent months by hurricanes. Trump is also reportedly making time for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. Sources say his team has proposed that they sit down for talks in the U.S. in mid-January.
After Trump rejected the initial spending bill, House Speaker Mike Johnson proposed a stopgap measure to avert a government shutdown. The new bill received the president-elect's endorsement, but the House of Representatives voted it down on Thursday. This comes as the current US budget is due to expire on Friday. The latest bill included massive aid for disaster-hit areas and also called for the government debt limit to be suspended for two years. It is not clear whether another budget bill can be created and approved before the Friday deadline. If not, that could be a partial government shutdown.
The European Union says it will begin a dialogue with automakers and other stakeholders to consider support measures for Europe's struggling car industry.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday that the so-called strategic dialogue will start in January. The commission says the process will include representatives from across the industry, including carmakers, trade unions and business associations. It comes as Germany's Volkswagen is considering drastic cost-cutting measures in the face of fierce competition from Chinese EV manufacturers. The commission says the dialogue will develop strategies to support the global competitiveness of Europe's automakers. It aims to boost innovation based on technologies such as AI and autonomous driving. It also plans to support the auto sector's decarbonization. The block's regulations on carbon dioxide emissions for vehicles will become stricter from next year.
Industry associations are calling for the regulations to be reviewed. They argue that it will be difficult for automakers to meet them due to sluggish demand for EVs.
The cost of climbing Japan's iconic Mount Fuji is set to increase. Officials with Yamanashi Prefecture are looking to raise the entry fee to 4,000 yen next year. Trekkers were being charged 2,000 yen or around $13 over the summer. They were also encouraged to donate 1,000 yen to preserve the local environment. Yamanashi officials are also implementing steps to discourage overnight climbers and prevent accidents. They recently introduced a toll gate that closes between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m. that will soon close two hours earlier.
Neighboring Shizuoka, which also has access to the mountain, has moved to do the same. Governors of both prefectures have agreed to align on the new rules.
It's time now for a check on the world weather. Here's our meteorologist Jonathan Oh. Jonathan?
We've been seeing a lot of snow backing off. This high pressure has tried to overcome the forecast pattern, but we'll be seeing some changes as we see a system comingout of northeastern China and it's going to really develop across the Sea of Japan and dump a lot of snow as we head into Saturday. So be ready for a winter weather pattern coming up as we go through the weekend.
Tokyo, I think, missed the memo, though. We're looking at a high of 15 with partly cloudy skies on Saturday, so it's going to feel a lot warmer than what we're supposed to see for this time of year.
Speaking of winter, well, that's what we're seeing across northeastern areas of the United States. And that's all because we had a system that developed across the upper Midwest crossing over the Great Lakes.
And as it moved toward the east, it's going to be bringing some more snow. And so people like in New York City to Boston will be seeing the snow a little too warm down to Washington DC for snow, but it'll be cold rain coming up. Now that's not the only place seeing wet weather, Pacific Northwest once again getting hit with another wave of somebe rainfall and so places like Seattle and Vancouver.
Well, we're going to be talking about some wet weather coming up on Friday.
Still chilly in Winnipeg, a high of minus 18 snow extending from Chicago into Toronto and also into New York as we wrap up the work week.
Looking at what's happening across Europe, northern areas into the Scandinavian Peninsula and western portions of Russia. Looking at some snow as we go through Friday. Now the front that's associated with this low pressure system will bring rain scattered across the central and eastern portions of Europe. But the big story behind it will actually be the colder temperatures. We saw highs in the teens earlier this week. That's dropping off into the single digits as we head into Friday.
Hope you have a good day wherever you are.
♫
And 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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