Briefly

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Moon promises push for peninsula peace

President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that his administration will not stop efforts to institutionalize sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula until his five-year term ends in May. Moon made the remark in his final New Year's speech, saying the ROK still has a long way to go for relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Moon said his government will seek normalized inter-Korean relations and an irreversible path to peace until the end. He has sought to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in armistice, but it has yet to reach a tangible conclusion.

SUDAN

Hamdok quits as PM amid political deadlock

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned on Sunday, six weeks after returning to his post in a deal with military leaders that he argued could save the transition to civilian rule. Hamdok, who had failed to name a government as protests continued against the military takeover in October, said a roundtable discussion was needed to produce a new agreement for the country's political transition. It is not immediately clear who will succeed Hamdok and there seemed to be no potential candidates as the country has been experiencing a political crisis.

RUSSIA

Five dead, 21 injured in bus accident on ice

Five people died and 21 were injured in a bus accident south of Moscow on Sunday, Russian authorities said. The Federal Road Traffic Inspection agency published photographs of the badly damaged coach, which hit a pillar under a railway bridge in icy conditions. The front of the bus appeared to be entirely crushed. According to TASS news agency, the driver lost control of the bus carrying 49 passengers before the accident happened on the Volga River. Police have opened a criminal case for breaking traffic rules.

Xinhua - Agencies