Briefly

KOREAN PENINSULA

DPRK fires ballistic missile, ROK says

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile into its eastern waters, the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday. The JCS said in a statement that it had detected the launch from an area in or around Taechon, North Pyongan Province, at 6:53 am local time. No further details were immediately provided. The DPRK missile launch came two days after a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in Busan for combined drills with the ROK navy that are planned to take place later this month.

MIDDLE EAST

Lebanon migrant ship toll rises to 94

Seventeen bodies were recovered on Saturday after a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon sank off Syria's coast, raising the overall death toll to 94 in one of the eastern Mediterranean's deadliest such episodes, Syrian state television reported. The toll has repeatedly risen since the first bodies were found on Thursday. The search for those still missing continued. At least 14 survivors were recovering in hospitals in Syria, while six others were discharged. Two remained in intensive care in hospital, Syria's official SANA news agency reported earlier.

CUBA

Nation to chair G77 and China in 2023

Cuba was elected on Friday to chair the Group of 77 and China next year at a meeting on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The foreign ministers of G77 approved Cuba's candidacy by acclamation, a decision welcomed by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. "Endorsement of Cuba's election is more than a recognition of our country, it is an enormous responsibility, since the G77 and China is the broadest and most diverse cooperation group in the multilateral sphere," Rodriguez tweeted. The top Cuban diplomat highlighted the "impressive historical tradition" of the group, describing the designation as "a very great honor".

JAPAN

Typhoon lashes central region, killing two

A typhoon lashed central Japan on Saturday with torrential rain and fierce winds, killing two and leaving tens of thousands of households without power, Kyodo News reported. Shizuoka city, southwest of the capital Tokyo, was hit especially hard, with a record 417 millimeters of precipitation since the rain started on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Winds at the center of Typhoon Talas were blowing at about 65 kilometers per hour, with peak gusts of about 90 kph. Power was also cut to about 120,000 households, said supplier Chubu Electric Power Grid Co, adding that a landslide had knocked over two electricity pylons.

Agencies - Xinhua