The United States called on North Korea Wednesday to refrain from further “threatening” activity and return to dialogue after Pyongyang fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, the latest in a series of its weapons tests that heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the North fired the missiles on Wednesday morning (Korea time), without elaborating further.

“We urge the DPRK to refrain from further threatening activity and call on Pyongyang to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The U.S. Department of Defense reiterated America’s security commitment to South Korea and Japan.

“We are monitoring these activities. We have been very clear on the threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) military programs, and our commitment to the defense of the
ROK, Japan, and our commitment to uphold regional peace and stability,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.

“We will continue to work with the both the ROK and Japanese governments to address the threats posed by the DPRK,” the official added.

ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

The Cambodia Development Cooperation Board of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDCB/CDC) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) held here at the CDC’s headquarters on Jan. 25 their ‘first bilateral meeting in 2024’ to boost development cooperation and partnership between the two countries.

The Cambodian side was led by H.E. Chhieng Yanara, Senior Minister in Charge of Special Missions and Second Vice-Chairman of the CDC, while the KOICA side was headed by Ms. Choi Moon Jung, Country Director of KOICA Cambodia Office.

According to KOICA Cambodia Office’s press release AKP received this afternoon, the main purpose of this meeting was to discuss candidate projects for 2025, new projects identification plan for 2026, and update on-going programmes.

Both sides also touched on the preparation for the inauguration ceremony of a new building for the National Incubation Centre of Cambodia (NICC) at the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).

During the meeting, Ms. Choi Moon Jung commend
ed Cambodia for its swift progress across all domains and conveyed her heartfelt gratitude to the Royal Government of Cambodia and its officials, specifically the CDCB/CDC, for their excellent collaboration in ensuring the success of the KOICA’s projects and programmes in Cambodia.

H.E. Chhieng Yanara in return highly expressed his gratitude to KOICA, and the Government and people of the Republic of Korea, for continuously supporting Cambodia’s socioeconomic development through the implementation of projects and programmes. He said that he highly valued all the achievements made by KOICA.

Moreover, the two sides discussed continued cooperation on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) between Cambodia and Korea. They also laid stress on the next step of working between KOICA, CDC, and the Cambodian relevant ministries to develop the most feasible new projects for 2026.

Last year, KOICA marks a milestone-the 20th anniversary of its presence in Cambodia. Since the establishment of its Cambodia Office on S
ept. 1, 2003, KOICA has assisted the socio-economic development of Cambodia on four core-priority sectors, including Water Management and Public Health, Education, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Transport through various ODA projects and programmes of a total value of about US$366.5 million from 1991-2023.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse