Kuala lumpur

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea said on Friday it would sever diplomatic relations with Malaysia after the Southeast Asian nation extradited a North Korean man to the United States to face money-laundering charges this week. Malaysia denounced North Korea's move as unwarranted and disruptive to regional peace, adding that the extradition had been carried out according to law. North Korea did not name its citizen in a statement carried by state media KCNA, but Malaysia said Mun Chol Myong, who was arrested in 2019, was extradited on Wednesday after he had already exhausted several legal appeals. "Malaysia denounces (North Korea's) decision as unfriendly and unconstructive, disrespecting the spirit of mutual respect and good neighborly relations among members of the international community," its foreign ministry said in a statement. It said Malaysia would close its embassy in Pyongyang in response and order all diplomatic staff at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur to … [Read more...] about N.Korea to Sever Ties with Malaysia Over Extradition of Citizen to US

North Korea announced the abrupt end of diplomatic ties with Malaysia Friday in response to Kuala Lumpur’s “unpardonable crime” of extraditing a North Korean citizen to the United States for trial. The Malaysian government reacted initially with dismay, then pressured North Korea’s embassy officials to vacate the country as swiftly as possible. The North Korean in question, Mun Chol Myong, is the first citizen of the country extradited to the United States. According to the FBI, Mun, a businessman, routinely violated sanctions on the rogue communist regime by laundering money and shipments of goods to North Korea. American authorities accuse Mun of specializing in laundering “prohibited luxury goods” by shipping them illicitly from Singapore to North Korea. Malaysia has an extradition treaty with America, which it has decided to honor in Mun’s case but never has before with any North Korean citizen. The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a belligerent missive Friday … [Read more...] about North Korea Cuts Ties with Malaysia for Extraditing Accused Money Launderer to U.S.

KUALA LUMPUR - Scientists hunting the origins of the virus behind COVID-19 and clues for how to prevent the next pandemic say a growing body of evidence argues for expanding the search beyond China into Southeast Asia. Since the first confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 put the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan on the world map in December 2019, researchers looking for the source of the virus that causes the disease, SARS-CoV-2, have been training their gaze on China itself. The pathogen’s closest known relative, sharing some 96% of its genome, is another coronavirus found early last year in the southern province of Yunnan. But a spate of recent studies has found more viruses nearly as similar to SARS-CoV-2 as the one in Yunnan further afield, in Thailand and Cambodia. Virologists on a recent mission to Wuhan sponsored by the World Health Organization to trace the roots of COVID-19 also say that the next phase of the hunt should add Southeast Asia to the field. Their advice is to … [Read more...] about Scientists Chasing Origins of COVID-19 Add Southeast Asia to Search

A Florida man in Panama City died on Sunday after he jumped off the balcony at a resort and his parachute failed to deploy, according to reports. Timothy Ackerman, 31, jumped off the balcony around 6:45 p.m. of his 23rd floor Sunrise Beach Resort room with a parachute, according to MyPanhandle.com . Panama City Beach Police said the man was BASE jumping but the parachute failed to open in time, according to the report . BASE jumping is an activity where people jump from fixed objects. BASE refers to the fixed objects people jump off of, such as a Building, Antenna, Span and Earth (cliff). Base jumpers leap from the 300-metre high skydeck of Malaysia’s landmark Kuala Lumpur Tower against the backdrop of the city’s skyline in Kuala Lumpur on September 30, 2018 during the annual International KL Tower Base-Jump event.(MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images) Panama City Beach Police said BASE jumping is not legal in Florida, according to MyPanhandle.com. … [Read more...] about REPORT: Man Plunges To Death After Parachute Fails To Open

close Video Biden administration address N. Korea and China concerns in Tokyo Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin travel to Japan, South Korea to focus on threats from North Korea and China. Insight from former Trump national security aide John Ullyot. A North Korean citizen has been extradited to the United States -- a first with the isolated communist nation --  to face money laundering charges as part of a scheme to evade sanctions and provide luxury items to the rogue nation, the Justice Department said Monday. Mun Chol Myong, 55, appeared in federal court Monday in Washington D.C. While the U.S has no extradition agreement with North Korea, Mun had been detained in Malaysia since 2019. As a result of Malaysia's decision to send Mun to the U.S., North Korea severed diplomatic ties with the country and recalled its diplomats. "It is important to underscore the relevance of this first-ever extradition of a North … [Read more...] about North Korean National extradited to US for 1st time for fraud scheme