The APEC summit was interrupted by Kim's ballistic missile landing near Japan
By Poppy McPherson and Panu Wongcha-um
Bangkok: Asia-Pacific leaders gathered in Bangkok on Friday for a summit focused on economic woes, but their schedule was once again disrupted by crisis talks over the missile.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile had allegedly landed in the waters of his country's exclusive economic zone - the first time the Kim regime has tested firing a missile so close in about eight months. The Japanese Coast Guard had projected a landing about 210 kilometers west of the northern main island of Hokkaido.
"The provocations are continuing at an unprecedented pace," Kishida told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. "I repeat that we absolutely cannot condone this."
The missile has sufficient range to reach the mainland United States, he said.
US Vice President Kamala Harris held an impromptu meeting with Kishida and the leaders of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea to discuss the missile launch.
"We strongly condemn this action, and we once again call on North Korea to stop its unlawful and further destabilizing actions," he said at the start of the meeting. “I reiterate our firm commitment to our Indo-Pacific alliance. Together, the nations represented here will continue to urge North Korea to commit to serious and sustained diplomacy."
The Albanians called the missile launch reckless and unprecedented.
Biden's team says the Saudi prince is immune in the Khashoggi murder case
By Dan Whitcomb and Steve Holland
Washington: The Biden administration has decided that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity from prosecution for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which drew immediate condemnation from the slain journalist's fiancé.
Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in October 2018 by Saudi agents at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an operation US intelligence believes was ordered by Mohammed, who has been the kingdom's de facto ruler for several years.
"Jamal died again today," Khashoggi's ex-fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, said on Twitter minutes after the news was published. He added later: “We thought there might be some light for justice from #USA But again, money comes first. This is a world that Jamal and I don't know about..!”
A spokesman for the Saudi consulate in Washington could not be reached for comment after hours.
"This is a legal decision made by the Department of State under the long-established principles of customary international law," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a written statement. "That has nothing to do with this case."
The spokesperson referred further questions to the State and Justice departments.
In a document filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Justice Department attorneys wrote that "the doctrine of immunity for heads of state is well established in customary international law".