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A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 22 March 2018
Koreas, US conclude 'constructive' talks in Finland

By JARI TANNER ing an upcoming summit
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — between the leaders of
Finland's government said the Koreas and a planned
Wednesday that delegates meeting between Presi-
from North Korea, South Ko- dent Donald Trump and
rea and the United States North Korean leader Kim
concluded "constructive" Jong Un.
unofficial diplomatic talks Eighteen delegates, six
in the Nordic country that from each country, plus ob-
were widely believed to servers from the United Na-
be laying the groundwork tions and Europe attended
for an upcoming meeting the secretive two-day talks
between the Koreas and a at a 19th-century manor
planned U.S.-North Korea house just outside Helsinki.
summit. The gathering kicked off
The Finnish foreign ministry Monday evening with a
said in a brief statement joint-dinner at a Helsinki res-
said that the tripartite talks taurant where the delega-
were held in a positive at- tions were seen arriving.
mosphere and were aimed It was the first in a series
at "building confidence of planned meetings be-
and reducing tensions on tween the Koreas and
the Korean Peninsula." Kimmo Lahdevirta from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland reads out a press statement the U.S. involving unoffi-
Many observers believe concerning the meeting on Northeast Asian issues at the Knigstedt Manor in Vantaa Finland on cial talks between current
Wednesday March 21, 2018. The U.S., North Korean and South Korean delegations attended for
the Finland meeting was unofficial talks in K'nigstedt Manor for the second day. and former officials, and
geared toward prepar- (Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via AP) academics.q

Israeli military confirms it hit

Syrian nuclear facility in 2007

By ARON HELLER Olmert, who ordered the
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The strike and has hinted about
Israeli military confirmed on it for years. It could also
Wednesday it carried out be meant as a warning to
the 2007 airstrike in Syria archenemy Iran, which is
that destroyed what was deeply involved in Syria's
believed to be a nuclear conflict. “The motivation of
reactor, lifting the veil of se- our enemies has grown in
crecy over one of its most recent years, but so too the
daring and mysterious op- might of the Israeli military,”
erations in recent memory. Defense Minister Avigdor Li-
Although Israel was widely eberman said Wednesday.
believed to have been be- “Everyone in the Middle
hind the Sept. 6, 2007, air- East would do well to inter-
strike, it has never before nalize this equation.”
commented publicly on it. Israel and Syria have al-
In a lengthy release, the ways been bitter enemies.
military revealed that eight Throughout Syria’s seven-
F-15 fighter jets carried out year civil war, Israel has
the top-secret airstrikes carried out well over 100
against the facility in the airstrikes, most believed
Deir el-Zour region, 450 ki- to have been aimed at
lometers (about 300 miles) suspected weapons ship-
northeast of Damascus, ments destined for the
destroying a site that had Iranian-backed Hezbollah
been in development for militant group. Both Iran
years and was scheduled and Hezbollah are allied
to go into operation at the with Syrian President Bashar
end of that year. Israel's in- Assad. At the time of the
volvement has been one 2007 strike, Syria accused
of its most closely held se- Israel of invading its air-
crets, and it was not im- space, but gave no further
mediately clear why Israel details about the target.
decided to go public now. The pre-mission briefing,
The military would not com- made public Wednesday,
ment on its reasoning, but stated that the operation
the move could be related should not be attributed to
to the upcoming memoir of Israel so as to minimize the
former Prime Minister Ehud potential for an all-out war.