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A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 8 March 2023
Kim’s sister warns N. Korea ready to act against U.S., South

By HYUNG-JIN KIM ing from March 13-23 and
Associated Press restore their largest spring-
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — time field exercises that
The influential sister of North were last held in 2018.
Korea’s leader warned The allies had canceled or
Tuesday that her country is scaled back some of their
ready to take “quick, over- regular drills since 2018 to
whelming action” against support now-dormant di-
the United States and South plomacy with North Korea
Korea, a day after the U.S. and guard against the CO-
flew a nuclear-capable VID-19 pandemic. But they
B-52 bomber in a demon- have been restoring their
stration of strength against exercises after North Korea
the North. last year conducted a re-
The U.S.-South Korean train- cord number of missile tests
ing on Monday involving and openly threatened to
the B-52 bomber over the use its nuclear weapons in
Korean Peninsula was the potential conflicts with its
latest in a series of drills be- rivals.
tween the allies in recent In a separate statement
months. Their militaries are Tuesday, North Korea’s For-
also preparing to revive eign Ministry called the fly-
their largest field exercises This photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader over of the U.S. B-52 bomb-
later this month. Kim Jong Un, delivers a speech during a national meeting against the coronavirus, in Pyongyang, er a reckless provocation
Kim Yo Jong didn’t describe North Korea, Aug. 10, 2022. Associated Press that pushed the situation on
any planned actions in her the peninsula “deeper into
statement, but North Korea of rhetoric by the U.S. and The General Staff said Ministry said after Mon- the bottomless quagmire.”
has often test-launched South Korea, which go so about 30 rounds were fired day’s training that the The statement said “there
missiles in response to U.S.- extremely frantic as not to during the South Korean ex- B-52’s deployment demon- is no guarantee that there
South Korean military drills be overlooked, undoubt- ercise, which it described strated the allies’ capability will be no violent physical
because it views them as edly provide (North Korea) as a “very grave military to deter North Korean ag- conflict” if U.S.-South Ko-
an invasion rehearsal. with conditions for being provocation” that aggra- gression. The U.S. deployed rean military provocations
“We keep our eye on the forced to do something to vated tensions, and urged B-1B bombers to the penin- continue.
restless military moves by cope with them,” she said. its rival to immediately stop sula a few times earlier this North Korea often uses fiery
the U.S. forces and the Hours after Kim’s statement, such activities near the bor- year. Last month, the U.S. rhetoric in times of height-
South Korean puppet mili- the General Staff of North der. and South Korea also held ened animosity with the
tary and are always on Korea’s Korean People’s South Korea’s Joint Chiefs a simulation in Washington United States and South
standby to take appropri- Army said it put its front-line of Staff described the aimed at sharpening their Korea. Possible steps North
ate, quick and overwhelm- artillery units on alert and North Korean claim as ab- response to North Korean Korea could take include a
ing action at any time ac- heightened surveillance surd and denied that the nuclear threats. nuclear test or the launch
cording to our judgment,” activities after it detected South’s military had fired Last Friday, the South Ko- of a new type of inter-
Kim Yo Jong said in the a live-fire artillery drill by any artillery at the shooting rean and U.S. militaries continental ballistic missile
statement carried by state “the enemy” in the South range the North was refer- announced they would capable of targeting the
media. “The demonstrative Korean border town of Paju ring to. conduct a computer-simu- mainland U.S., observers
military moves and all sorts on Tuesday morning. The South Korean Defense lated command post train- say.q

Malnutrition rises in pregnant women in

12 at-risk countries

report. too short for their age due dan, Yemen and Afghani-
Surveys in 10 countries in Af- to malnutrition, a condition stan, according to the re-
rica and two in the Middle called stunting, and half port.
East that are worst affect- of these become stunted UNICEF recommends in-
ed by the food crisis were during pregnancy or within creased nutrition assistance
used in a UNICEF report, re- their first six months of life, and supplying fortifications
leased Tuesday, a day be- the report states. to highly consumed basic
fore International Women’s “Without urgent action foods such as flour, cook-
Day. from the international com- ing oil and salt to reduce
Poor nutrition in pregnant munity, the consequences micronutrient deficiencies.
and breastfeeding women could last for generations Ensuring that pregnant
A Somali woman breastfeeds her child at a camp for displaced can lead to weak immunity to come,” UNICEF Execu- and breastfeeding mothers
people on the outskirts of Dollow, Somalia on Sept. 20, 2022.
Associated Press and complications during tive Director Catherine Rus- have access to nutrition ser-
pregnancy and birth. Some sell said. vices and supplements has
countries in sub-Saharan The affected girls and also been recommended
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI increased by 25% in the Africa have in previous women have increased in the report.
Associated Press past two years in 12 coun- studies recorded high in- from 5.5 million in 2020 to Some of the countries in
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — tries hard hit by rising food fant mortality rates due to 6.9 million in 2022 in Burkina sub-Saharan Africa have
Acute malnutrition among prices fueled by the fight- various complications. Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ke- high rates of teenage preg-
pregnant women and ing in Ukraine, according Globally, 51 million children nya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, nancies and low atten-
breastfeeding mothers has to a new United Nations under two years old are Somalia, South Sudan, Su- dance at prenatal clinics.q