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WORLD NEWS Saturday 19 auguSt 2017

US general pledges to defend Japan from North Korean attack

TOKYO (AP) — America’s attacks.
top military official reiter- Dunford and his Japanese
ated Friday his country’s counterpart Katsutoshi
pledge to defend Japan Kawano agreed to work
against a North Korean mis- together to strengthen mis-
sile attack, as western Ja- sile defense systems.
pan carried out a test of an The U.S. general is on the
emergency alert system. last stop of an Asia tour
“I think we made it clear to that took him to China and
North Korea and anyone South Korea and has been
else in the region that an dominated by talk of the
attack on one is an attack North Korean threat.
on both of us,” Joseph Dun- Sirens wailed across nine
ford, the chairman of the prefectures in western Ja-
Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in pan in the test of the emer-
Tokyo. gency system.
North Korea has threat- Twitter users in the region
ened to test-fire missiles said the sirens didn’t work
that would fly over Japan in some areas.
and land in waters off the The flight path of the North
U.S. territory of Guam. The Korean missile test would
U.S. is treaty-bound to de- cross that part of the coun- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, left, poses with Japanese Chief of Staff, Joint
fend Japan from outside try. q Staff Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano for a photo during a meeting at Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Friday,
Aug. 18, 2017.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

South Korean human trafficking suspect arrested in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai law non-governmental organi- tion and kept under con- partment demoted Thai- “Tier 2” status in the U.S. re-
enforcement officials an- zations about the traffick- stant guard. land in its annual ranking of port, indicating countries
nounced Friday they have ing operation that duped NGOs in Southeast Asia are countries — based on their that do not meet minimum
arrested a South Korean Thai women into the sex instrumental in battling hu- efforts in countering mod- standards, but are making
man suspected of involve- trade by telling them that man trafficking and often ern-day slavery — to the significant efforts to do so.
ment in trafficking of Thai they would be offered jobs work closely with police. lowest “Tier 3” status, indi- Thailand’s Foreign Ministry
women into South Korea’s as traditional Thai masseus- Thailand’s military gov- cating a failure to combat said in February that it had
sex industry. es in South Korea. ernment has come under trafficking. convicted 268 people for
Thailand’s Department of Once the victims arrived in heavy scrutiny in recent The Thai government insti- human trafficking in 2016,
Special Investigation said South Korea, their passports years over the country’s hu- tuted tougher policies af- the highest number since
that Kim Hyoung-joon was were confiscated and they man trafficking problems. ter its 2014 demotion and the government began in-
arrested Thursday at a were forced into prostitu- In 2014, the U.S. State De- last year was upgraded to stituting tougher policies. q
Bangkok apartment build-
ing. Philippines:
South Korean authorities in
February arrested eight of 5 Muslim rebels killed in clash with extremists
its nationals in connection
with the same operation COTABATO, Philippines ers who tried to set up a since early this month. More than 40 rebels from
and charged them with (AP) — Five Muslim rebels bomb in Datu Salibo town The fighting between the both sides have been killed
human trafficking. Thai in- from a large group that is in southern Maguindanao two rebel groups started in the sporadic clashes in
vestigators said the arrests helping the Philippine gov- province, said police Senior when BIFF rebels detonat- Datu Salibo and outlying
led them to issue warrants ernment fight extremism Superintendent Agustin Tel- ed a bomb that wounded towns in Maguindanao
for Kim and a Thai. were killed Friday in the lat- lo. several fighters of the Moro province’s vast marshland,
The statement said Kim is est clash with Islamic State The larger Moro Islamic Lib- Islamic Liberation Front, Besana said.
also being sought by South group-linked militants, se- eration Front, which signed which retaliated in early Claims by the Islamic State
Korean authorities, who curity officials said. a 2014 Muslim autonomy August. group online that the BIFF
have warrants out for his The Moro Islamic Libera- deal and has served as a Army troops have backed rebels have killed dozens
arrest on multiple charges. tion Front fighters died in government ally in its fight the Moro rebel front fight- of Moro Islamic Liberation
DSI, which is modeled after the clash with extremists against extremism, has ers with artillery fire and air- guerrillas in the ongoing
America’s FBI, said it also belonging to the Bangsam- been battling a pro-IS fac- strikes, army Lt. Col. Gerry clashes were extremist pro-
received information from oro Islamic Freedom Fight- tion of the militant group Besana said. paganda, he said.q