April 2 Photo Brief: North Korea makes nuclear threats, 100th floor of the One World Trade Center, funeral for victims of Myanmar mosque fire
North Korea makes nuclear threats, 100th floor of the One World Trade Center, funeral for victims of Myanmar mosque fire and more in today’s daily brief. | Warning: Photos may depict death or injury.
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- A Bahraini woman, standing with her daughter, holds up a picture of Abd Al-Ghani Al-Rayes during clashes following his funeral procession in the village of Diraz, west of Manama on April 1, 2013. Al-Rayes, who was 66-years old, died in front of a police station following what medics presume was a heart-attack, as he was trying to find out what happened to his arrested son, family said. (Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Soldiers attend a memorial service for the South African soldiers who died during a battle with rebels in the Central African Republic at Swartzkop Air Force Base in Pretoria on April 2, 2013. Thirteen soldiers were killed on March 23, 2013 on the outskirts of Bangui, 27 others were wounded. South African President Jacob Zuma who is facing anger at home dismissed claims that South African troops deployed in restive Central Africa were protecting private business interests as “conspiracy theories.” (Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Jonathan Froudakis de Souza, Carlos Armando Costa dos Santos and Wallace Aparecido Silva (L-R) who allegedly raped a foreign tourist in a minibus in Rio de Janeiro on March 30, 2013 are presented to the press in Rio on April 2, 2013. The three are accused of the rape of an American student who was assaulted as her French boyfriend was forced to look on during a horrific six-hour abduction aboard a Rio minibus, local media reported. (Márcio Alves/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A Palestinian teacher speaks in class at a school in Gaza City on April 2, 2013. A law banning mixed sex schooling in the Gaza Strip has entered into force, education minister for Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory, said on April 1. The law, which was issued on February 10, was approved by the Islamist movement’s legislative council and went into effect, Osama Mazini said. (Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A man is seen next to a boat in a flooded street after a rainstorm in Buenos Aires April 2, 2013. Thunderstorms damaged property and vehicles, cut power and caused delays on flights in Buenos Aires and its suburbs. The City’s SAME emergency service announced that the death toll has risen to five. (Enrique Marcarian/Reuters)
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- Cambodian soldiers prepare to test fire the BM-21, a multiple rocket launcher, during training at a military base in Kampong Speu province April 2, 2013. (Samrang Pring/Reuters)
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- Indian men search for coins and gold in the polluted waters of the Ganga river at Sangam after the Kumbh Mela festival, in Allahabad on April 2, 2013. The two month long Kumbh Mela, celebrated every 12 years at the conjunction of two sacred rivers on the outskirts of the northern Indian city of Allahabad, drew massive crowds of devotees, ascetics and foreign tourists till its conclusion on March 10. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)
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- U.S. President Barack Obama gets off the stage after announcing his Administration’s BRAIN, Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, Initiative in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2013. Launched with approximately $100 million in the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, the BRAIN Initiative ultimately aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A cooling tower of Yongbyon nuclear reactor in North Korea is seen being demolished in this June, 27, 2008 file picture released by Yonhap news agency in Seoul April 2, 2013. North Korea is to restart the mothballed Yongbyon nuclear reactor that has been closed since 2007 in a move that could produce more plutonium for nuclear weapons as well as for domestic electricity production, its KCNA news agency said on Tuesday. (Yonhap/Files via Reuters)
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- People carry a coffin during the funeral for victims of a fire at Yaeway cemetery in Yangon April 2, 2013. Thousands of Muslims attended the funeral for the 13 victims of the fire that broke out in a dormitory of an Islamic school in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital. The fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys at the school in Yangon on Tuesday, the fire service said. (Minzayar/Reuters)
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- A man looks at the remains of one of the victims of a fire as the bodies are prepared for their funeral at Yaeway cemetery in Yangon April 2, 2013. Thousands of Muslims attended the funeral for the 13 victims of the fire that broke out in a dormitory of an Islamic school in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital. The fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys at the school in Yangon on Tuesday, the fire service said. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)
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- Palestinian protesters take cover during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron April 2, 2013, following the death from cancer of Palestinian prison inmate Maysara Abu Hamdeya at an Israeli hospital. Hamdeya’s death threatened to raise tensions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have held several protests in recent weeks in support of prisoners. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
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- The body of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Badr bin Abdul Aziz, former deputy commander of the National Guard is lifted during his funeral at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh, April 2, 2013. (Faisal Al Nasser/Reuters)
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- Southern Manhattan spreads out below the windows of the 100th floor observation deck in One World Trade Center in New York, April 2, 2013. Port Authority officials unveiled Tuesday the stunning view from the top of One World Trade Center, a 360-degree eagleís eye panorama that will instantly become one of the cityís premiere tourist attractions when it is completed in 2015. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
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- A target hit several times is seen through a piece of cardboard, also peppered with bullet holes, at the DVC Indoor Shooting Centre in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia March 22, 2013. The DVC is the only indoor shooting centre in the province that rents firearms to the public without a license. Canada has very strict laws controlling the use of handguns and violent crime is relatively rare. (Andy Clark/Reuters)
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- A Sri Lankan port worker shout slogans during a demonstration outside the harbour in Colombo on April 2, 2013, calling for a boycott of cargo from south Indian ports. The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has called for tougher central government action against Sri Lanka over the island’s human rights record in crushing Tamil Tiger rebels who shared close cultural and religious links with those in Tamil Nadu. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Vehicles pass a cow on a street in Kathmandu on April 2, 2013. Police in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu have launched a campaign to round up cows roaming the streets, blaming the sacred animals for car accidents and traffic jams. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A visitor talks with a staff member at an Apple store in Beijing April 2, 2013. Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized to Chinese consumers on Monday and altered iPhone warranty policies in its No. 2 market after more than two weeks of condemnation in the state-run media of its after-sales service. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
North Korea to restart nuclear reactor in weapons bid
Jack Kim and Ju-min Park
Reuters
12:42 p.m. EDT, April 2, 2013
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Tuesday it would revive a mothballed nuclear reactor able to produce bomb-grade plutonium but stressed it was seeking a deterrent capacity and did not repeat recent threats to attack South Korea and the United States.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis over North Korea had gone too far and he appealed for dialogue and negotiation to resolve the situation.
“Nuclear threats are not a game. Aggressive rhetoric and military posturing only result in counter-actions, and fuel fear and instability,” Ban, a South Korean, told a news conference during a visit to Andorra.
The crisis flared after Pyongyang was hit with U.S. sanctions for conducting a third nuclear test in February and the United States and South Korea staged military drills that North Korea viewed as “hostile”.
Pyongyang then threatened a nuclear strike on the United States, missile strikes on its Pacific bases and war with South Korea, prompting Washington to bolster forces in the region.
The state-owned KCNA news agency announced on Tuesday that North Korea would relaunch all nuclear facilities for both electricity and military uses.
One of the most isolated and unpredictable states in the world, North Korea carried out its third nuclear test since 2006 but is seen as some years away from producing a deliverable nuclear weapon, although it claims to have a deterrent.
A speech by the North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, given on Sunday but published in full by KCNA on Tuesday, appeared to dampen any prospect of a direct confrontation with the United States by emphasizing that nuclear weapons would ensure the country’s safety as a deterrent.
“Our nuclear strength is a reliable war deterrent and a guarantee to protect our sovereignty,” Kim said. “It is on the basis of a strong nuclear strength that peace and prosperity can exist and so can the happiness of people’s lives.”
Kim’s speech, delivered to the central committee meeting of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, hinted at a small shift away from threats against Seoul and Washington, but it remained some distance from calling any kind of end to the crisis.
“The fact that this (speech) was made at the party central committee meeting, which is the highest policy-setting organ, indicates an attempt to highlight economic problems and shift the focus from security to the economy,” said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
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