North Korea fires two missiles into sea, South Korea says

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said.

The missiles were fired from North Korea's west coast into the sea, which is also known as the East Sea, around 6:30 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. Monday (4:30 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. ET Sunday), the official said.

They were fired from an area near Nampo City, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) southwest of Pyongyang. The two projectiles were estimated to have flown about 490 kilometers (304 miles) before falling into the sea east of the peninsula, according to the South Korean official, who asked to remain anonymous citing government policy.

Considering the speed, altitude and distance the missiles traveled, they are assumed to be Scud-Cs, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.The missiles were fired as the United States and South Korea began annual military drills, which United States Forces Korea describes as "nonprovocative training" that are "an important component of readiness" for defending South Korea.

North Korea orders army to prep for war with U.S.
North Korea orders army to prep for war with U.S. 03:28
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The annual joint military exercises, called Foal Eagle and Key Reserve, have long sparked tension between North Korea, South Korea and the United States.

A stern looking North Korean guard by the Chinese border customs office. This image was deleted by North Korean officials.
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North Korea's state-run KCNA slammed the joint military exercises Monday, saying that the drills are "nothing but a smokescreen" by the United States and South Korea "to cover up their surprise invasion of the north."

"The situation on the Korean peninsula is again inching close to the brink of a war," KCNA said, noting that North Korea's military "will never remain a passive onlooker in this grave situation."

North Korea was informed on February 24 when the joint drills would be held, said Kim Min-seok, the South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman.

"North Korea in the past did fire (projectiles) in a very similar manner," he said during a briefing Monday. "On several occasions, they fired (projectiles) from the west coast to sea off east of the Korean Peninsula."He added that North Korea fired about 90 ballistic missiles and rockets during last year's Foal Eagle and Key Resolve drill.

"Our military is strictly warning North Korean military of the reckless and the provocative act. We will firmly and strongly respond to any North Korea's provocation through solid united defense posture," South Korea's Kim said.

CNN's Paula Hancocks and Sara Mazloumsaki contributed to this report.



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Kerry Meets With Lavrov in Switzerland

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began a round of talks Monday in Switzerland with his Russian counterpart.

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are in discussions in Geneva about the conflict in Ukraine and the shooting of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

Kerry has called for a thorough investigation into Nemtsov's death. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is overseeing the investigation, but critics say the president might not be the best person for that job as Nemtsov told the Russian media a few weeks ago that he thought Putin wanted him dead.

Kerry will also talk with Lavrov about Ukraine, where President Petro Poroshenko says Russian-backed separatists continue to violate a cease-fire agreement.Later Monday, Kerry begins three days of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an attempt to work out the details of a nuclear agreement with Iran.


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US Calls for Investigation of Boris Nemtsov Murder

WASHINGTON—
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the murder of Russian opposition politician and activist Boris Nemtsov. Former Russian chess champion and rights activist Garry Kasparov says he is shattered by the news and says it comes amid an atmosphere of propaganda and hatred aimed at opponents of President Vladimir Putin.

Appearing on the ABC network program “This Week” Sunday, Secretary Kerry said the United States has no intelligence on who might be responsible for the late Friday murder of Nemtsov, who was gunned down on a Moscow street near the Kremlin.

"We hope there will be a thorough, transparent, real investigation not just of actually who fired the shots, but whom, if anyone may have ordered or instructed this or been behind this," said Kerry.

Kerry described Nemtsov as deeply committed to a better relationship between Russia and the rest of the world.

"As deputy prime minister, he worked hard to improve the relationship with the United States. He was known as an activist as engaged and engaging, and we are enormously saddened to hear of his murder, and we hope the authorities will join the world in producing the credible, transparent investigation necessary to find out who was behind this and who did it," said Kerry.

President Barack Obama in a statement Friday called Nemtsov a “tireless advocate for his country, seeking for his fellow Russian citizens the rights to which all people are entitled.” Obama expressed admiration for Nemtsov’s “courageous dedication to the struggle against corruption in Russia.”

Appearing on the NBC program “Meet the Press” Sunday, former world chess champion and chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation Garry Kasparov called the murder of Nemtsov, a man he knew for more than 20 years and collaborated with since 2004 to oppose Putin, “another crime in Putin’s Russia.”

Putin has vowed to pursue those who killed Nemtsov. Kasparov said he is unsure if Putin was behind the murder, but said the atmosphere created by Putin’s rule may have played a part.

"Whether he gave a direct order, I don’t know. We’ll probably never know. But, definitely, in the country [there is] the atmosphere, with 24/7 propaganda, of hatred, where people who disagree with Putin are being portrayed as national traitors, fifth columnists, enemies of the state, and Boris was one of the most formidable critics of Putin’s regime," said Kasparov.

Kasparov, writing Sunday in The Wall Street Journal, said the question of whether Putin gave the order to kill Nemtsov “rings as hollow today as when journalist Anna Politkovskaya was gunned down in 2006, the same year that Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London, or when a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine last year,” wrote Kasparov.

Kasparov said many Russian opposition leaders are either behind bars or out of the country.

"And now, with Boris, probably one of the bravest of us, and the man was standing tall, criticizing Putin. By the way, he was preparing his new report on Russian troops in Ukraine just to prove another Kremlin lie. Him being killed, and not just killed in a dark corner of the city, but in front of the Kremlin, it sends a chilling signal to everybody. It spreads fear and terror and that’s why I expect the regime will benefit from this murder," said Kasparov.

Kasparov added that no one in Moscow who opposes the Putin government feels safe. As for U.S. reaction, he urged the U.S. not to treat Putin as if he were another democratic leader.

"Stop making deals and stop trying to bring Putin to the negotiating table because his agenda is totally opposite the agenda of the United States or Europe. Putin wants to destroy Ukrainian statehood. Putin wants crisis, because crisis, wars, and the lack of international security, those are elements that are absolutely vital for his survival in Russia," said Kasparov.

Kasparov said the best way to remember Boris Nemtsov is to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.

Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said he believes the murder will make change in Russia unavoidable, but Russia analyst Jonathan Adelman of the University of Denver disagrees.

"Putin is over 80-percent popularity in Russia today. The opposition, which several years ago seemed to have some chance to overthrow him, kind of fizzled away. Putin is also doing very well in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the strength of the opposition is mainly limited to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but in the other 85-percent of the country Putin is still very popular. Boris Nemtsov was an important leader, he was deputy prime minister, he was supposed to be the one likely to replace [former President] Boris Yeltsin at the end of the 1990s but, sadly, the cause which we believe in and he believed in still has a long way to go, I’m afraid, in Russia," said Adelman.

Adelman said the Russian opposition is receiving very little support from the West, further evidence the world has left the post-Cold War period and entered a new, more authoritarian period.



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UNICEF Demands Release of Seized South Sudanese Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it believes scores of children abducted by armed men in South Sudan in mid-February are being used as child soldiers.

John Budd, UNICEF communication officer for South Sudan, said hundreds of children preparing for exams were forcefully recruited as soldiers.

He said the children were seized by a Shiluk militia aligned with the South Sudan government forces, a claim the government has denied.

“The government of South Sudan will not tolerate the use of our children for violence," said President Salva Kiir’s spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny.

“We have become aware that the number of children that were taken two weeks ago is probably in the hundreds,” said Budd. “Most of these children are not being held in one place. When you put together the evidence that we’ve received from various witnesses and also officials, UNICEF became very concerned that not only were they more than 89, but also we believe that many of them might be going off to fight,” he said.

South Sudan’s government has been engulfed in a civil war since December 2013 with rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar.

Budd said UNICEF believes a militia group loyal to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) might be responsible for seizing the children.

“We believe a militia group called the Johnson Oloni militia, a Shiluk militia, took the children February 15th and 16th, and the militia itself is aligned with the government forces, the SPLA,” Budd said.

Budd said, although the government has repeatedly said it has no control over the internal workings of the Johnson Oloni militia, officials have acknowledged that the militia is aligned with the SPLA.

He said UNICEF is in the process of preparing a report for the UN because it believes the abduction is a violation of the children’s rights.

“We are currently preparing that report, and it is a grave violation of child rights and that will get back to the UN. And, hopefully, we are going to try and put some sort of pressure on all the factions who took children to release them immediately,” Budd said.

He said UNCEF believes there are more than 12,000 child soldiers in South Sudan and the agency wants all of them out of the army and back in school.


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3 Arrested During Anti-China Rally in Hong Kong

HONG KONG—
At least three people were arrested as a group of about 400 people in Hong Kong clashed with police in the latest sign of ongoing tensions caused by China's influence in the city.

Protesters in Yuen Long, in Hong Kong's New Territories just a stone's throw from mainland China, chanted to “cancel the multiple-entry permit” and “topple the Chinese Communist Party” as they complained against so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong to sell at a profit across the border.

Demonstrators blocked the area's main street with garbage bins, halting traffic. Police used pepper spray and restrained some people. A female protester was bleeding from the nose as police dragged her away.

The demonstration mirrored others in recent weeks targeting mainland Chinese visitors that have tapped a seam of resentment against China, resulting in calls for greater Hong Kong nationalism and even independence from China, nearly three months after police cleared away the last of pro-democracy street protests in the city.

“We can't walk, because all their goods pile up like mountains on the streets,” said King Lee, a 23-year-old local resident who was protesting the parallel traders. “We should not endure this silently.”

Still, the Sunday protests also fanned discontent from some residents unhappy with the disruption to their daily routine.

“Why are there so many mainlanders shopping in Hong Kong? It's because our products are good,” said Tom Lau, a 50-year-old local resident who works in a kitchen. Lau jeered at protesters.

“Why oppose them (the shoppers)? They are just protesting for the sake of protesting. They are just stirring up trouble. They march with the colonial flag, but we are Chinese people," Lau said.




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Japan to Continue to Push its Stance on History

TOKYO—
Japan said on Monday that it would continue to look to pursue its country's viewpoint on history after South Korea's president urged Japan to acknowledge the “historical truth.”

The request was made by President Park Geun-hye on Sunday at an official ceremony to mark the Independence Movement Day.

This year commemorates the 96th anniversary of the declaration of the nation's independence from Japanese colonization on March 1, 1919.

Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said Japan would try to work with South Korea while also adhering to its own position.

“We [both] have our own individual issues. We are making effort to convey our country's viewpoint and gain understanding on our stance, starting with the leadership, through emphasizing dialog at higher levels of politics and through various endeavors,” Suga said at a regular news conference.

Japan's ties with South Korea and China have worsened since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has adopted a conservative agenda, including a less apologetic tone toward the wartime past and bolstering Japan's defenses.

The legacy of Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula has complicated ties between two strong allies of the United States in the region that are also, along with China, involved in diplomatic efforts to end North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

South Korea and China also have separate disputes with Japan over territorial claims.




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Oil Smuggling Highlights Challenges in Shutting Down IS Finances

WASHINGTON—
In the span of one year, Islamic State militants made more than half a billion dollars by seizing government banks, illegal oil sales, kidnapping and extortion, making them one of the wealthiest terrorist organizations in the world.

The United States, its allies and the United Nations are making efforts to shut down the money flows. Airstrikes in Iraq and Syria have knocked out oil fields and refineries. The United Nations Security Council has adopted strongly worded resolutions to prevent oil smuggling.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said Friday that the Islamic State "certainly continues to get revenue from the oil industry black market" but that airstrikes have made a dent.
Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research, says oil is still being smuggled into Turkey and even being refined in Iraqi and Syrian backyard distilleries for local sales.

"I think it's almost impossible to control unless you have essentially the rule of law in that area, and you just don't have that," he says.An underground network of smugglers was first built up in the region when the world imposed economic sanctions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1990s. And the Islamic State is following the same pattern, using Iraqi, Kurdish, Syrian and Turkish smugglers to move truckloads of oil from Iraq to Syria and Turkey's Ceyhan port, where brokers blend it with other oil and ship it out.

Located relatively close to the Syrian border, Ceyhan is a major trans-shipment point for oil.

'Blood oil'

Unlike blood diamonds - diamonds that are mined in war zones then sold to fund insurgencies in West Africa - the Islamic state "blood oil" is not being tracked, Lynch says.

"With blood diamonds you can kind of do tests to figure out where the diamond came from. With oil you can theoretically do the same thing, but somebody has to want to do it. So if the oil is being shipped off to some place like Greece, or Cyprus, for refining, or Italy, they are probably not trying to see if there are any chemical signs that the oil came from northern Iraq.”
According to the U.S. Treasury department, in 2014 the Islamic State group may have earned as much as several million dollars per week, or $100 million in total from the sale of oil and oil products to local smugglers.

Lynch says the majority of payments are in cash. And because smugglers are not shipping big tanker loads on the ocean but individual truck loads, the payments are simply passed between the truck driver and the producer, and then the truck driver and the person to whom it is delivered.

On February 12, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning any direct and indirect trade, in particular oil and oil products, with IS and other terrorist groups.

Expressing concern that vehicles coming and going from al-Qaida and IS-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq could be carrying everything from oil to gold and electronics, the resolution calls on states to step up their efforts to prevent and disrupt the trade.




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