October 20, 2021

The MDS Foundation Celebrates MDS World Awareness Day With Their 4th Annual Move for MDS 5k Walk at Boston Common and Virtually Around the World

Friendly Community Walks to Advance Awareness & Accelerate Research for Myelodysplastic Syndromes – a Rare Blood Cancer

Move for MDS logo

YARDVILLE, N.J., Oct. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The MDS Foundation, a global non-profit advocacy organization is proud to announce its fourth annual Move for MDS walk at Boston Common on Sunday, Oct. 24. Additionally, teams and individuals from around the globe will run, walk or wheel virtually to drive awareness and accelerate research for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), a rare blood cancer.

Each year, up to 20k new MDS cases are reported in the United States and 87k worldwide. Up to 170k people are estimated to live with MDS in the United States. The average survival rate is between five months and six years. Great strides have been made in advancing innovative research and treatments for MDS, but like other rare diseases, more awareness and support are needed. The Move for MDS walks bring patients, family members and caregivers together to build connections in the MDS community and accelerate progress leading to the diagnosis, control and cure of this disease. This year’s Boston/Global walk takes place on the eve of MDS World Awareness Day, Monday, Oct. 25.

“This is the fourth year we are partnering with our communities to Move for MDS,” said Dr. Stephen Nimer, chairman of the MDS Foundation. “The MDS community continues to exceed our expectations. With 2020 and 2021 being such challenging years worldwide, it is motivating to know that nothing has stopped us from fighting this difficult to treat disease together. It is inspiring to see so many people planning to come together on a single day from across the globe. From the US, to Germany, to Australia, we are seeing our worldwide community joining together to be a part of the Global Move for MDS Walk.”

There is still time to join the movement and show support for those affected by MDS. Participants can sign up to walk or donate online at www.MoveForMDS.org.

The MDS Foundation has hosted four other walks this year in New York City, Chicago, California, and the Pacific Northwest, where it honored courageous patients and accomplished doctors and nurses. Hundreds of patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical representatives gathered outdoors, while maintaining physical distancing guidelines or participating virtually.

The Move for MDS program is made possible by the support of incredible organizations committed to the MDS community. They understand the urgency to address the needs faced by those with MDS and their families. National sponsors include AbbVie, Takeda Oncology (National Platinum Sponsors) and Acceleron (National Gold Sponsor).

“On behalf of Takeda Oncology, we would like to extend a huge thank you to the MDS Foundation for organizing this event to raise awareness for MDS, and for their continued commitment to serve the MDS community. Now in its fourth year, the Move for MDS walk, held on the eve of MDS World Awareness Day, brings together a global community to raise awareness for this rare cancer. I am inspired by the motivation, passion and commitment that this community demonstrates, not only today, but every day.” – Fatima Scipione, Head of Oncology Patient Advocacy and Engagement.

Our regional sponsors include Janssen (Regional Gold Sponsor), Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Servier, Silence Therapeutics, Wintrust (Regional Silver Sponsors), Daiichi-Sankyko, Geron, Medexus Pharma, Pfizer, Samyang, Syros and Taiho Oncology (Regional Bronze Sponsors).

About the MDS Foundation
The MDS Foundation is a global non-profit advocacy organization that for 27 years has supported patients, families, and healthcare providers in the fields of MDS and its related diseases. The MDS Foundation supports and educates patients, their communities, and healthcare providers, and contributes to innovative research in the fields of MDS and its related continuum of diseases to better diagnose, control and ultimately cure these diseases. To learn more, visit www.mds-foundation.org and follow@MDSFoundation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Media Contact:
David Smith
Phone: (908) 917-0654
Email: dsmith@mds-foundation.org
Related Images

Image 1: Move for MDS logo

Move for MDS Boston/Global logo

Image 2: Move for MDS Invite

Friendly Community 5k for Everybody

Image 3: MDS Foundation, Inc Logo

MDS Foundation logo

Image 4: MDS Walk Girl in T-Shirt

MDS Walk Young Girl in Walk T-Shirt
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Move for MDS logo

October 20, 2021

CCP to tell world that China is ‘standing up’ under leader Xi Jinping

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will pass a resolution at a top political meeting from Nov. 8-11, in what looks to be a defiant message to the international community that the country will continue to “stand up” to foreign oppression in its quest for “national rejuvenation.”

State media have reported that the resolution relates to party history, and that the previous two history-related resolutions both heralded significant changes in the party’s direction.

However, a summary of its content published by state news agency Xinhua is short on specific historical detail and long on declarations about China’s future under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, and appears to underline the country’s increasingly assertive approach to foreign policy.

“Both of the previous resolutions were passed at a critical stage for the CCP, heralding a new era in China,” Xinhua reported on Oct. 18.

While previous resolutions on CCP history have signaled major shifts in the party line, they have also signaled the ascendancy of a particular faction within the CCP, according to Patricia Thornton, associate professor of politics at Oxford University.

“Party history resolutions also serve to consolidate the balance of power & *resources* among the party’s internal divisions in the hands of one faction, and seek to bring an end to the competition, internal division & struggle,” Thornton said via her Twitter account, commenting on the Xinhua announcement.

The wording reported by Xinhua is in stark contrast to the CCP’s 1981 “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China,” in which the CCP under Deng penned a 13-page historical commentary that laid the responsibility for the “leftist errors” leading to the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) at Mao’s door, while also lauding his leadership at great length.

The 1981 resolution was largely addressed to the rank-and-file of the CCP and the people of China, who needed to know the likely direction in which Deng would take them following the death of Mao (1976), the power struggle that led to the fall of his designated successor Hua Guofeng, and the trial of the Gang of Four in November 1980.

But Xi’s 2021 resolution contains a “declaration to the world,” suggesting that its target audience is the international community, some of whom may be wondering whether to fall in with Xi’s ambition to export China’s model of authoritarian governance overseas, or to strengthen defenses against it.

Historic CCP leaders, clockwise from upper left: Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping, Deng Xiaoping, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin. Credit: RFA

More ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy?

According to Thornton, the language used by Xinhua to describe the resolution also appears to double down on China’s recent brand of “wolf-warrior” diplomacy and efforts to extend its political influence far beyond its borders.

“The news release suggests this new resolution is no mere victory lap for the #CCP: it’s defiant, even truculent, in tone,” Thornton tweeted. “With an affirming nod to the “wolf warrior” discourse of recent months & years, it notes the #CCP has “increasingly consolidated #China’s international position.”

The inclusion of late supreme leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, as well as former presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, in a pantheon of political leaders culminating in Xi Jinping appears to suggest that Xi is claiming credit for carrying on their work, while backing away from any appraisal of their actions.

Deng Yuwen, a researcher at the India-based Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, said he reads the language in the report as an insistence on party unity ahead of Xi’s likely third term in office, likely to be decided at next year’s 20th Party Congress.

“There is definitely a connection between the two: the higher the status of Xi Jinping, as enshrined in this resolution on party history, the greater his claim to legitimacy [for a third term],” Deng said.

Meanwhile, a reference to “people of all ethnic groups” as being united under the leadership of the party suggests that the CCP leadership will likely power ahead with its repressive policies of surveillance, assimilation and cultural erasure targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples, Mongolians, Tibetans and Koreans.

The text also seems to stake Xi’s claim to Mao’s legacy, with the use of the phrase “flying leap,” suggesting that Xi has succeeded in bringing Mao’s Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) — a failed bid to catch up to the economic prowess of the U.K. and the U.S. — to its successful historical conclusion.

And, far from commenting on, or engaging with the judgment inherent in earlier political appraisals of CCP history, the Xinhua text appears to offer a position statement on China’s future; an assurance that China is progressing smoothly towards a predetermined historical outcome, in which resolutions like the 1981 report card will no longer be needed.

Chen Kuide, executive chairman of the Princeton Chinese Society in the United States, said Xi is likely looking to establish his personal place in party history.

“Xi Jinping is leading the third resolution on party history to set in stone the third historical stage [of national rejuvenation] and to ensure his place in history,” Chen told RFA.

“[The idea is] to establish himself as the third most important leader in the history of the CCP,” he said.

CCP ‘Hall of Fame’

The first resolution on party history set in motion the “rectification” campaign while the CCP was still encamped at Yan’an during World War II, before it took power in 1949, Beijing-based independent historian Zhang Lifan said via Twitter on Oct. 18.

It resulted in Mao’s ascendancy as lifelong party leader, while the second resolution paved the way for decades of reform and breakneck economic growth under Deng, he wrote.

Bao Tong, former top aide to late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, tweeted that the resolution would likely focus on singing the party’s praises.

“Finally, they’re coming out with their Hall of Fame,” Bao wrote. “But we can be 100 percent certain that it will be filled with positive major achievements and historical experiences.”

“This isn’t going to be a list of the negative stuff.”

Chen Kuide said the phrasing used in the Xinhua news story echoed that of the officially approved “Brief History of the Chinese Communist Party” published earlier this year.

“I think the tone of the third resolution seeks to demonstrate that, since Xi Jinping took office, his efforts to bring about the realization of the Chinese dream and national rejuvenation have been epoch-making, successful and correct,” Chen said.

“This is an attempt to compensate for the fact that China’s relations with the rest of the world have deteriorated sharply during the past few years, and also a plethora of problems at home,” he said.

“It’s an attempt to block out that ‘noise’.”

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

October 20, 2021

Webtel.mobi Describes Why the High Debt of G7 Countries is a Likely Barrier to Global CBDC and Digital Currency Adoption

For CBDCs or Digital Currencies to function globally, a Global Clearing System must first be set up. This will require agreement, co-operation and information sharing between governments. Webtel.mobi describes why high debt loads of countries make this unlikely

Easy Credit in large quantities has resulted in enormous National Debts

Easy availability of credit in some economies has led to wide debt and economic disparities between groups of countries. This has resulted in the divergence of their future growth potential, and has created geopolitical rivalries internationally

ST PETER PORT, Guernsey and NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In order for a proposed CBDC or other Global Digital Currency to function as a globally acceptable medium of exchange – as opposed to being just an internal mechanism within a country – there will first have to be global agreement among countries on principles to govern this new form of money. In particular, there will have to be confidence among all participants relating to the solvency of all currencies.

Without this, a Global Clearing System with all major countries’ participation will not be able to be set up. Without a Global Clearing System – which must precede global CBDCs or Global Digital Currencies – no international global CBDC or Global Digital Currency issued by countries can, or will, ever come into being.

However, there are currently rival power groupings of major countries internationally, and these rival power groups have very divergent geopolitical views and aims. One of the primary drivers of these divergent geopolitical aims and views is economic rivalry.

The rivalry exists primarily between the “old” economies of the Group of Seven or “G7” countries (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan), and the “new” economies of the “BRIC” countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). The reasons for these rivalries existing can be clearly seen in the snapshot economic comparison below:

G7: Population = +/- 775 Million
BRIC: Population = +/- 3.196 Billion

G7: Total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = USD 43.996 Trillion
BRIC: Total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = USD 44.898 Trillion

G7: Total National Debt = USD 59.480 Trillion
BRIC: Total National Debt = USD 13.4 Trillion

G7: Percentage of Global Population = +/- 10%
BRIC: Percentage of Global Population = +/- 41%

G7: Percentage of Global Debt = +/- 73%
BRIC: Percentage of Global Debt = +/- 16%

G7: Average National Debt of every G7 countries’ citizen = USD 76 748.00
BRIC: Average National Debt of every BRIC countries’ citizen = USD 4 192.00

(National Debt is incurred by governments on behalf of citizens, and citizens have to repay it – in tax)

This situation is further compounded if one examines some key data, as illustrated in the snapshot below:

Agriculture: G7 – Declining / BRIC – Expanding
Industry / Manufacturing: G7 – Declining / BRIC – Expanding
Oil and Gas: G7 – all Net Importers / BRIC: Russia is a Net Exporter
Financial Services: G7 – Declining (slowly but steadily) / BRIC – Expanding (slowly but steadily)
Poverty Levels: G7 – Increasing (slowly but steadily) / BRIC – Decreasing (slowly but steadily)
Real GDP: Only 3 of 7 in the top 8 internationally / All 4 in the top 8 internationally
(See the “Resources” section of this article for details on Real GDP and national Debt)

The stark economic differences between these two groupings of major powers and their divergent potential growth trajectories already create international instability in even arms-length relations between them – as evidenced by their constant vetoing of one another’s motions at the United Nations Security Council.

Consequently, the likelihood for agreement between them on a matter as crucial as their own economies – and information sharing in respect of matters to do with their own economies and currencies (as is a prerequisite for setting up a new Global Clearing System) would be very slim indeed. Without the Global Clearing System, it is not possible to ever have globally exchangeable CBDCs or Global Digital Currencies (as currently envisaged).

However, there was – and is – a solution that would facilitate a fully functional Global CBDC-equivalent and Global Digital Currency despite divergent geopolitical rivalries between countries and power blocs.

At the Bretton Woods Conference held towards the end of the Second World War, the English Economist John Maynard Keynes proposed the creation of an “International Clearing Union”. This would be a neutral Global Clearing System – free of political and geopolitical baggage – through which the countries of the world would conduct their trade. It would use as its medium of exchange an instrument that he termed the “Bancor”. The Bancor would be a form of substitute currency that would be valid and convertible.

This system of International Clearing Union and Bancor was not adopted.

Had it been, the current overload of debt in national economies and the global economy may not have been able to arise. This is because this system makes fiscal irresponsibility much more difficult to obscure, and it promotes (and rewards) balance of trade and fiscal discipline – while at the same time making it difficult for opaque financial structuring to take place unseen.

It is upon this International Clearing Union with Bancor system that the Webtel.mobi Global Clearing System with TUV is based.

Indeed, it is largely an upgraded replica of the structure that Keynes proposed – just significantly upgraded due to the possibilities that 21^st Century Artificial Intelligence capacities and the globalization of the world in the internet age have provided.

Webtel.mobi’s Global Clearing System has within it all functionality, processes and facilities that are required for – and that exist in – a Global Financial System. It enables and facilitates every type of transaction that is possible – on a global basis.
Moreover, Webtel.mobi – due to the capacities and global reach of its system – adopts a completely neutral stance towards all entities worldwide. This is to act in a capacity as a Supranational Entity, allowing for the free flow of trade and transactions across its system without fear or favor (subject to internationally agreed laws, conventions, and restrictions) – as must be the case in respect of global money flow / global economic traffic.

Moreover, Webtel.mobi’s TUV Digital Currency fulfills the same role as the proposed “Bancor” in its Global Clearing System. It facilitates conversion of any country’s currency into a globally valid, recognizable, acceptable, transferable, exchangeable, convertible, FX convertible and redeemable store of value and medium of exchange. It does this without interfering with any country’s or Central Bank’s Monetary Policy or Currency Sovereignty.

The only primary ways that Webtel.mobi’s TUV differs from Keynes’s Bancor (other than that the TUV is Digital in format) are as follow:

A TUV does not need to be acquired by gold. It can be acquired by any currency, and its value will be denominated in that currency – with the currency being held in a regulated bank account to act as security and a guarantee of the TUV’s value*
The funds acting as security and guarantee for the TUV can be redeemed for the TUV on demand.
Given the democratization of the world over the past 70 years, TUVs are available not just to governments worldwide, but also directly to people worldwide.
* Note: The “Secured TUV” – already completed – will be secured by physical gold

Webtel.mobi’s Global Clearing System and TUV Digital Currency were, moreover, tested in full worldwide operations for nine years with its Platform 1 to refine their working and viability to fulfill their roles worldwide, in a secure manner. Thereafter, Webtel.mobi rebuilt its system’s Platform 2 over three years to incorporate all the lessons learned in those nine years of full operation, and complete a refined and fit-for-purpose system.

After the completion of Platform 2, Webtel.mobi granted access to it, to the Levy Economics Institute – one of the world’s foremost economics research organizations, and among the most authoritative world organizations in respect of the policies of John Maynard Keynes.

The result of the year-long review of the Webtel.mobi Global Clearing System and TUV Digital Currency were that the Head of Research at the Levy Economics Institute – Professor Jan Kregel – issued five research papers on the system. One was entitled “Keynes’s Clearing Union is Alive and Well and Living in your Mobile Phone”, and another “Another Bretton Woods Reform Moment: Let us Look Seriously at the Clearing Union”. These papers illustrate what the Webtel.mobi System and TUV are, and what their capacities are (links to these research papers are in the “Resources” section of this article).

The Webtel.mobi Global Clearing System and TUV cannot cure the debt problems of the developed world. They can, however, mitigate the future rise of debt to such levels and reform aspects of the current Global Financial System.

More importantly, while doing so – or whether or not it does so (because it will be up to individual governments to choose to use it or not), it will – and does – assist ordinary people worldwide. It does this by providing them with a safer, more secure, instant, multicurrency and zero cost global digital currency and clearing system, which enables them to save exponential amounts of money and time, and also provides a hedge for them against inflation and their own currencies’ potential depreciation.

Resources:

Media Contact:
Nick Lambert: wm@thoburns.com

International Clearing Union:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Clearing_Union

Bancor:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bancor

Research Reports on the Capacities of the WM System:

Keynes’s Clearing Union is Alive and Well and Living in your Mobile Phone
http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/pn_21_1.pdf

Another Bretton Woods Reform Moment: Let us Look Seriously at the Clearing Union
http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/ppb_154.pdf

New Dimensions for the TUV in the Webtel.mobi System
https://webtel.mobi/media/info/new-dimensions-for-the-tuv-in-the-webtelmobi-system.pdf

Addition Research Papers on Webtel.mobi’s Global Clearing System and TUV:
https://webtel.mobi/pc/info/research/

Video on the Capacities of the WM System:
https://youtu.be/XYBrCikUhn8

Characteristics of WM’s TUV Digital Currency:
https://webtel.mobi/info/tuv-characteristics

WM’s urls:
https://webtel.mobi/pc (Tablets / Laptops / Desktops)
https://webtel.mobi (Smart Phones)
https://webtel.mobi/wap (Pre-Smart Mobile Phones)

List of Countries by Real GDP (aka PPP GDP):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)

World Debt Clocks:
https://worlddebtclocks.com/
https://usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock.html

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0358b9a0-7597-433a-a2ac-517b2eba7dc5

The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.

October 20, 2021

DoiT International Achieves AWS Managed Service Provider Designation

DoiT International AWS MSP Partner

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — DoiT International (DoiT), a global multi-cloud software and managed service provider (MSP) with deep expertise in Kubernetes, machine learning, big data and proprietary cost optimization tooling, today announced acceptance into the Amazon Web Services (AWS) MSP Partner Program.

The AWS MSP Partner Program recognizes leading AWS Partner Network (APN) Consulting Partners highly skilled at providing full lifecycle solutions to customers. Next-generation AWS MSPs enable organizations to invent tomorrow, solve business problems and support initiatives by driving key outcomes. Their expertise, guidance and services help companies through each stage of the cloud adoption journey.

“Our team is dedicated to helping companies achieve their strategic goals by leveraging the agility, breadth of services and pace of innovation offered by the public cloud,” said Yoav Toussia-Cohen, co-founder and CEO of DoiT International. “AWS plays a big role in this realm, which is why we’ve had a long relationship. We are gratified to be highlighted as an MSP that uniquely offers premium services and technology that helps organizations to cost-effectively innovate quickly and effortlessly in the cloud.”

By migrating to and building on AWS, companies around the world are redefining what’s possible. The explosive growth of technology solutions available from AWS and APN Partners, combined with the need for faster and more agile solution development, raises many questions for companies seeking to modernize their business. The AWS MSP Partner Program was created to help customers identify validated AWS Consulting Partners skilled at cloud infrastructure and application migration, and deliver value to customers by offering proactive monitoring, automation and management of their customers’ environments.

AWS MSP Partners are fundamental to helping customers take advantage of the AWS Cloud.

“DoiT International has acted as a direct extension of our team,” said Karthik Ranganathan, co-founder and CTO of Yugabyte, the company behind the popular open-source, distributed SQL database YugabyteDB. “Their best-in-class tools, support and cross-cloud experience streamlined the launch of Yugabyte Cloud, and their ISV Go Global Program acted as a springboard in jumpstarting our GTM efforts. They are a valuable partner to have.”

The news follows a year with many AWS honors for DoiT. In 2020, the company was named AWS APN Reseller Partner of the Year in Israel and an AWS Well-Architected Partner. Its cloud experts achieved distinction for earning more than 100 AWS certifications. DoiT was also named an APN Immersion Day Partner, with its cloud architects certified to provide technical workshops and guided tours of AWS products and services.

“DoiT is passionate and laser-focused in designing and building next-gen AWS infrastructure to enable our global clients,” said Ric Harvey, DoiT Staff Cloud Architect. “This recognition is a personal accomplishment for the entire DoiT team and rewarding for our customers.”

The AWS MSP Program validation process consists of a rigorous multi-day onsite audit by an independent third party. It aims to confirm the partner’s ability to bring next-generation managed services and capabilities in cloud architecture, automation, optimization and management to clients’ AWS environments. The audit enables customers to confidently identify qualified AWS MSP Partners. Successfully completing it ensures AWS MSP Partners are experts on all products and features, that their business processes are best of breed and that they’re capable of delivering the high level of customer focus Amazon is known for.

About DoiT International

DoiT International is a leading provider of multi-cloud expertise, proprietary cloud optimization and governance software. The company tackles complex problems of scale for customers, using expertise in machine learning, algorithms, complexity analysis and system design.

Founded in 2011, DoiT International operates in nearly 70 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and Israel. For more information, please visit doit-intl.com.
For press inquiries, contact press@doit-intl.com.

DoiT International Achieves AWS Managed Service Provider Designation

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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DoiT International AWS MSP Partner

October 20, 2021October 21, 2021

1,862 Houses Damaged After Earthquakes Hit Indonesia’s Bali

JAKARTA– Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), said yesterday that, at least 1,862 houses on the resort island of Bali were damaged by earthquakes, measuring 4.8 and 3.8 magnitude, last Saturday.

Of the 1,862 houses, BNPB’s spokesman, Abdul Muhari, said, 617 were severely damaged, 1,203 were lightly damaged and 42 were moderately damaged.

Some roads were cut off by rock slides, but workers have cleared most of them using excavators.

BNPB recorded that, three people died, eight were seriously injured and 74 others were slightly injured.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

October 20, 2021October 21, 2021

DPRK Test-Fires New Type Of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile

PYONGYANG– The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) “successfully” conducted the test-firing of a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) yesterday, the official News Agency reported today.

The report said, the test-launch was conducted by the DPRK’s Academy of Defence Science, yesterday morning.

“The new SLBM will greatly contribute to our country’s defence technology advancement and the Navy’s underwater operational capabilities,” the report said.

South Korea’s military said yesterday that, Pyongyang fired a short-range missile, believed to be an SLBM from the vicinity of Sinpo, where its main submarine shipyard is located, adding, it flew about 590 kilometres at a top altitude of around 60 kilometres, according to a report by South Korean Yonhap news agency.

This is the eighth known major missile test by the DPRK so far this year, Yonhap reported.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK