ASEAN Tribune – Page 2493

October 16, 2023

S. Korea to extend fuel tax cut through year-end

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Monday that South Korea will extend the tax cut on fuel consumption through December amid concerns about growing inflationary pressure caused by the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The government has applied a 25 percent discount on the consumption of gasoline and a 37 percent discount on the consumption of diesel, which was set to expire at the end of October.

“Oil prices are feared to jump, which will cause greater volatility in the real economy and financial and foreign currency markets, depending on the developments of the incident,” Choo said during an emergency economic ministers’ meeting.

“We will make all-out efforts to stabilize prices and the public’s livelihoods by thoroughly managing energy and food prices,” he said. “The government will temporarily extend oil subsidies through the end of this year and beef up on-site inspections.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency

October 16, 2023

78th Diplomacy Day marked

(KPL) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a meeting to mark the 78th anniversary of Lao Diplomacy Day (12 Oct 1945-2015).

Mr Saleumsay Kommasith highlighted significance of the Lao Diplomacy Day over the past 78-year, the Foreign Affairs sector plays an important role in promoting the reputation of the Lao PDR in both regional and international arenas.

Prior to 1975, Laos had established diplomatic ties with 48 countries. The number of countries that had established diplomatic ties with the Lao PDR reached 62 in 1985 and is 148 today, according to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Saleumsay Kommasith also informed the progress of preparations for the Lao PDR’s chairmanship of ASEAN, which the Lao PDR will begin to act as ASEAN Chairman from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 under the slogan: “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”.

S
ource: Lao News Agency

October 16, 2023

Le Sserafim’s Kim Chaewon to halt activities due to health issues

Kim Chaewon of girl group Le Sserafim will halt activities due to health issues, her agency said Monday.

“While recovering after being treated for influenza A, Kim additionally visited the hospital Friday as she continued to suffer from dizziness,” Source Music said on the Weverse fan community platform.

“We received a doctor’s opinion there that she needed rest and stabilization for the time being. So we decided it would be proper to focus on Kim’s recovery.”

Under the decision, she will not participate in the group’s activities for the time being, including the taping of a local K-pop chart program scheduled for Monday, the agency said.

It also said the K-pop quintet will work as a four-piece group until Kim is back, adding that it will announce later when she will resume activities.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

October 16, 2023

ASEAN Secretariat welcomes artworks from KONNECT ASEAN Resident Artists

Today, the ASEAN Secretariat warmly received artworks from the KONNECT ASEAN Resident Artists of the ASEAN Foundation.

Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Ekkaphab Phanthavong delivered remarks at the KONNECT ASEAN’s Artwork Handover Ceremony at the ASEAN Gallery this afternoon along with Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN Lee Jang-Keun and Executive Director of ASEAN Foundation Piti Srisangnam. DSG Phanthavong also opened the KONNECT ASEAN Exhibition at the ASEAN Secretariat which will be on display on 16-20 October.

KONNECT ASEAN, supported by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund, aims to create a sense of ownership of the ASEAN identity amongst artists and cultural workers in Southeast Asia.

Source: Association of SouthEast Asian Nation

October 16, 2023

Sublime jazz chords will embrace Cuba at the festival

(KPL/Prensa Latina) Under the sublime chords that distinguish it, the 39th edition of the Jazz Plaza International Festival will arrive on stages in Cuba from January 21 to 28, 2024, to embrace those who admire its art today.

The event, which will take place in the provinces of Havana and Santiago de Cuba, has among its guests important musicians from the Caribbean island and other nations such as Canada and the United States, organizers announced this Friday at a press conference.

In exclusive dialogue with Prensa Latina, Bobby Carcassés, initiator of the festival, gave his opinion on this: for me it is a way to show what Cuba is, a way to impose ourselves above the impossible and create the miracle that jazz implies in Cuban music.

The capital’s Hotel Nacional hosted the meetin
g where this performer, 2012 National Music Award winner, also discussed his pictorial work ‘Meditation’, which accompanies the visual cover of the contest.

According to the virtuoso, it is a design that he has enriched over several years and is related to his practice of Yoga, in addition to being linked to a book that he wrote and will be published within the framework of the event.

For his part, pianist Roberto Fonseca, artistic director of the event, discussed international participation and thanked Carcassés for allowing Cuban jazz to be heard in the world.

Under the slogan Pa’que flujazz at our rhythm, Jazz Plaza also reserved the International Colloquium ‘Leonardo Acosta in Memorian’, from January 22 to 27, which will host specialists, jazz professionals and the industry.

The upcoming edition will honor outstanding figures of the music such as Bola de Nieve, Miguelito Cuní and César ‘Pupy’ Pedroso.

In this capital, the National Theater of Cuba, Karl Marx, Martí and América, the Tito Junco Room of
the Bertolt Brecht Cultural Center, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Cuba Pavilion, the Cuban Art Factory, the Gardens of the Mella Theater and The House of Culture of Plaza de la Revolución municipality will echo the harmonious festival.

For the opening day, the Amada Música concert is expected, led by maestro Joaquín Betancourt, a performance that will celebrate the 15 years of the Jazz Band and the 50 years of artistic life of this artist, 2019 National Music Award winner.

Meanwhile, in Santiago de Cuba, the festival will be inaugurated with the presentation of pianist Nachito Herrera together with the Symphony Orchestra of that province, who will be joined by other guests from various regions in the east of the country.

For this edition, saxophonist Ted Nash, accompanied by the Cubadentro project, will invite you to enjoy a work with the Malpaso Dance Company at the emblematic Teatro Martí.

Source: Lao News Agency

October 16, 2023

Discussions on need for dialogue on N. Korea denuclearization diminish in U.S.: ambassador

Discussions regarding the need for dialogue to address North Korea’s nuclear quandary in the United States have dwindled, South Korea’s top envoy in Washington said Sunday, indicating growing skepticism over the prospects of long-stalled nuclear diplomacy with the recalcitrant regime.

Ambassador Cho Hyun-dong made the remarks during a parliamentary audit as the North stipulated a policy to beef up its nuclear forces in its constitution last month amid an unceasing drive to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities.

Cho also said that Seoul and Washington plan to hold the second session of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a key deterrence dialogue body, in the U.S. before the end of the year as part of efforts to address growing security concerns in South Korea.

“It is difficult to precisely talk about the proportion, but there is an assessment that the possibility of North Korea’s denuclearization is gradually becoming difficult,” Cho said.

“I feel that discussions on the need for dialogue to resolve the North’s nuclear issue have been gradually dwindling compared with the discussions in the past,” he added.

But Cho stressed North Korea’s denuclearization through dialogue is a crucial goal of the South Korean government.

Washington has repeatedly underscored its desire to reengage with Pyongyang, but the North has not responded.

The reclusive state has instead entrenched relations with its traditional partners, Russia and China, further casting clouds over the prospects for the resumption of dialogue with the U.S.

The renewed Israel-Hamas conflict, coupled with Russia’s protracted war in Ukraine, has raised speculation that Washington could prioritize addressing the two conflicts, with the North Korean nuclear quandary likely to be put on the back burner.

On the planned second NCG session, Cho said that Seoul and Washington seek to make a robust system to minimize public angst over North Korean nuclear threats.

The creation of the NCG was announced in the Washington Declaration that President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden issued at their White House summit in April to bolster extended deterrence — America’s commitment to use the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea.

The NCG’s inaugural session was held in Seoul in July.

At the audit session, Cho also noted that Washington had informed Seoul of the recent arms transfers between the North and Russia before the White House released such details to the press last week.

On Friday, John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said that between Sept. 7 and Oct. 1, North Korea delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in Ukraine.

When asked about the scenario of the North receiving military assistance from Russia in return for the arms provision, Cho said, “We expect Russia, as a major power, to respond in a prudent manner.”

“I think that if that situation (of Russia offering military support to the North) happens, we cannot help but make a serious, decisive decision,” he said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency