![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaImages show North Korea sealing its border with ChinaPublished4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersImage caption, There has been a major ramping up of security along the border between North Korea and China. This image shows North Korea from an area near the Chinese border city of Hunchun in 2015By Michael Sheils McNameeBBC NewsNorth Korea has used the Covid-19 pandemic to seal up its northern border with China, new images from a leading human rights group show. Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes a situation which has seen “intensifying repression”, with “drastically reduced” cross-border movement and trade. In the research, North Koreans spoke of the increasingly restrictive measures.UN member states should “immediately address” North Korea’s isolation and humanitarian crisis, HRW stresses.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reinforced a crackdown on border security in recent years, coinciding with the pandemic.The border was only reopened a few months ago, largely to improve trade with China.The report, entitled A Sense of Terror Stronger than a Bullet: The Closing of North Korea 2018-2023, describes the “overbroad, excessive, and unnecessary measures during the Covid-19 pandemic”. North Korea country profileFocusing on satellite images, it shows authorities in North Korea constructing 482km (299 miles) of new fencing in the areas it investigated, and enhancing another 260km of fencing which was already in place. Taken between 2019 and 2023 and covering about a quarter of its northern border, the images also detail things like new guard posts and the creation of buffer zones – things which further restrict life in the country. Image caption, In this image, we can see that in March 2019, on the east bank of the Tumen River, a primary fence is visible – but is interrupted with a large gap for the Hoeryong stream. Three years later, in April 2022, a bridge had been added, along with a secondary fence, creating a buffer zoneAlong with the border infrastructure has come a more authoritarian enforcement of rules – including a shoot on sight order for border guards. HRW noted a 20-fold increase in the number of border security facilities in the area observed, with guard posts rising from just 38 to more than 6,500. Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at HRW, said North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un should “end the policies that have essentially made North Korea a giant prison, reopen its borders for trade, relax internal travel restrictions, and allow monitored international emergency assistance”. One escapee, who spoke to her relative back home, said rice and wheat could no longer be smuggled into the country. “Not even an ant can make it across the border now”, her relative told her. This has also made it harder for North Korean escapees to send money back home to support their families, the report says, further increasing the suffering of the North Korean people.A family’s escape from North Korea through a minefield and stormy seasAnother person who had left the country described the situation for their relatives in late 2022, when many parts of the world were facing tough Covid-19 restrictions.”My [relative] said now people are more worried of starving to death than of dying of Covid-19,” they said. “They are all worried of dying from simple diseases.”The crackdown has also stopped the flow of cash from people in South Korea to their relatives and contacts in the North.HRW estimated that by the start of 2023, only about one in 10 money brokers were able to send money across, when compared to the situation pre-pandemic. Also highlighted in the report is the toll UN sanctions, imposed on Pyongyang in 2017 following nuclear tests, have had on people. The report calls them “broad-based”, and says they have “exacted a toll on the population at large by undermining people’s rights to an adequate standard of living, and thus to food and health”. “This had an especially hard impact on women, the main breadwinners in most households, by reducing the activities in the markets in which they traded.” One former trader who had been in contact with relatives in North Korea said a relative used to catch squid and crabs, and was able to live off the informal trade with China. Because of Covid-19 and the sanctions, this trade was stopped – and his relatives had to sell for domestic consumptions for a much lower return, making it “hard to survive”. You may also be interested in:This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Myung-hui and her daughter SongmiRelated TopicsHuman rightsUnited NationsNorth KoreaMore on this storySecret calls and code names: How money makes it to N KoreaPublished30 JanuaryAlarm raised over N Koreans deported from ChinaPublished8 December 2023A family’s escape from North Korea through a minefield and stormy seasPublished5 December 2023The daughter who fled North Korea to find her motherPublished6 April 2023North Korea country profilePublished19 July 2023Top StoriesConstance Marten: ‘I did nothing but show baby love’Published19 minutes agoLabour and Tories accused of silence over cutsPublished1 hour agoHorner says ‘time to draw a line under’ controversyAttributionSportPublished10 minutes agoFeaturesBiden faces high-stakes address to calm Democrat nerves’We know what’s coming’: East Ukraine braces for Russian advanceHow are the child benefit rules changing?Budget: Key points at a glancePampered pooches descend on NEC for CruftsAuthor Dame Jacqueline Wilson reads to zoo animals’Stampede’ of kangaroos invades Melbourne golf course. Video’Stampede’ of kangaroos invades Melbourne golf courseIs Hugh right about Oscar films being ‘frankly too long’?The world’s largest robots are setting sailElsewhere on the BBCCaffeine: Dangers and benefitsFind out what effects this drug can have on dementia and cardiovascular diseaseAttributionSoundsClosing the gap between body and bionicsA first-look at a revolutionary type of prosthetic armAttributioniPlayerFrom new shows to comfort telly to guilty pleasures…Self-confessed TV addicts Nat and Jo discuss what’s had us glued to our screens this weekAttributionSoundsRevisiting the brutal war between Britain and the IRAPeter Taylor talks to grieving families devastated by the loss of their loved onesAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Boy, 11, died trying social media craze – family2Constance Marten: ‘I did nothing but show baby love’3Teens guilty of killing boy, 16, with zombie knife4World’s earliest forest discovered, scientists say5Sweden formally joins Nato military alliance6Woman who accused Horner suspended by Red BullAttributionSport7BBC Scotland presenter dies after short illness8’I earn £70,000 and can now get child benefit payments’9Ex-sergeant admits horse racing betting fraud10YouTuber Paul to fight ex-champion TysonAttributionSport](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/14254/production/_132861528_36386a226d0013500242ea7d836e56a5fe8443e7.jpg)
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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaImages show North Korea sealing its border with ChinaPublished4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersImage caption, There has been a major ramping up of security along the border between North Korea and China. This image shows North Korea from an area near the Chinese border city of Hunchun in 2015By Michael Sheils McNameeBBC NewsNorth Korea has used the Covid-19 pandemic to seal up its northern border with China, new images from a leading human rights group show. Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes a situation which has seen “intensifying repression”, with “drastically reduced” cross-border movement and trade. In the research, North Koreans spoke of the increasingly restrictive measures.UN member states should “immediately address” North Korea’s isolation and humanitarian crisis, HRW stresses.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reinforced a crackdown on border security in recent years, coinciding with the pandemic.The border was only reopened a few months ago, largely to improve trade with China.The report, entitled A Sense of Terror Stronger than a Bullet: The Closing of North Korea 2018-2023, describes the “overbroad, excessive, and unnecessary measures during the Covid-19 pandemic”. North Korea country profileFocusing on satellite images, it shows authorities in North Korea constructing 482km (299 miles) of new fencing in the areas it investigated, and enhancing another 260km of fencing which was already in place. Taken between 2019 and 2023 and covering about a quarter of its northern border, the images also detail things like new guard posts and the creation of buffer zones – things which further restrict life in the country. Image caption, In this image, we can see that in March 2019, on the east bank of the Tumen River, a primary fence is visible – but is interrupted with a large gap for the Hoeryong stream. Three years later, in April 2022, a bridge had been added, along with a secondary fence, creating a buffer zoneAlong with the border infrastructure has come a more authoritarian enforcement of rules – including a shoot on sight order for border guards. HRW noted a 20-fold increase in the number of border security facilities in the area observed, with guard posts rising from just 38 to more than 6,500. Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at HRW, said North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un should “end the policies that have essentially made North Korea a giant prison, reopen its borders for trade, relax internal travel restrictions, and allow monitored international emergency assistance”. One escapee, who spoke to her relative back home, said rice and wheat could no longer be smuggled into the country. “Not even an ant can make it across the border now”, her relative told her. This has also made it harder for North Korean escapees to send money back home to support their families, the report says, further increasing the suffering of the North Korean people.A family’s escape from North Korea through a minefield and stormy seasAnother person who had left the country described the situation for their relatives in late 2022, when many parts of the world were facing tough Covid-19 restrictions.”My [relative] said now people are more worried of starving to death than of dying of Covid-19,” they said. “They are all worried of dying from simple diseases.”The crackdown has also stopped the flow of cash from people in South Korea to their relatives and contacts in the North.HRW estimated that by the start of 2023, only about one in 10 money brokers were able to send money across, when compared to the situation pre-pandemic. Also highlighted in the report is the toll UN sanctions, imposed on Pyongyang in 2017 following nuclear tests, have had on people. The report calls them “broad-based”, and says they have “exacted a toll on the population at large by undermining people’s rights to an adequate standard of living, and thus to food and health”. “This had an especially hard impact on women, the main breadwinners in most households, by reducing the activities in the markets in which they traded.” One former trader who had been in contact with relatives in North Korea said a relative used to catch squid and crabs, and was able to live off the informal trade with China. Because of Covid-19 and the sanctions, this trade was stopped – and his relatives had to sell for domestic consumptions for a much lower return, making it “hard to survive”. You may also be interested in:This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Myung-hui and her daughter SongmiRelated TopicsHuman rightsUnited NationsNorth KoreaMore on this storySecret calls and code names: How money makes it to N KoreaPublished30 JanuaryAlarm raised over N Koreans deported from ChinaPublished8 December 2023A family’s escape from North Korea through a minefield and stormy seasPublished5 December 2023The daughter who fled North Korea to find her motherPublished6 April 2023North Korea country profilePublished19 July 2023Top StoriesConstance Marten: ‘I did nothing but show baby love’Published19 minutes agoLabour and Tories accused of silence over cutsPublished1 hour agoHorner says ‘time to draw a line under’ controversyAttributionSportPublished10 minutes agoFeaturesBiden faces high-stakes address to calm Democrat nerves’We know what’s coming’: East Ukraine braces for Russian advanceHow are the child benefit rules changing?Budget: Key points at a glancePampered pooches descend on NEC for CruftsAuthor Dame Jacqueline Wilson reads to zoo animals’Stampede’ of kangaroos invades Melbourne golf course. Video’Stampede’ of kangaroos invades Melbourne golf courseIs Hugh right about Oscar films being ‘frankly too long’?The world’s largest robots are setting sailElsewhere on the BBCCaffeine: Dangers and benefitsFind out what effects this drug can have on dementia and cardiovascular diseaseAttributionSoundsClosing the gap between body and bionicsA first-look at a revolutionary type of prosthetic armAttributioniPlayerFrom new shows to comfort telly to guilty pleasures…Self-confessed TV addicts Nat and Jo discuss what’s had us glued to our screens this weekAttributionSoundsRevisiting the brutal war between Britain and the IRAPeter Taylor talks to grieving families devastated by the loss of their loved onesAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Boy, 11, died trying social media craze – family2Constance Marten: ‘I did nothing but show baby love’3Teens guilty of killing boy, 16, with zombie knife4World’s earliest forest discovered, scientists say5Sweden formally joins Nato military alliance6Woman who accused Horner suspended by Red BullAttributionSport7BBC Scotland presenter dies after short illness8’I earn £70,000 and can now get child benefit payments’9Ex-sergeant admits horse racing betting fraud10YouTuber Paul to fight ex-champion TysonAttributionSport
[ad_1] Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at HRW, said North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un should “end the policies that have essentially made North Korea a giant prison, reopen its…
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaICJ says Israel must prevent genocide in GazaPublished8 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal actsBy Raffi Berg and Anna HolliganBBC News, London and The HagueThe UN’s top court has ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, but stopped short of telling it to halt the war.The highly anticipated hearing was part of a controversial case brought by South Africa.South Africa had asked the court to order Israel to stop military action straight away pending a decision on whether Israel has committed genocide.Israel has vehemently rejected the accusation as “wholly unfounded”.Friday’s hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague was the first time the judges have issued a ruling as part of the case which began two weeks ago. A verdict on the central allegation of genocide is expected to take much longer, possibly years.Although the court did not call for a halt to Israel’s military action, as South Africa had asked it to do, it is being interpreted as a victory for those who support South Africa’s case. The ICJ found it did have jurisdiction on the matter, and decided there was a plausible case under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and that the Palestinian population in Gaza was at real risk of irreparable damage.Israel reined in by ICJ ruling – but will it obey?What is the genocide case against Israel?”For the implementation of the international rule of law, the [ICJ’s] decision is a momentous one,” said South Africa in a statement. It called Friday’s ruling a “significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people”.The Palestinian foreign minister said the ruling showed that “no state is above the law”, adding it “should serve as a wake-up call for Israel and actors who enabled its entrenched impunity”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the ruling directly but said “Israel’s commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering is our sacred commitment to defend our country.” He said South Africa’s allegation that Israel was committing genocide was “not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it”.Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed the ruling, saying Israel “does not need to be lectured on morality in order to distinguish between terrorists and the civilian population in Gaza”.A spokesman for Hamas, the Palestinian group whose unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October triggered the war, called the outcome “important”, saying it contributed to “isolating Israel”, Reuters news agency reported. The ICJ ordered Israel to take a series of measures against potentially genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. These include measures not only on the battlefield but also against public incitement to genocide. It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to enable the provision of aid to people in Gaza.The court said Israel must report on its compliance to the court within one month.Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, it does not have the power to enforce them. Israel is not expected to commit itself to the orders.More than 26,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s bombardment since 7 October, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says. Israel launched its offensive after waves of Hamas gunmen burst through the border early that day, killing about 1,300 people – mainly civilians – and taking about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.Related TopicsIsrael & the PalestiniansIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesHamasSouth AfricaInternational Court of JusticeMore on this storyWatch: ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal acts. Video, 00:02:04Watch: ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocidal actsPublished8 hours ago2:04Israel reined in by ICJ ruling – but will it obey?Published6 hours agoWhat is the genocide case against Israel?Published12 JanuaryTop StoriesLive. 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![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaHamas attack: US pauses UNRWA funding over claims of staff involvementPublished6 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, ReutersImage caption, The US, Germany and the EU are among some of UNRWA’s biggest donorsBy Sarah FowlerBBC NewsThe US is pausing funding for the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, over allegations of staff involvement in the 7 October Hamas attacks.UNRWA says it has sacked several people and ordered an investigation into information supplied by Israel.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “horrified by this news” and has called for a swift investigation.Hamas killed 1,300 people, mostly civilians, in the unprecedented attack.Another 250 people were taken hostage. The events triggered Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Hamas in Gaza, which have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.Announcing its decision to temporarily halt funding, the US state department said it was “extremely troubled” by the allegations of UN staff involvement in the attacks. The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini said, on Friday that Israel had provided his organisation “with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7”. He said UNRWA had placed a number of employees under investigation and severed ties with them.An adviser to the Israeli prime minister told the BBC that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved “people who are on their [UNRWA] salaries”.Mark Regev said there was information showing teachers working in UNRWA schools had “openly celebrated” the 7 October attacks. He also referred to an Israeli hostage who, on her release, said she had been “held in the house of someone who worked for UNRWA”. “They have a union which is controlled by Hamas and I think it’s high time that the UN investigated these links between UNRWA and Hamas,” he added.UN chief Antonio Guterres said he had asked Mr Lazzarini to investigate “this matter swiftly”.He added that the probe must make sure any UNRWA employee “shown to have participated or abetted” in the 7 October attack be sacked and referred for potential criminal prosecution. Washington said it welcomed Mr Guterres’s call for a “thorough and swift investigation”. The EU also said in a statement it was “extremely concerned” by the allegations and would assess further steps “based on the result of the full and comprehensive investigation”.The US, Germany and the EU are among some of UNRWA’s biggest donors. The agency provides education, healthcare and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. However it says it is struggling to get humanitarian aid to many of the estimated 1.7m people – nearly three-quarters of the population – displaced by 12 weeks of fighting.A number of UN facilities where Gazans had taken shelter have been hit in Israeli air strikes. On Thursday, 12 people were killed when a UN shelter was struck in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warUnited NationsUnited StatesMore on this storyIsraeli protesters hold up aid trucks to GazaPublished9 hours agoUN says 12 killed at Gaza shelter as fighting ragesPublished1 day agoTop StoriesLive. Trump ordered to pay $83m in damages in defamation trialOil tanker on fire after Houthi missile attack, firm saysPublished1 hour agoIsrael reined in by ICJ ruling – but will it obey?Published4 hours agoFeaturesIsrael reined in by ICJ ruling – but will it obey?’Crying with exhaustion’: How The X Factor was madeCheese, beef, cars: What UK-Canada trade rift meansWhy hermit crabs are ‘wearing’ our plastic rubbishHow many countries still have the death penalty?Weekly quiz: Whose Brits crown did Raye steal?Has the UK seen the last of this winter’s storms?AttributionWeatherThe ‘quiet rebranding’ of divisive Australia DayCancer survivor targeted by trolls for wearing wigElsewhere on the BBCIs a global megachurch manipulating its followers?Panorama investigates such allegations about the Universal Church of the Kingdom of GodAttributioniPlayerTracing the historical origins of British comedy tropesIan Hislop’s on the hunt for the earliest examples of enduring British jokesAttributionSounds60 years of Rolling Stones glory!Global icon Mick Jagger gives us an exclusive glimpse into his life in the bandAttributioniPlayerHow can you defeat your inner saboteurs?Comedy genius Troy Hawke’s award-winning show battles with a new enemy… psychotherapy!AttributionSoundsMost Read1Trump must pay $83.3m for defaming E Jean Carroll2Oil tanker on fire after Houthi missile attack, firm says3The Traitors reveal themselves in reality TV final4Taylor Swift deepfakes spark calls for US legislation5Mia Janin took own life after bullying – inquest6Twins separated and sold at birth reunited by TikTok7Duchess’s diagnosis prompts skin cancer searches8Israel reined in by ICJ ruling – but will it obey?9’Crying with exhaustion’: How The X Factor was made10King Charles ‘doing well’ after prostate treatment](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/16390/production/_132442019_731e0af9af1cc1a220a85efeca1613bebbdef4490_0_2406_15971000x664.jpg)
