SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Wednesday his country had achieved full nuclear statehood after what he said was the successful test of a new missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch snapped a two-month pause in testing by the North and poses a new challenge to US President Donald Trump who has vowed such a capability “won’t happen”.

North Korean state television brought out Ri Chun-Hee, a star presenter who only appears for significant developments, to announce the landmark.

“Kim Jong-Un declared with pride that now we have finally realised the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power,” she said.

“The great success in the test-fire of ICBM Hwasong-15 is a priceless victory won by the great and heroic people of the DPRK,” she said, using the official abbreviated name for North Korea.

Wednesday’s missile was more sophisticated than any previously tested, state media said.

“The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the whole mainland of the US,” the North’s official news agency KCNA said.

Pyongyang said the missile reached an altitude of 4,475 kilometres (2,800 miles) and splashed down 950 kilometres from its launch site.

At least one Western expert said the missile’s lofted trajectory suggested an actual range of 13,000 kilometres – enough to hit every major US city.

Trump, who recently announced fresh sanctions on Pyongyang and returned it to a US list of state sponsors of terror, was opaque in his immediate response, as the UN Security Council agreed to meet in an emergency session.

“I will only tell you that we will take care of it,” Trump said at the White House. “It is a situation that we will handle,” he added, without elaborating.

GLOBAL STRIKE THREAT

It was the North’s third successful ICBM test.

David Wright, an arms control expert and co-director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the flight parameters pointed to a missile with “more than enough range to reach Washington DC, and in fact any part of the continental United States”.

There were scenes of jubilation in tightly controlled Pyongyang, where residents gathered in front of a large screen to watch the news.

Jang Kwang Hyok, 32, said the test posed a question for the US president.

“I just want to ask a question to Trump: ‘Can you still dare to backbite about our country?’ ‘Can you continue to do it even when Hwasong-15 is fired to the US mainland?’,” he said.

While Pyongyang has yet to prove its mastery of the re-entry technology required to bring a warhead back through the Earth’s atmosphere, experts believe it is at least on the threshold of developing a working intercontinental nuclear strike capability.

Wednesday’s statement from the North stressed the notion of its now being a fully-fledged nuclear power and offered language redolent of a “no first strike” doctrine.

Its weapons “would not pose any threat to any country and region as long as the interests of the DPRK are not infringed upon. This is our solemn declaration,” state media said.

Melissa Hanham, senior research associate with the East Asia Nonproliferation Program of the Middlebury Institute, said this could indicate a diplomatic off-ramp from the present standoff with the US.

“Perhaps this is an out,” she wrote on Twitter. “A way to say they’ve achieved what they want, as long as we treat them the way they want to be treated.” She urged the global community to seize the opportunity.

“Diplomacy is worth the risk of failure, because to not engage them just gives them time to scale up.” .

COMPETING STRATEGIES

Tensions over the North’s weapons programme peaked after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September and then fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan.

China, the North’s main ally, has pushed for a “dual track approach” to the crisis which would see the United States freeze its military drills in South Korea while North Korea would halt its weapons programmes.

Washington has rejected that approach, preferring a constant tightening of economic screws backed by dire threats of military destruction.

The Trump administration last week unveiled new sanctions targeting North Korean shipping, as well a number of Chinese companies doing business with the pariah state.

The US leader spoke by phone with both Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-In after Wednesday’s test to underline the global threat posed by North Korea.

Trump is close to Abe, but relations with his South Korean counterpart – whom he has accused of appeasing Pyongyang – are far cooler, and there are concerns in Seoul that the US president might be considering military action against the North that could trigger a full-scale war.

Seoul is home to 10 million people and only about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border – well within range of Pyongyang’s artillery.

YANGON – Pope Francis will lead an open-air mass on Wednesday (Nov 29) for some 200,000 Catholics in Myanmar, who have poured into Yangon for a papal visit so far framed by his sidestepping of the Rohingya crisis

Excitement has been building for months among the throngs of pilgrims from across the country who are joining the colourful celebration of Myanmar’s ethnic diversity in the commercial capital.

The pope will wind through the crowds in a white ‘popemobile’ to greet his followers at close-quarters before conducting a ceremony due to start at 8.30am local time (10am Singapore time) on the third day of his visit.

The trip has so far been more political than religious.

Francis has held private talks with both civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

It comes as the country feels under siege from the international community over the plight of its Rohingya Muslim community, who are shunned by many of the majority-Buddhist population.

The pope avoided mentioning the crisis – or the Rohingya – directly at his only public speech so far in the country’s capital on Tuesday, where he took the stage with Suu Kyi.

He called simply for “respect for rights and justice” while Suu Kyi stated that Myanmar’s aims were “protecting rights, fostering tolerance, ensuring security for all.”

A military crackdown has forced more than 620,000 Rohingya over the last three months to flee their homes in northern Rakhine state to what is now the biggest refugee camp in the world in neighbouring Bangladesh.

The army has justified the campaign as a proportionate retaliation for attacks by hardline Rohingya militants in August. But the UN and the US have labelled it ethnic cleansing and rights groups accuse the military of crimes against humanity with refugees recounting consistent reports of murder, rape and arson.

This is the first ever papal visit to the country although there have been Catholics in Myanmar for over 500 years.

Today they number an estimated 700,000 – just over one per cent of the population – and generally enjoy good relations with the Buddhist majority.

In the last three years, the Vatican has canonised Myanmar’s first saint and named its first cardinal before full diplomatic ties were established in May this year.

Pilgrims arriving in Yangon for Wednesday’s mass have been bedding down wherever they can – even the graveyards of churches have turned into massive dormitories.

“I can’t say enough how happy I am,” Pauline Soe Thandar, 26, told AFP as she waited for her parents to arrive from out of town before heading to the stadium.

“I know the pope will share his loving kindness and valuable words to make all of us peaceful.”

HONG KONG – A large oval-shaped diamond known as the “Pink Promise” was sold to an anonymous buyer for US$32 million (S$43 million) in Hong Kong on Tuesday (Nov 28), just short of shattering a world auction record.

The 14.93-carat vivid pink diamond went for a final price of HK$249,850,000, which comes to US$2.14 million per carat, to an international private collector at Christie’s autumn sale.

The price fell short of breaking the previous world auction record for the most expensive pink diamond per carat, which was set in 2009 when a cushion-shaped fancy vivid pink diamond went under the hammer for US$2.155 million per carat.

“The colour of the stone was at the very top end of the pink diamonds, for pink. The size was very important, almost 15 carat, so you have an important size, a top colour, absolutely clean stone and beautifully cut. So all of those elements together factored into the perfect masterpiece helped us achieve this price,” said Rahul Kadakia, Christie’s International Head of Jewellery.

The world record price paid per carat is US$4.03 million for the Blue Moon of Josephine, a 12.03-carat, cushion-shaped fancy vivid blue diamond that Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau bought in a 2015 Sotheby’s auction, according to the Guinness World Records.

Lau named the US$48.5 million diamond after his daughter.

Aware that President Joko “Jokowi is an ardent fan of heavy metal, visiting Denmark Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen gave him a box-set of Metallica’s seminal record Master of Puppets during a bilateral meeting at the Bogor Palace on Tuesday afternoon.

The gift surprised Jokowi, who considered it an unusual souvenir. In return, Jokowi, gave Rasmussen a rencong (traditional dagger from Aceh).

“Prime Minister Rasmussen understands my favourite [music],” Jokowi said with a wide smile as he received two volumes of the box set, which contains the original eight tracks of heavy metal classics like “Disposable Heroes,” “The Things That Should Not Be” and the title track, as well as unreleased demos, mixes and live recordings.

The box set of Metallica’s classic album contains remastered tracks of the original album as well as an array of unreleased demos, rough mixes, interviews, and live recordings.

The box set is part of a reissue project celebrating the album’s 30th anniversary, and only became available on Nov. 10.

In some photos circulating online, one of the volumes bears the signature of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who was born in Denmark and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16.

Master of Puppets itself was recorded in Copenhagen between September and December 1985, two years after Metallica broke through the metal scene with their debut album Kill ‘Em All.

In 2014, metalheads the world over celebrated the election of Jokowi, now that one of their own occupied the highest office in the world’s third-largest democracy.

“Incredibly, ladies and gentlemen, the new president of Indonesia is a metalhead and a Lamb of God fan. Yes, he digs Napalm Death, Metallica, Megadeth and Lamb of God among others. Holy c#*p! The world’s first heavy metal president,” Randy Blythe, singer of legendary metal band Lamb of God, said in a July 2014 social media post.

TOKYO – Japan’s ancient sport of sumo suffered another humiliating blow Wednesday (Nov 29) when grand champion Harumafuji retired after a brutal assault on a rival wrestler while out drinking, his gym boss said.

Harumafuji’s stable master Isegahama told local media the Mongolian “yokozuna” had caused embarrassment to the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) over an incident last month that left countryman Takanoiwa with a fractured skull.

His exit mirrors that of another top-ranked Mongolian, Asashoryu, who promptly stepped down in 2010 after being accused of breaking a man’s nose in a drunken brawl outside a Tokyo nightclub.

Yokozuna are expected to be beyond moral reproach but the writing was on the wall for Harumafuji after he confessed to hitting Takanoiwa for texting his girlfriend while he was scolding him over his poor attitude.

The 33-year-old Harumafuji, who reached sumo’s hallowed rank five years ago and whose real name is Davaanyam Byambadorj, denied reports he had used a beer bottle in the attack but admitted punching Takanoiwa and bashing him with a karaoke remote control.

Takanoiwa, 27, was hospitalised after suffering concussion and a fractured skull base, according to local media. His stable master subsequently reported the incident to the police, who invited Harumafuji in for questioning.

The latest scandal has reopened old wounds in the closeted world of sumo after an increase in violence, allegations of illegal betting, links with crime syndicates and drug busts shook the sport in recent years.

A sumo stable-master was sentenced to six years in prison in 2007 after a trainee wrestler was beaten to death, triggering outrage across Japan. Another gym boss narrowly escaped criminal punishment after whacking three wrestlers with a golf club for breaking curfew.

The 135kg Harumafuji, whose nifty technique makes up for his relative lack of size, won nine Emperor’s Cups before his fall from grace.

Historians claim sumo dates back more than 2,000 years and the sport retains many Shinto religious overtones. Breaches of its strict protocol are frowned upon, although the JSA has been accused of picking on Mongolian wrestlers, who critics claim lack “dignity”.

However, the trail-blazing Asashoryu stretched their patience to breaking point with his repeated rule-breaking, despite roaring to 25 major championships. He was ordered to clean up his act after a sparking a soapy punch-up with a rival wrestler during a soak in a communal bath.

Asashoryu was subsequently banned for forging a doctor’s note for an apparent back injury before being caught playing in a charity football match wearing a Wayne Rooney shirt.

Another Mongolian grand champion Hakuho, seen as a gentle giant, has battled almost single-handedly to repair sumo’s tarnished image.

But even he was accused of breaching etiquette in 2015 when he let rip at a decision to repeat a bout deemed too close to call, prompting more tut-tutting from officials.

AMED, Indonesia – Indonesia shut its airport on Bali for a third consecutive day on Wednesday due to a volcanic ash cloud, as the rumbling Mount Agung volcano continued to paralyse flights on the holiday island and cause a mass evacuation around the mountain.

A large plume of white and grey ash and smoke was visible above Agung after rain lashed the island by night and partially obscured the fiery glow at its peak seen in previous days.

Authorities have been continually assessing the risk the ash poses to flying after winds sent the cloud southwest across the island.

Bali’s airport, Indonesia’s second-biggest, will be shut at least until 7 a.m. on Thursday (2300 GMT), the transport ministry said.

As many as 443 flights, both domestic and international, have been affected by the closure of the airport, about 60 km (37 miles) from Mount Agung.

Agung towers over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Its last major eruption in 1963 killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages.