Iran says no talks are underway with United States after Trump calls off attacks

SEOUL: North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile into waters off the Korean Peninsula’s eastern coast on Wednesday, raising tensions just days before major military exercises between South Korea and the United States. South Korean and Japanese authorities detected the launch from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast at around 6am local time. The missile travelled approximately 700 kilometres before falling into the sea, according to South Korean and Japanese defence officials. The launch came only days before the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, scheduled to begin on August 17 and continue through August 27. The drills are designed to strengthen the allies’ ability to respond to security threats from North Korea. Pyongyang has repeatedly criticised the exercises, describing them as preparations for a potential attack. Seoul and Washington maintain that the drills are defensive and necessary to improve their combined military readiness. South Korean officials said Wednesday’s launch was the latest in a series of weapons tests conducted by North Korea this year. It was assessed as the country’s 11th suspected ballistic missile test of 2026. North Korea had also launched a missile from the Wonsan region on August 6. Pyongyang did not publicly acknowledge that test. Analysts said the latest launch could have been part of North Korea’s ongoing weapons development programme. However, its timing may also have been intended to send a political and military message ahead of the upcoming US-South Korean exercises. South Korean authorities have not yet confirmed the exact type of missile involved. Officials said a detailed analysis was under way to determine its specifications. The missile’s reported range and launch location have prompted speculation that it could have been a hypersonic weapon or another advanced missile system. Officials have not confirmed those assessments. Seoul and Tokyo condemn launch South Korea and Japan strongly criticised the missile test. South Korean authorities convened an emergency security meeting and called on Pyongyang to stop activities that violate United Nations Security Council resolutions. South Korea’s military said it remained fully prepared to respond to any further provocation and would maintain its combined defence posture with the United States. Japan also lodged a formal protest through diplomatic channels. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi condemned the launch and said Tokyo was closely monitoring developments. The latest test follows growing tensions over North Korea’s expanding weapons programme and Japan’s plans to strengthen its defence capabilities. North Korean state media had criticised Japan’s latest defence policy document a day earlier, accusing Tokyo of using the North Korean threat to justify an increase in military spending and capabilities. The US Indo-Pacific Command said it was coordinating closely with South Korea and Japan. Its initial assessment was that the missile launch did not pose an immediate threat to US territory, American personnel or its allies.

China has reached a turning point in its energy story. For the very first time, coal supplied less than half the country’s electricity over a six-month stretch, according to officials who spoke on Thursday. Between January and June, coal made up 49.7 percent of total power generation. That figure came from Xing Yiteng, a senior official at the energy administration’s planning office. It marks a steep fall from 65.5 percent back in 2016, based on earlier government data. Clean energy sources picked up the slack. Renewables reached 41.2 percent of the total mix, crossing the 40 percent line for the first time ever. Wind and solar alone made up nearly a quarter of all power generated, a huge leap from just under 10 percent in 2020. The remaining share came from natural gas and nuclear plants. Despite this progress, experts warn that coal use in raw terms might actually increase this year. Electricity demand across China is rising quickly, driven by more electric vehicles on the road, a boom in AI-related data centers, and steady growth in exports. Beijing has pledged that coal use will peak no later than 2030, with wind and solar expected to reach 30 percent of the power mix by then. Gao Yuhe, who works as a project manager at Greenpeace East Asia, thinks that milestone might actually arrive two years early, by 2028. She credited this to the rapid spread of home solar systems paired with battery storage, along with more flexible electricity markets that make better use of renewable supply. China still burns far more coal than most major economies, mainly because it has large domestic reserves and limited natural gas access. For comparison, coal accounted for just 17 percent of America’s utility-scale power output last year, with natural gas covering 41 percent. China’s coal reliance, though, remains lower than India’s, where coal and lignite made up 69 percent of electricity generation last year. Interestingly, China still imported close to 500 million metric tons of coal last year, even with domestic output reaching 4.83 billion tons, mostly to supply power plants along the coast. If coal consumption keeps falling, major exporters like Indonesia, Mongolia, Australia, and Russia could feel the impact, depending on global price trends. Meanwhile, coal remains central to China’s coal-to-chemicals industry, where many facilities continue relying on cheap, locally produced coal to stay competitive.