World

North Korea has developed advanced technologies to take images from space using a spy satellite, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un insisted Tuesday, after experts mocked black-and-white pictures supposedly taken from space in a weekend launch.

Kim Yo Jong’s defence of North Korea’s satellite capabilities comes after the isolated country said it conducted an “important final-stage” test for the development of a reconnaissance satellite.

But experts in Seoul quickly raised doubts, saying the quality of the photos — presumably taken from the satellite — was too poor. 

In a lengthy, vitriolic statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim said it was “too inappropriate and careless” to evaluate Pyongyang’s satellite development progress and capability based on the two images.

She insisted a camera installed on the satellite had the “reliability of ground control including attitude control and shooting control command in a suitable space flight environment”. 

Kim also said the satellite’s data transmission devices and encryption processing technology were reliable. 

“We carried out a necessary test and reported the significant and satisfying result, which was not lacking,” she said. 

The development of a military reconnaissance satellite was one of Pyongyang’s key defence projects outlined by her elder brother Kim Jong Un last year.

North Korea is under biting international sanctions for its nuclear weapons programmes, but peaceful satellite launches are not subject to the same level of restrictions.

But analysts say developing such a satellite would provide North Korea with cover for testing banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), as they share much of the same technology.

Earlier this year, Pyongyang carried out two launches, claiming it was testing components for a reconnaissance satellite, which the United States and South Korea said likely involved components of its new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs). 

The younger Kim rebuked claims that the North’s satellite launches were thinly disguised firings of banned ICBMs. 

“If we develop ICBMs, we will fire ICBMs, and not test long-range rockets disguised as satellites,” she said.

Kim also dismissed analysts doubting that the North has the advanced technology needed for the rocket to survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, saying she would explain it in “an easy-to-understand manner” to their naysayers. 

“If the atmospheric re-entry technology was insufficient, it would not be possible to receive remote data from the pilot combat unit until the moment of impact,” she said.

– Air drill –

The weekend’s launch comes after a year of unprecedented weapons tests by North Korea, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile the month before.

The United States and South Korea have warned for months that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.

The two countries held a joint air drill on Tuesday, and deployed a US B-52H strategic bomber to the Korean peninsula, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The long-range heavy bomber was part of an exercise that included the US and South Korea’s most advanced jets — including the F-22 and the F-35 stealth fighters. 

Experts say North Korea is particularly sensitive about US-South Korean joint air drills, as its air force is one of the weakest links in its military, lacking high-tech jets and properly trained pilots. 

A hit exhibition showcasing Christian Dior’s work opens in Tokyo this week with a focus on the French designer’s fascination with Japan and the country’s influence on his pieces.

“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” arrives in Japan after drawing huge crowds in Paris, London and New York.

Opening Wednesday, the exhibition features 350 haute couture dresses — including Japan-inspired gowns displayed in settings intended to pay tribute to Japanese culture.

Architect Shohei Shigematsu created structures including a room covered with an undulating three-dimensional facade constructed from translucent traditional washi paper pasted over wooden frames.

“When Dior makes a skirt, there is a structure and then the fabric is laid on top of it,” he told AFP.

“I was asked to create a Japanese traditional structure, so I thought about shoji screens, for example, which have a wooden structure and are covered with paper.”

Each section features a different interior design intended to show various parts of Japanese culture. 

“There is a section inspired by an orderly tatami room separated by sliding doors. But not everything in Japan is simple and minimal,” he said.

“We have different designs like Japanese gardens and flashy kimonos. I wanted to show the sides of Japan people don’t know.”

The Dior house first presented a show in Japan in 1953, and the designer had a well-known fascination with the country.

“Dior had a lot of respect for traditional Japanese culture and he wrote about it in his memoir,” curator Florence Muller told AFP.

“I think there is a mutual fascination between France and Japan.”

Starting in the 1950s, Dior also collaborated with Japanese companies, giving them the rights to adapt and reproduce Dior looks to cater to local tastes.

In a sign of the brand’s popularity, Japan’s former empress Michiko chose a Dior gown made from Japanese textiles when she married then-prince Akihito in 1959.

The Tokyo show, which runs until May 28, includes archive pieces as well as works by more recent creative directors, and showcases several items inspired by Japan.

Among them is a John Galliano coat with “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” print emblazoned on the base of its full skirt, and robes cinched with Japanese obi-style belts created by Raf Simons.

Dior’s austere jacket dress named “Rashomon” — the name of a Japanese novel and film directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa — is also on display.

“This exhibition shows the mutual respect between Japan and France in their approach to crafts, fashion, design and art,” said Shigematsu.

A hit exhibition showcasing Christian Dior’s work opens in Tokyo this week with a focus on the French designer’s fascination with Japan and the country’s influence on his pieces.

“Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” arrives in Japan after drawing huge crowds in Paris, London and New York.

Opening Wednesday, the exhibition features 350 haute couture dresses — including Japan-inspired gowns displayed in settings intended to pay tribute to Japanese culture.

Architect Shohei Shigematsu created structures including a room covered with an undulating three-dimensional facade constructed from translucent traditional washi paper pasted over wooden frames.

“When Dior makes a skirt, there is a structure and then the fabric is laid on top of it,” he told AFP.

“I was asked to create a Japanese traditional structure, so I thought about that shoji screens, for example, which have a wooden structure and are covered with paper.”

Each section features a different interior design intended to show various parts of Japanese culture. 

“There is a section inspired by an orderly tatami room separated by sliding doors. But not everything in Japan is simple and minimal,” he said.

“We have different designs like Japanese gardens and flashy kimonos. I wanted to show the sides of Japan people don’t know.”

The Dior house first presented a show in Japan in 1953, and the designer had a well-known fascination with the country.

“Dior had a lot of respect for traditional Japanese culture and he wrote about it in his memoir,” curator Florence Muller told AFP.

“I think there is a mutual fascination between France and Japan.”

Starting in the 1950s, Dior also collaborated with Japanese companies, giving them the rights to adapt and reproduce Dior looks to cater to local tastes.

In a sign of the brand’s popularity, Japan’s former empress Michiko chose a Dior gown made from Japanese textiles when she married then-prince Akihito in 1959.

The Tokyo show, which runs until May 28, includes archive pieces as well as works by more recent creative directors, and showcases several items inspired by Japan.

Among them is a John Galliano coat with “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” print emblazoned on the base of its full skirt, and robes cinched with Japanese obi-style belts created by Raf Simons.

Dior’s austere jacket dress named “Rashomon” — the name of a Japanese novel and film directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa — is also on display.

“This exhibition shows the mutual respect between Japan and France in their approach to crafts, fashion, design and art,” said Shigematsu.

Rescuers in helicopters scoured the Gulf of Thailand on Tuesday for dozens of sailors who went missing when their naval vessel sank, hoping life jackets had helped them survive two nights in the choppy waters.

Seventy-five sailors from the HTMS Sukhothai were hauled from the sea after the vessel went down late Sunday in the Gulf of Thailand, roughly 37 kilometres (22 miles) off the country’s southeastern coast. 

Four vessels — the HTMS Kraburi, HTMS Angthong, HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej — two planes, and four helicopters were scanning the turbulent waters for 30 missing sailors, the navy said.

“I am hopeful we will find some survivors, because they have life vests,” said naval officer Narong Khumburi.

“But I imagine they must be exhausted.”

The navy had initially reported that 106 people were aboard the vessel, but revised that figure down to 105 on Tuesday.

At the pier in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, families of those missing gathered to wait for news as anxiety over their loved ones mounted.

Malinee Pudpong, 54, from Roi Et province, said her sister’s son, 21-year-old Saharat Esa, was onboard.

“I came here to look at the waves and I’m thinking, ‘For god’s sake, where is my (nephew)?'” she said.

Efforts to find the missing crew were focused on aerial searches, with the Royal Thai airforce assisting the operation, which has been affected by strong winds.

Tuesday’s waves were still high, navy spokesperson Admiral Pogkrong Montradpalin said, noting the search area had grown and was focusing “on the area near shores, according to the currents and the wind”.

Naval commander Pichai Lorchusakul, speaking at the same pier, said that he remained confident.

“We have full hope,” he said.

Sahachart Limcharoenphakdee, a member of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine, said they were working with naval personnel to care for those plucked from the waters.

“I am hopeful, and have trust for the navy rescue team, who are skilful,” he said.

Mother Phongsri Suksawat, 50, said she hoped “100 percent” that her 22-year-old youngest son Chirawat Toophorm would come home.

“I thought it would be fine and nothing bad would happen from the storm,” she said, adding that before he went on the ship her son asked her to care for his wife.

“I would like to hug him.”

– Electrical fault –

Late Monday night, naval commander Pichai told reporters at the pier that they remained focused on finding survivors.

“Our main priority is searching (for) and rescuing as many as we can,” he said, adding it was the first time that the Thai navy had lost a ship this way.

The vessel — a corvette, the smallest type of military warship — is believed to have run into trouble after its electronics system was damaged, according to the navy.

“The ship’s operating systems stopped working, causing the ship to lose control,” a spokesperson said.

Parts of southern Thailand have been hit by storms and flooding in recent days.

A warning from the Thai meteorological office remained in place Tuesday, with strong winds causing rough conditions in the Gulf of Thailand, and seafarers cautioned to be careful and small boats to stay ashore.

The HTMS Sukhothai was commissioned in 1987 and built in the United States by the now-defunct Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, according to the US Naval Institute.

Huddled around a campfire sipping hot tea, a group of Greek lumberjacks take a badly needed break in an oak forest not far from the Albanian border.

With petrol and gas bills increasing, loggers in northern Greece say they are doing their best to keep up with rising demand for wood, considered a more affordable option for people to heat their homes.

Many Greeks, still reeling from their country’s decade-long economic crisis, are desperate to counteract energy prices soaring on the back of Russia’s war in Ukraine and national inflation running at over eight percent.

“We have had an increase in demand,” said timber transporter Yannis Paligiannis, 44.

“People are thinking of turning their heating to wood, but next year what will happen? Nobody is sure that next year wood won’t be more expensive than petrol. Everyone is wary,” he added.

For now, an abundant local supply makes firewood the best option in the north of Greece where temperatures dip well below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) in deep winter.

“People here can get through winter by spending 300-400 euros ($320-425) on firewood, perhaps even cheaper if they transport it and chop it themselves,” Zisis Giakopoulos, a pensioner in his late 60s from the village of Aimilianos in the northwestern region of Grevena, told AFP.

“Many of them also use the firewood in stoves on which they also heat their food,” Giakopoulos added.”

In comparison, figures recently compiled by Greek insurance website Pricefox showed a 80-square-metre flat needing to spend some 650 euros on petrol fees, nearly 1,000 euros on air-conditioning and nearly 1,300 euros for gas heating to get through winter. 

Paligiannis says 70 percent of the firewood sold in Greece comes from Grevena, this mountainous region not far from the border with Albania.

“There is a higher demand for wood compared to last year because of the energy crisis, but we shouldn’t abuse the forest,” cautioned lumberjack Dimitris Basnas, 34.

“If the trees are old and tall, it’s slow work. You don’t get a lot of quantity. If it’s a younger forest you get more.”

– ‘Villages are deserted’ –

Greece has nearly 270 cooperatives with some 8,500 forestry workers registered at the environment ministry.

But despite heightened demand this year, the future of the profession is by no means guaranteed.

Numbers are dwindling, with younger people opting for less back-breaking work. Most of the wood is still transported by mule through thick foliage.

“We learnt this trade from our grandparents and we carry on the same way,” says Thanassis Papanikolaou, president of a forestry cooperative that produces about 10,000 tonnes of firewood every year.

Opening access roads to vehicles through the forest is forbidden, he adds.

“My father managed to raise five children doing this job,” says 62-year-old Yiorgos Koutoulas, the group’s eldest member, who is near retirement. 

“When I leave there is no young person to replace me,” he added.

“All the villages are deserted. The young people have left to work in the big cities,” he said.

According to forestry maps — which are a decade old in a country that experiences annual wildfires — nearly 50 percent of Greek territory is made up of forest cover.

Logging figures show a timber production of nearly 700,000 cubic metres last year, down from nearly 895,000 a decade ago and from nearly 720,000 in 2020.