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N. Korean footballers arrive in Seoul

o Team faces Suwon FC in Asian League

South its “most hostile state” and ruled out reuniting the nation split by the 1950-1953 Korean War. By contrast, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for improved ties. “It may be difficult to hope for a complete thaw in strained relations by this one-time visit,” said a spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party, vowing to make efforts to open the door for exchanges and dialogue. “We hope it will serve as an opportunity to tear down high barriers between the South and the North,” the spokesperson said. South Korea’s government has said it would keep its role limited, given the fixture is an international club competition, but would provide logistical support for the visiting team. The Unification Ministry said it has set aside 300 million won (RM791,210) from an inter-Korean cooperation fund to support a cheering squad for both sides, citing the event’s potential to promote mutual understanding between the two Koreas.

INCHEON: North Korean women’s football club Naegohyang FC arrived in South Korea yesterday for an Asian Women’s Champions League semi-final, marking the first visit by athletes from the isolated state to the South in eight years. The delegation of 27 players and 12 staff entered the country ahead of Wednesday’s match against Suwon FC Women in Suwon. The visit has been approved under the inter-Korean exchange law and covers their stay through next weekend, although the team could leave earlier if eliminated, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. Public interest has been strong, with all 7,087 tickets made available to the public sold out within a day, according to Yonhap News Agency, citing South Korea’s football federation. The rare visit comes as North Korea has in recent years labelled the

North Korean footballers at Incheon Airport yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

both sides to represent unity. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is also considering attending the match, according to South Korean media. – Reuters

Football Confederation rules. The Korean Unification flag, a white flag bearing a blue silhouette of the peninsula, was often used in international sports fixtures involving

But as the match is between clubs and not national teams, it will not feature national anthems or political symbols, including the Korean Unification flag, in line with Asian

Bolivian police clash with protesters LA PAZ: Bolivian police and soldiers clashed on Saturday with protesters blocking roads into La Paz to press for wage increases and other demands. Security forces fired tear gas in a failed effort to dislodge socialist rule. He promised to end Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in four decades, marked by an acute shortage of foreign currency and fuel. Paz scrapped two-decade-old fuel subsidies that had drained the treasury’s international dollar reserves, but he has failed to stabilise fuel supplies.

Indian police seize 227kg of captagon MUMBAI: Indian police have seized 227kg of the powerful synthetic stimulant captagon worth nearly US$19 million (RM75 million), the country’s first seizure of the drug. The Home Ministry said Neighbouring countries also continue to report the interception of large shipments. “Our agencies have achieved the first-ever seizure of captagon, the so-called ‘jihadi drug’,” Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement.

Saturday that it had sent a C-130 military aircraft to aid such efforts. Apart from wage increases, protesters want economic stability, an end to the privatisation of state owned companies and the president’s resignation. The operation on Saturday was aimed at freeing up a humanitarian corridor so food, medicine and oxygen for hospitals can reach La Paz, said Jose Luis Galvez, a presidential spokesman. Amid the day’s turmoil, the government reached agreements with a group of workers from El Alto and with urban schoolteachers, who promised to end their protests. But the Bolivian Workers’ Centre union, the country’s largest labour union, urged its members to maintain their demands. – AFP

anti-narcotics officers arrested a Syrian national, who was a member of an “international drug syndicate”. Captagon is little known in India, and the ministry said the drugs had been smuggled into the country in a container from Syria “with sheep wool as a declared consignment”, a statement said. “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the seized consignment was intended for transshipment to the Gulf,” it said. The drug became Syria’s largest export during the civil war that erupted in 2011, with its trade serving as a key funding source for the government of ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Syrian authorities have reported major seizures of captagon since Assad’s fall.

schoolteachers, transport workers, indigenous people and other Bolivians who have taken to the streets for the past two weeks, preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other goods to Bolivia’s seat of government. News reports said some 3,500 police and soldiers took part in the operation that began in the early morning. At least 57 people were arrested, the government’s citizens rights ombudsman’s office said. President Rodrigo Paz’s election win last year ended two decades of

“We will clamp down on every gramme of drugs entering India or leaving the country using our territory as a transit route.” Officers first seized 31.5kg of captagon tablets from a house in New Delhi on May 11. Police said the tablets had been “concealed in a commercial chapati (flat bread) cutting machine intended for export to Jeddah”. After questioning the Syrian national, anti-narcotics agents then raided a container at Mundra port in Gujarat, seizing a further 196kg of captagon. “This operation exposes attempts by syndicates to use India as a transit hub,” the ministry said. – AFP

Paz is now under pressure from all sides, with roads into the city blocked for the past two weeks. Prices of some food items have skyrocketed. The government’s highway administration department said roads remained blocked in at least 22 places around the country as of Saturday. Since May 10, the government started flying in emergency food and medical supplies to bypass the blockades. The Argentine government said on

Seoul moves to prevent Samsung strike SEOUL: South Korea will pursue all options, including emergency arbitration, to avoid a labour strike at the country’s biggest employer Samsung Electronics and to minimise any damage if one does occur, its prime minister said. (RM2.6 billion),” Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said after an emergency meeting yesterday. “A pause on semiconductor manufacturing lines leads to months of inactivity,” Kim said, adding there were worries about economic damage ballooning to as much as 100 trillion won if materials had to be disposed due to a strike.

The world’s largest memory chip maker and its labour union will resume pay talks today with a government mediator, in a move that could ease concerns over a potentially disruptive strike at the tech giant that accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s exports. “Just one day of suspension at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory is expected to incur direct losses of as much as 1 trillion won

An emergency arbitration order, which can be invoked by the labour minister if the country deems a dispute is likely to harm the economy or daily life, prohibits industrial action for 30 days while the National Labour Relations Commission conducts mediation and arbitration. – Reuters

Bolivian protesters run past tear gas as they demonstrate over economic and fuel issues in El Alto on Saturday. – REUTERSPIC