Briefly

DPRK

Washington remarks on satellite launch slammed

Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, on Thursday accused the United States of hypocrisy for criticizing the country's failed launch of a military satellite and insisted a successful launch will be made soon. Kim Yo-jong said Pyongyang's efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities were a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right and restated the country's rejection of UN Security Council resolutions that ban it from conducting any launch involving ballistic missile technology.

UNITED KINGDOM

Johnson hands info to govt amid probe

Former prime minister Boris Johnson urged the UK government on Wednesday to share unredacted WhatsApp messages and notebooks with an inquiry probing the handling of the pandemic, after it threatened legal action to obtain them. The move follows the chair of the public inquiry setting a Thursday afternoon deadline for the trove to be handed over by the Cabinet Office, which has been resisting claiming it includes "unambiguously irrelevant" material. The ministry, which coordinates government activity, has insisted the redacted parts are "beyond the scope of this investigation". But a spokesman for Johnson insisted the ex-leader is "perfectly happy" to share the contentious documents.

UNITED STATES

Mike Pence to launch presidential campaign

Former vice-president Mike Pence will officially launch his long-expected campaign for the Republican nomination for president in Iowa next week, adding another candidate to the growing GOP field and putting him in direct competition with his former boss. Pence will hold a kickoff event in Des Moines on June 7, the date of his 64th birthday, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on condition of anonymity while sharing details ahead of the official announcement. The decision to begin his campaign in Iowa instead of his home state of Indiana underscores the importance Pence's team is placing on the early-voting state.

Agencies Via Xinhua