SEOUL: South Korea will show off a cruise missile capable of surgical strikes on the North Korean leadership when it stages a military parade in Seoul next month, the defence ministry said yesterday. The parade on October 1 marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of South Korea’s armed forces and is held every five years. Around 11,000 troops will take part along with picks from the South’s military arsenal, including tanks, artillery and rockets and a fly-over involving air force helicopters and jet fighters, a ministry official said. Also on display will be the Hyeonmu 3, an indigenously developed cruise missile that was first deployed on naval destroyers in November last year.
Five Thai cops shot dead
Bangkok: Five policemen were shot dead yesterday in the southern province of Thailand, Channel Three reported. The officers on duty were attacked by a group of insurgents in Thung Yang Daeng district while they were searching for smugglers of diesel and gasoline across Thai-Malaysian border in Pattani, reported Xinhua. Police suspect the attackers were Muslim militants and are investigating the incident. More than 5,000 people have been killed and over 9,000 injured in Thailand since separatist violence erupted in January 2004, according to Deep South Watch, which monitors the regional violence.
Najib ready to help Malays
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will announce measures this weekend to boost the economic role of majority ethnic Malays, signalling a reversal of earlier pledges to roll back race-based policies that have stunted the country’s competitiveness. The announcement on Saturday comes as Najib faces a possible ruling party leadership contest next month. It also follows an election in May in which his coalition, in power since independence from Britain in 1957, was overwhelmingly rejected by minority ethnic Chinese voters. “I will soon announce a comprehensive policy to encourage Bumiputera participation in the economy,” Najib said on his official Twitter page yesterday. The initiatives will cover equity ownership, business, “human capital” and social and economic development.
AGENCIES
