“The ministers welcome the outcome of the summit, which could enhance inter-Korean relations for the betterment of the Korean peoples,” they said in a statement issued on Friday during a meeting in Singapore.

At their summit on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to pursue a permanent peace and complete denuclearisation.

The Asean ministers said they were encouraged by the positive development to work towards reducing tensions and the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the divided peninsula, according to the statement.

The situation in the Korean peninsula has been in Asean focus for a long time. North Korea is a member of the Asean Regional Forum, which is the lone channel for Pyongyang to engage with Asean and to consult with other key stakeholders such as the United States, Japan, China and South Korea.

More than 4,000 people have been displaced in Myanmar’s northernmost state of Kachin near the border with China in the last three weeks, Mark Cutts, the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told AFP late Friday.

The numbers do not include some 15,000 people who have fled since the beginning of the year and upwards of 90,000 residing in IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in both Kachin and Shan states since a ceasefire between the government and the powerful Kachin Independence Army broke down in 2011.

“We have received reports from local organisations saying that there are still many civilians who remain trapped in conflict-affected areas”, Cutts said of the recent clashes.

“Our biggest concern is for the safety of civilians — including pregnant women, the elderly, small children and people with disabilities. We must ensure that these people are protected.”

OCHA has been unable to verify reports that civilians have been killed in the fighting.

In addition to the Rohingya crisis in the western part of mainly Buddhist Myanmar, the country’s conflict-hit north has also played host to clashes involving other ethnic minorities, which rarely make headlines.

Myanmar’s border areas have been unstable since its independence from British colonial rule in 1948, hosting a dizzying array of insurgencies, local militias, and drug-running operations.

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said making peace was her priority when she took office in 2016 after decades of military rule but progress has been slow.

Ethnic armed groups are demanding more autonomy and control from a country in which the Burmese hold major positions of power in politics and the armed forces.

Rights groups say the army has stepped up its campaign in remote areas of Myanmar amid the Rohingya crisis, which has seen some 700,000 people flee to Bangladesh.

The US and the UN have called the military crackdown ethnic cleansing, while Myanmar denies the claims and says it was defending itself against Rohingya insurgents.

The official KCNA news agency said it was a “historic meeting that has opened a new era for national reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity”, and carried the text of the leaders’ Panmunjom Declaration in full.

In the document the two leaders “confirmed the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula”.

That phrase was included in the KCNA text as well.

For years, Pyongyang insisted it would never give up the “treasured sword” of its nuclear arsenal, which it says it needs to defend itself against a possible US invasion.

But it has offered to put it up for negotiation in exchange for security guarantees, according to Seoul — although Kim made no public reference to doing so at Friday’s spectacular summit.

When Kim stepped over the military demarcation line that divides the peninsula he became the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War hostilities ceased in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

He then persuaded Moon to step into the North, and the two leaders shared a day of smiles, intimate moments, and a half-hour-long one-on-one conversation.

THE LEADERS of North and South Korea agreed yesterday to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula, as they embraced after a historic summit laden with symbolism.

The result of the historical Inter-Korea summit was welcomed by the United States, Japan and Russia.

US President Donald Trump

“Good things are happening, but only time will tell!” said US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to meet in weeks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the summit, urging Pyongyang to take “concrete action” on the peninsula’s denuclearisation and other issues.

“This is very positive news,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman told reporters after the leaders of North and South Korea held an historic meeting at the border separating the two countries.

“We applaud the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciate their political decisions and courage,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

“We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula.”

In a day of bonhomie including a highly symbolic handshake over the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two countries, the pair issued a declaration on “the common goal of realising, through complete denuclearisation, a nuclear-free Korean peninsula”.

With the North’s atomic arsenal high on the agenda, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the North’s announced moratorium on nuclear testing and long-range missile launches was “very significant”.

Upon signing the document, the two leaders shared a warm embrace, the culmination of a summit filled with smiles and displays of friendship in front of the world’s media.

They also agreed that they would this year seek a permanent end to the Korean War, 65 years after the hostilities ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Moon would visit Pyongyang in “the fall”, the two leaders said, also agreeing to hold “regular meetings and direct telephone conversations”.

The so-called Panmunjom Declaration capped an extraordinary day unthinkable only months ago, as the nuclear-armed North carried out a series of missile launches and its sixth atomic blast.

Kim said he was “filled with emotion” after stepping over the concrete blocks into the South, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot there since the shooting stopped in the Korean War.

At Kim’s impromptu invitation, the two men briefly crossed hand-in-hand into the North before walking to the Peace House building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom for the summit – only the third of its kind since hostilities ceased in 1953.

“I came here determined to send a starting signal at the threshold of a new history,” said Kim.

After the summit, he pledged that the two Koreas will ensure they did not “repeat the unfortunate history in which past inter-Korea agreements … fizzled out after beginning”.

The two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, both of them in Pyongyang, also ended with displays of affection and similar pledges, but the agreements ultimately came to naught.

The ministry’s move follows reports of a group of hackers with links to the North Korean government using servers in the Kingdom to carry out large-scale cyber-espionage and malware attacks, according to a news report.

According to McAfee Advanced Threat Research, it was discovered that a global data reconnaissance campaign called “Operation GhostSecret” had affected implants, tools and malware variants which it said are associated with a state-sponsored cyber group called Hidden Cobra.

Researchers say the campaigns were carried out to steal important information from critical infrastructure, telecommunications, finance, healthcare and entertainment organisations from all over the world.

“The campaign is extremely complicated, leveraging a number of implants to steal information from infected systems and is intricately designed to evade detection and deceive forensic investigators,” McAfee wrote in a post on Tuesday.

The cyberattack targeted multiple industries, including critical infrastructure, entertainment, finance, healthcare and telecommunications.

Citing monitoring by the Thailand Computer Emergency Response Team, Somsak Khaosuwan, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry, said the malware was first discovered around February this year.

Some computer servers in Thailand were used by hacker group Hidden Cobra to attack various targets in Thailand and other countries, he said.

According to ThaiCert, administrators are advised to disconnect infected computer systems immediately while updating the operating system and related software to close any loopholes. In addition, system access has to be reviewed regularly to boost internal security and prevent unauthorised access.

Prinya Hom-anek, a cybersecurity expert, said Thailand has long been a “soft target” used by hackers around the world due to the country’s inadequate cybersecurity mechanisms in both the public and private sectors.

As a result, he said, the latest discovery is no surprise, adding that the country needed to invest more in cyber-protection, covering the adoption of more sophisticated software and the hiring of more cybersecurity professionals, especially in the public sector whose systems are even more vulnerable than those in the private sector.

According to Prinya, state-sponsored hackers have the advantage of access to an “unlimited” budget.

He said it was unclear if the country’s new cybersecurity legislation, which will be shortly considered by the National Legislative Assembly, would be effective in helping to safeguard the country from cyberattackers.

At the regional level, Asean leaders during their summit today in Singapore would adopt a statement on cybersecurity cooperation.

In the statement, they agreed to reaffirm the need to build closer cooperation and coordination among members on cybersecurity development and capacity building initiatives.

The group previously had many programs such as the Asean Cyber Capacity Programme to promote cooperation and develop capacity.

Asean also needs to implement practical confidence-building measures and adopt a set of common, voluntary and non-binding norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace so as to enhance trust and confidence in the use of cyberspace to its full potential, the statement said.

“The historic meeting reflects the continued concerted commitment and efforts by all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution of the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Thailand hopes that the outcome of this summit and further efforts, particularly the planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in the near future, will pave the way for the eventual realisation of denuclearisation, “thereby helping to greatly enhance peace, stability and an atmosphere of cooperation in the region”.

Thailand stands ready to contribute towards these shared goals, according to the ministry statement.

Trump hailed the summit between the two Koreas, saying that “good things” are happening on the peninsula ahead of his own highly anticipated meeting with Kim Jong-un.

“After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!” he tweeted.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the summit, urging Pyongyang to take “concrete action” on the peninsula’s denuclearisation and other issues.

“Today President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim Jong Un held earnest discussions about North Korea’s denuclearisation. I want to welcome that as a positive move toward comprehensive resolution of various issues concerning North Korea,” Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

Russia praised the landmark summit as “very positive news”, saying direct dialogue on the divided peninsula was promising.

“This is very positive news,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman told reporters after the leaders of North and South Korea held their historic meeting at the border separating the two countries.

“Today we see that this direct dialogue has taken place [and] it has certain prospects,” he said, praising the results of the talks.

“The will to seek agreement can be seen on both sides, including the most important thing – the will to begin and continue dialogue. That is a positive fact,” Peskov said.

China lauded the Korean leaders’ historic step and appreciated their political decisions and courage, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing.

“We hope and look forward to them taking this opportunity to further open a new journey of long-term stability on the peninsula.”

She also read a poem: “We remain brothers after all the vicissitudes; let’s forego our old grudges, smiling we meet again.”

“After a furious year of missile launches and Nuclear testing, a historic meeting between North and South Korea is now taking place,” Trump tweeted after the leaders of North and South Korea agreed to pursue a permanent peace and the complete denuclearisation of the divided peninsula.

“Good things are happening, but only time will tell!” added Trump, who is scheduled to meet in weeks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a second tweet, Trump wrote: “KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!”

The summit between the two Koreas was the highest-level encounter yet in a whirlwind of nuclear diplomacy, and intended to pave the way for the much-anticipated encounter between Kim and Trump.

Last year Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful to date, and launched missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.

Its actions sent tensions soaring as Kim and Trump traded personal insults and threats of war.//AFP

“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to announce that they have named their son Louis Arthur Charles,” said a palace statement.

Prince Louis, who was named Friday, is fifth in line to inherit the British throne.

His arrival on Monday meant everyone below moved down a place, including William’s brother Prince Harry who dropped from fifth to sixth position.

The immediate line of succession to the throne includes Queen Elizabeth II’s four children and their descendants:

1. PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES

— Born 1948, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth

 2. PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE

— Born 1982, Charles’s eldest son

3. PRINCE GEORGE OF CAMBRIDGE

— Born 2013, William’s eldest son

4. PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF CAMBRIDGE

— Born 2015, William’s daughter

 5. PRINCE LOUIS OF CAMBRIDGE

— Born 2018, William’s second son

 6. PRINCE HENRY OF WALES (PRINCE HARRY)

— Born 1984, Charles’ second son

7. PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK

— Born 1960, Queen Elizabeth’s second son

8. PRINCESS BEATRICE OF YORK

— Born 1988, Andrew’s eldest daughter

9. PRINCESS EUGENIE OF YORK

— Born 1990, Andrew’s second daughter

 10. PRINCE EDWARD, EARL OF WESSEX

— Born 1964, Queen Elizabeth’s third son

 11. JAMES, VISCOUNT SEVERN

— Born 2007, Edward’s son

 12. LADY LOUISE WINDSOR

— Born 2003, Edward’s daughter

13. PRINCESS ANNE, PRINCESS ROYAL

— Born 1950, Queen Elizabeth’s daughter

14. PETER PHILLIPS

— Born 1977, Anne’s son

15. SAVANNAH PHILLIPS

— Born 2010, Phillips’ eldest daughter

16. ISLA PHILLIPS

— Born 2012, Phillips’ second daughter

17. ZARA TINDALL

— Born 1981, Anne’s daughter

18. MIA TINDALL

— Born 2014, Tindall’s daughter

Queen Elizabeth’s descendants are followed by those of her late sister princess Margaret, her only sibling.

The offspring of their father king George VI’s siblings then follow. There are more than 60 living people descended from his father king George V, who died in 1936.

Only people descended from Sophia of Hanover can inherit the throne, according to the 1701 Act of Settlement.

The monarchy’s website goes down as far as Zara Tindall, though some counts list more than 5,700 living descendants of Sophia, including Roman Catholics, who cannot inherit.

The highest excluded person is 26-year-old Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, a first cousin twice removed of the queen, who converted to Catholicism. He would otherwise be 37th in line.

In changes to the succession laws which came into effect in 2015, males born after October 28, 2011, no longer take precedence over their older sisters.

Also people married to Catholics are no longer excluded, with Downpatrick’s father George Windsor, the Earl of St Andrews, the highest person restored to the line.

The line is a vast tangle of nobility and ordinary, untitled descendants from all corners of Europe. Several other European monarchs feature.

Besides Britain, it is also the line of succession to the thrones of 15 other Commonwealth realms.//AFP

An image showing the animal eating from an ant hill in Brazil’s Emas National Park had won an award at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest in London’s Natural History Museum.

The striking image called “The Night Raider” was taken by Marcio Cabral and won the “Animals in their Environment” category.

“Evidence was presented to the Museum by third parties that it is highly likely the animal in the awarded photograph is a taxidermy specimen,” the museum said in a statement.

“After a thorough investigation, the Museum concluded that the available evidence points to this allegation being true,” it said, adding that competition rules state that “entries must not deceive the viewer or attempt to misrepresent the reality of nature”.

The museum said it had been in contacted by “anonymous sources” in March questioning the authenticity of the image and had asked animal and taxidermy specialists to investigate the claims.

The evidence included photos of a stuffed anteater on display at a visitor centre in the park where the image of the anteater was taken that closely resembled the winning entry.

The museum said in a statement that the experts had “concluded there are elements of the animal’s posture, morphology, raised tufts of fur and patterns on the neck and head that are too similar for the images to show two different animals”.

The museum said Cabral had cooperated with the investigation and strongly denies the image he took was of a stuffed animal.//AFP