Bloc won't hold Liberals 'hostage' over seniors' benefits: cabinet minister
Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says the Liberals will not be 'held hostage' by the Bloc Quebecois' demand to expand Old Age Security to more seniors.
South Korea's defence minister on Friday vowed massive retaliatory missile strikes on "the heart and head" of North Korea in the event of provocation, as the rivals escalate their rhetoric over their respective spy satellite launches in recent days.
The South Korean warning -- unusually fiery rhetoric by Seoul directed at Pyongyang -- came as the top security advisers from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan gathered in Seoul for talks to discuss North Korea's evolving nuclear threats and other issues.
During a visit to the army's missile strategic command, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Wonsik ordered command officers to maintain a readiness to fire precision-guided and powerful missiles at any time, according to his ministry.
Shin said the main role of the command is "lethally striking the heart and head of the enemy, though the types of its provocations can vary," a ministry statement said.
Animosities between the two Koreas deepened after North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into space on Nov. 21 in violation of UN bans. South Korea, the U.S. and Japan strongly condemned the launch, viewing it as an attempt by the North to improve its missile technology as well as establish a space surveillance system.
South Korea announced plans to resume front-line aerial surveillance in response. North Korea quickly retaliated by restoring border guard posts, according to Seoul officials. Both steps would breach a 2018 inter-Korean deal on easing front-line military tensions.
Last week, when South Korea also launched its first military spy satellite from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, North Korea slammed the U.S. for alleged double standards and warned of a possible grave danger to global peace.
In a statement Friday, Jo Chol Su, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, said the North would make all available efforts to protect its national interests in the face of threats by hostile forces.
The national security advisers from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are to hold their first trilateral meeting in six months in Seoul on Saturday.
Ahead of the three-way meeting, South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae-yong and his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Akiba, met bilaterally on Friday and reaffirmed a need to strengthen their cooperation with the U.S. to cope with with provocations by North Korea. Cho and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan also met and affirmed that Seoul and Washington remain open to diplomacy with North Korea, according to South Korea's presidential office.
Earlier Friday, South Korea's Unification Ministry accused North Korea of property rights infringements by unilaterally using South Korean-owned equipment at a now-shuttered joint factory park in the North. The ministry also accused North Korea of dismantling the remains of a South Korean-built liaison office at the park that the North blew up during a previous period of tensions in 2020.
Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says the Liberals will not be 'held hostage' by the Bloc Quebecois' demand to expand Old Age Security to more seniors.
Toronto police have identified the woman who was allegedly killed by a suspected serial killer earlier this month.
A New Zealand man who disappeared with his three children in 2021 was spotted on a farm along the country's northwest coast, police say.
A man who stabbed a senior to death in Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel building in 2020 has been given a conditional sentence for the killing, meaning he will not serve any jail time if he remains on good behaviour in the community.
British Columbia billionaire Chip Wilson has put up yet another billboard message to voters, his third post outside his multimillion-dollar mansion in NDP Leader David Eby's own riding.
More than a month after the murder of Nova Scotia woman Esther Jones, her family continues to grapple with the loss.
In a rare occurrence, a bona fide great white shark washed up on a B.C. beach Thursday.
An economist says the latest job growth numbers in Canada are 'good news,' but he has concerns following Statistic Canada's report.
A woman from Montreal's South Shore appeared in court on Friday on charges of aggravated assault after allegedly scalding a 10-year-old boy with boiling water more than one week ago.
James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.
This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.
There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.