Five Things to Know, Aug. 18, 2024
1. North Korea condemned the U.S. and South Korea’s large-scale military exercise that kicked off Monday, likening it to a “beheading operation” against Pyongyang and a “prelude to a nuclear war.” The two allies began the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on land, air and sea throughout South Korea on Monday; it is the second large-scale exercise conducted by the allies annually. The ongoing drills are part of a series of “rash confrontational moves” by the United States and South Korea, the North’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement published Sunday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
2. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the time is now to conclude a Gaza cease-fire agreement that would return hostages held by Hamas and bring relief to Palestinian suffering after 10 months of devastating fighting in Gaza. Blinken’s ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the conflict began came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism a deal was near. But Hamas has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the latest proposal and Israel has said there were areas it was unwilling to compromise.
3. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border. It was the first time Zelenskyy clearly stated the aim of the operation that began Aug. 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling. Zelenskyy said “it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory -– our operation in the Kursk region,” he said in his nightly address.
4. Chinese and Philippine coast guard ships collided at sea, damaging at least two vessels, in an encounter early Monday near a new flashpoint in their increasingly alarming confrontations in the disputed South China Sea. Each blamed the other for the collision near Sabina Shoal, a disputed atoll in the Spratly Islands, where Vietnam and Taiwan also have overlapping claims. There were no reports of injuries. China’s coast guard accused the Philippines of deliberately crashing one of its ships into a Chinese vessel. It said in a statement on its website that two Philippine coast guard ships entered waters near the shoal, ignored a warning from the Chinese coast guard and intentionally collided with one of the Chinese boats at 3:24 a.m.
5. Students at overseas Defense Department schools clamored into courtyards and hallways Monday for their first day back to class, while recent arrivals and families with preschoolers prepared to take advantage of new programs. Among the biggest changes this year is the start of universal pre-kindergarten in most Department of Defense Education Activity schools worldwide. The program, available for children who turn 4 on or before Sept. 1, kicks off Sept. 4.