World: Spain's PM offers support for North Macedonia's EU candidacy

Kim threatens to use nukes amid tensions with US, S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he’s ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals he says are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Kim’s speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War were apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country suffering pandemic-related economic difficulties.

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has offered North Macedonia his country’s full support for integration into the 27-nation European Union.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez talks to the media during a news conference with North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, in the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski) © Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez left and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, right, talk to each other during a joint news conference following their talks in the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Sanchez held talks Sunday with North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski in the capital of Skopje, ahead of the last stop on his Western Balkan tour, visiting Albania on Monday. He has also visited Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Albania and Northern Macedonia are beginning to membership negotiations to the EU

Union-Adh-izh-Albanie-Mac-Doine-du-Nord: Albania and Northern Macedonia begin negotiations for Membership of the EU © Reuters/Stringer Albania and Northern Macedonia begin the membership negotiations to the EU by Robin Emmott and Marine Strauss Brussels (Reuters) - Albania and Macedonia from the North Formally started their membership negotiations with the European Union on Tuesday after the last obstacles on the path of integration, in particular the signing of an agreement between Skopje and

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez left and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, right, shake hands after their joint news conference in the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

The Balkan nations are all in different stages of the EU accession process. EU officials have recently sought to encourage governments in the region to move on with reforms amid concerns over Russia’s efforts to boost its influence in the Balkans.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez talks to the media during a news conference with North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, in the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Sanchez said the war in Ukraine has prompted the EU to rethink its enlargement policies and open its doors to countries in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

North Korea warns of 'undesirable' consequences as the US and South Korea get ready for bigger war games

North Korea has conducted a flurry of missile tests this year, and there are growing expectations it will conduct a nuclear test.Choe Jin, the deputy director of North Korea's Institute of Disarmament and Peace, a state-run organization operated by the North Korean foreign ministry, told the Associated Press this week that the US-South Korean military drills are "driving the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, right, attend a joint news conference following their talks in the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

“We are more united now than ever before. You can count on me on your European perspective,” Sanchez said at a joint press conference with Kovachevski.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, second from left, stand for the national anthems during a ceremony upon his arrival at the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

The EU started membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia two weeks ago, a long-delayed step in the Balkan nations’ paths toward EU membership that gained momentum amid the war in Ukraine.

Stolen money from cyberattacks makes up a third of the funds for North Korea's missile program, US official says

A UN report said that North Korean hackers stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency during cyberattacks carried out in 2021.Anne Neuberger, the White House's deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies, said Thursday the US estimates one-third of North Korea's missile program is funded by stolen money from cyberattacks.

© Provided by Associated Press Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez walks past an honor guard squad, accompanied by North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, during a welcome ceremony at the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

The decision came after North Macedonia’s parliament approved an agreement overcoming Bulgaria’s objections and cleared the way for the negotiations to start. Bulgaria had held up progress on North Macedonia's accession talks, accusing that government of disrespecting shared cultural, linguistic and historic ties.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, center and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, left, walk next to an honor guard squad, during a ceremony upon his arrival at the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

Any expansion beyond the 27 current EU members is likely to still be years off. Despite the delay, the Western Balkan nations have maintained their ambition to become part of the world’s most important trading bloc.

Spanish PM Sanchez opens Balkan tour with visit to Serbia

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Spain's prime minister on Friday kicked off a tour of the Western Balkans with a visit to Serbia, offering his country's support for the integration of the volatile region into the European Union. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez held talks with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade ahead of his visits to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania in the coming days. The Balkan nations are all in different stages of the EU accession process. EU officials have recently sought to encourage governments in the region to move on with reforms amid concerns over Russia's efforts to boost its influence in the Balkans.

© Provided by Associated Press Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, second from right and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, right, walk during a welcome ceremony at the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

For North Macedonia, the past years have been challenging. Disputes with EU members Greece and then Bulgaria prevented the country’s bid from moving forward because any move by the EU to add new members requires unanimous agreement.

© Provided by Associated Press Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, third from left and North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, second left, walk next to an honor guard squad, during a ceremony upon his arrival at the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Sunday, July 31, 2022. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on a one-day official visit to North Macedonia as a part of his Western Balkans tour. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)