Inter-Korean military talks end with little progress

Seoul (VNA) - Military officials from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held working-level military talks on October 2 but the talks ended shortly without any significant progress, local media reported.

The talks, which was the first official inter-Korean military contact since the RoK’s President Lee Myung-bak took office in late February, was finished within 90 minutes after the two sides met at the truce village of Panmumjom, Yonhap News Agency said.

The news agency quoted Col. Pak Rim-su, chief delegate of the DPRK for the talks as saying at Panmumjom that the two sides made few progress during the negotiations, claiming the RoK delegation was “not ready to solve problems.”

The talks was the first military dialogue between the two Koreas in over eight months. They held last military talks on January 25 of this year.-

Cambodia extends security pact with Australia

– Cambodia’s national police chief, Gen. Hok Lundy, has renewed an existing agreement with Australia to combat transnational crime during his four-day working visit to Australia last week.

Cambodia has had a security relationship with the Australian police since 2001 and the two countries have worked together closely in combating transnational crime, terrorism, and the trafficking of drugs and humans.

In addition to working with Australia, Cambodia has recently begun co-operation with the US in the fight against crime. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a liaison office in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh early in 2008.-

HCM City police arrest duo for trafficking woman

HCM CITY — The HCM City police yesterday arrested a man and a woman for allegedly trafficking women abroad to work as prostitutes.

Truong Nguyen, a 28-year-old resident of HCM City’s Binh Chanh District, and Nguyen Thi Mai Trang, 29, are alleged to have trafficked an 18-year-old woman from the city’s Tan Phu District to Singapore in exchange for US$200.

Trang, the owner of Tuyet Cafe on Quach Vu Street in the city’s Tan Phu District, who is pregnant, was released on bail, the police said.

The victim, whom the police named as just N.T.G.P., was allegedly lured to Singapore with an offer of a well-paid job as a waitress and then taken to Malaysia to work as a prostitute.

There, she was ordered to entertain six men daily. She did not get any money but if she refused to entertain clients, she was denied food. Later, her captors threatened to traffic her to third countries if her family did not pay a ransom.

Her family finally paid $2,000 to a Malaysian man for releasing her daughter and later reported the incident to the HCM City police.

Police said this is one of just many incidents of trafficking of local women to Malaysia for prostitution by foreigners, adding investigations are continuing. —