S KOREA SUITCASE MURDER SUSPECT EXTRADITED TO NEW ZEALAND
SEOUL: South Korea has extradited a woman to New Zealand to face murder charges over the deaths of two children whose remains were found in suitcases, Seoul’s justice ministry said on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old woman - a New Zealand citizen who is ethnically Korean - and key evidence were handed over to New Zealand authorities on Monday night, the ministry said in a statement.
“We hope that the truth of this case, which has received worldwide attention, will be revealed through a fair and strict judicial process in New Zealand,” it added.
South Korean police arrested the woman in the port city of Ulsan in September, weeks after New Zealand authorities discovered the remains of two children, believed to have been between five and 10 years old when they died.
Images in local media at the time showed the woman, who South Korean police have identified only by her surname Lee, being led out of an Ulsan police station by plainclothes investigators, covering her head with a large brown coat.
When asked by reporters whether she would confess to the killings, the woman repeatedly said “I didn’t do it” as she was led into a police vehicle.
The bodies were discovered after an unsuspecting family bought a trailer-load of items - including the suitcases - at an auction for abandoned goods.
New Zealand police have said the bodies were likely in storage for several years, which has complicated the investigation.
Pakistan’s new military chief took command of the country’s armed forces on Tuesday amid a deepening political rift between the government and the popular opposition leader, as well as a renewed threat from a key militant group that has been behind scores of deadly attacks over 15 years.
One of the key challenges faced by the country’s new army chief, Gen Asim Munir, will be how to respond to the latest threat from the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP (Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan), which has ordered its fighters to resume attacks across the country.
The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but are allies of the Afghanistan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan more than a year ago as the US and Nato troops were in the final stages of their pullout.
Pakistan sends minister to Kabul for talks
Pakistan’s junior foreign minister is in Kabul for talks with the Taliban regime a day after a local offshoot of the militant group ended a ceasefire with the government in Islamabad.
Hina Rabbani Khar will hold talks with the Afghan government on multiple issues, including security, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
The ceasefire, brokered by the Taliban-run government in Afghanistan, had been in place since May this year.
With the Taliban in control of neighbouring Afghanistan, Islamabad has been concerned that a spillover in terror activities could affect investments, including China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has seen $25 billion poured into power plants and road projects.