The White House News

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reportedly told U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin both of their nations should be ready for “Hamas-style” attacks from North Korea in the region. 

The warning came when Yoon invited Austin and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. to the presidential residence in Seoul for a meeting over dinner, Yonhap News Agency reported. The outlet, citing presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon, said Yoon called for “a vigilant South Korea-US combined defense posture capable of promptly and decisively retaliating against any provocations from North Korea, including surprise attacks resembling Hamas-style tactics due to its miscalculation.” 

Yoon said the Israel-Hamas war and the Ukraine-Russia war are directly and indirectly linked to North Korea. Austin reassured Yoon that President Biden is committed to further strengthening the U.S.-South Korea military alliance, according to Yonhap News Agency, as both allies on Monday are slated to discuss a range of security issues, including ways to bolster Washington’s extended deterrence commitment against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. 

The U.S. Department of Defense said Austin attended a ceremony honoring veterans from both countries at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul after holding talks with South Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik, and Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru at the South Korean Ministry of National Defense headquarters earlier Sunday.

NORTH KOREA CLOSING EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD AMID SUSPECTED FINANCIAL CRISIS

“Around the world, as you see our troops deployed and working together, it is impressive,” he said at the ceremony. “The United States military is the most powerful military in the world, and we absolutely take pride in our relationship with our Korean counterparts.”

Following Sunday’s talks, U.S. defense officials announced that Austin and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts have decided on a mechanism to facilitate the exchange of real-time missile warning data to improve each country’s ability to monitor missiles launched by North Korea. That mechanism is slated to be fully operationalized by the end of December.

The defense ministers also encouraged the development of a multi-year trilateral exercise plan which is scheduled to be finalized by the end of this year. Austin “also reaffirmed during the talks the United States’ steadfast alliance with both countries and the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence backed by the full range of its capabilities,” according to the Department of Defense. 

BLINKEN: US HAS ‘REAL CONCERNS’ ABOUT RUSSIA-NORTH KOREA MILITARY PARTNERSHIP

In addition to meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul, Austin will also attend the 55th annual Security Consultative Meeting and the United Nations Command inaugural meeting of member states’ defense ministers before departing for his final stop in Indonesia.

On Thursday, in talks with South Korea’s leadership, including Yoon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the growing threat posed by North Korea and its alleged provision of military equipment and munitions to Russia to help it wage war on Ukraine, the State Department said. 

They also spoke of the importance of U.S.-South Korean cooperation on global challenges, including China’s assertiveness and the instability in the Middle East.

“They shared concerns about the DPRK’s provocations in the region and strongly condemned the provision of military equipment and munitions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation for use in its war against Ukraine,” the State Department said of Blinken’s meeting with Yoon, referring to North Korea by its formal name. The Blinken-Yoon meeting also covered improving relations between South Korea and Japan as well as the importance of three-way cooperation between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul, the State Department said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The FBI is reportedly investigating New York City Mayor Eric Adams for possibly clearing the red tape to open a high rise housing the Turkish consulate in Manhattan. 

The New York Times, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, first reported Sunday that Adams, after winning the Democratic primary, allegedly contacted then-New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro in late summer 2021, urging him to allow the Turkish government to occupy the building at least on a temporary basis. 

Fire officials had cited safety issues and declined to sign off on its occupancy, preventing the building from opening. The alleged intervention came while Adams was in his second term as Brooklyn borough president and before the November mayoral general election that year, when he defeated Republican candidate and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. 

Reached by Fox News Digital Sunday, the FBI declined to comment on the Times report. 

NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ ELECTRONIC DEVICES SEIZED BY FBI AMID CAMPAIGN INVESTIGATION

Fox News Digital also reached out to the mayor’s office and Adams’ attorney, Boyd Johnson, regarding the allegations. 

The Times reported that the FBI has been asking fire officials about Adams’ unusual intervention since at least last spring as part of a broader corruption probe. 

The newspaper cited a warrant for an FBI search of the home of the mayor’s chief fundraiser in reporting that the federal investigation has centered in part around whether Adams’ campaign conspired with the Turkish government, including its consulate general in New York, to illegally funnel foreign money into its coffers. 

Citing people familiar with the matter and city records, the Times reported that Adams’ alleged intervention cleared the way for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to preside over the grand opening of the $300 million, 35-story tower while visiting New York in September 2021 for the United Nations General Assembly despite deficiencies in its fire safety system. 

Adams’ campaign issued a statement on his behalf provided to the Times Saturday morning. 

“As a borough president, part of my routine role was to notify government agencies of issues on behalf of constituents and constituencies,” Adams said. “I have not been accused of wrongdoing, and I will continue to cooperate with investigators.”

WHAT THE FBI SEIZED FROM THE HOME OF NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ TOP FUNDRAISER 

The focus of the federal investigation has yet to be publicly disclosed by federal prosecutors. 

FBI agents quietly seized phones and an iPad from Adams early last week as part of an investigation into political fundraising during his 2021 campaign, his attorney disclosed Friday.

The seizures happened as Adams was leaving a public event in Manhattan, according to a statement from Johnson.

“On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI’s request and provided them with electronic devices,” Johnson said. “The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation.”

The seizure of the devices, first reported by The New York Times, came four days after federal agents searched the Brooklyn home of Adams’ top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. That search prompted the mayor to cancel a planned trip to meet with White House officials in Washington and instead return to New York.

In a statement on Friday, Adams, a former police captain, said he had “nothing to hide.” “As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation — and I will continue to do exactly that,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The U.S. and Israel are unsure of how many hostages that Hamas terrorists took on Oct. 7 are “still alive,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.

Sullivan made the comments during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” He said the U.S. remains focused on securing the release of the nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. green card-holder believed to be in Hamas custody. He said that while Israel is classifying all 239 missing individuals as hostages of Hamas, there is no way to be sure how many of them are “still alive.”

“We do not know the precise number of hostages. We know the number of missing, and that’s the number the Israelis have given, but we don’t know how many of those are still alive,” Sullivan told ABC. “As far as Americans are concerned, there are nine missing American citizens as well as a missing legal permanent resident–a green card holder.”

Sullivan said he will be meeting with family members of the missing Americans later this week.

IDF SAYS SOLDIERS TOOK CONTROL OF HAMAS MILITARY STRONGHOLD AS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR CONTINUES

Sullivan was later asked about claims from Hamas that Israeli airstrikes have killed a number of hostages taken on Oct. 7. He responded that no claims by Hamas should be taken at face value, but also said the U.S. has no way to disprove or confirm the claim.

CHRISTIAN IN ISRAEL EXPLAINS WHY HE EVACUATED HIS FAMILY, ‘HEZBOLLAH IS A MUCH GREATER FORCE THAN HAMAS’

Israel has pounded northern Gaza with thousands of airstrikes and artillery shells in the weeks following the Oct. 7 massacre. The Israeli Defense Forces ground operation has now pressed into Gaza City, the largest population center in the region.

Hamas maintains a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city, and Israeli officials have said many of the hostages are likely being held there.

ISRAEL KILLS TOP HAMAS WEAPONS DEVELOPER, IDF SAYS

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claims Israel has killed over 11,000 Gazans since the fighting began, though the group makes no distinction between terrorists and civilians. The U.S. has rejected the ministry’s data outright.