Sunak likely next UK PM; Russia ‘dirty bomb’ claim; Korean warning shots

Rishi Sunak began the week as the strong favorite to become the country’s next prime minister; Russia’s defense chief alleged Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device; and North and South Korea fired warning shots at each other. These stories highlight the Daily Rundown for Monday, Oct. 24, 2022.

Sunak likely to become next U.K. PM – Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak entered Monday as the only prime minister candidate with enough lawmaker support to secure the job, as early as Monday morning. He was in a two-man race with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who stepped down over the weekend. Johnson had resigned from the position just a few months before Liz Truss did the same last week.

Sunak is the only candidate with confirmed support from more than 100 lawmakers, the number needed to run in the election. House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt has far fewer expressions of support but is aiming to reach the threshold by the time nominations close at 9:00 a.m. EDT. If Mordaunt does not reach 100 nominations, Sunak will win by acclamation and could move into 10 Downing St. by Monday evening.

Russia’s “dirty bomb” accusation – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu voiced concern Sunday about “possible Ukrainian provocations involving a ‘dirty bomb’” while on phone calls with his counterparts from the United States, Britain, France and Turkey. While not the same thing as a nuclear bomb, a dirty bomb is a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive material.

The claim was rejected by U.S., British and Ukrainian officials. In turn, Ukraine accused the Kremlin of hatching such a plan.

“When today the Russian Minister of Defense organizes a phone carousel and calls foreign ministers with stories about the so-called dirty nuclear bomb, everyone understands everything well,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday. “They understand who is the source of all the dirty things imaginable in this war.”

Koreas fire warning shots – Both North and South Korea exchanged warning shots along their disputed western sea boundary early Monday morning. In a statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said its navy broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to repel a North Korean merchant ship that violated the boundary. North Korea’s military said its coastal defense units responded by firing 10 rounds of artillery warning shots toward its territorial waters, where “naval enemy movement was detected.”

An analyst at the Sejong Institute in South Korea said the North Korean ship incursion was likely intentional, because it would be “unimaginable” for a North Korean merchant ship to cross the boundary that early in a day without the permission of the North’s military. He added North Korea is increasingly emboldened by its recent missile tests, in which North Korea said it simulated the use of tactical nuclear weapons to attack South Korean and U.S. targets.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.