PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday that the latest US-ROK (Republic of Korea) joint military drills were "unprecedentedly hideous and most adventurous ones" in several decades. In a military commentary, the official Korean Central News Agency said the US and ROK have made it public that all their joint military drills aimed to "remove the leadership" of the DPRK and "bring down its system." These exercises had "thrown away their deceptive veils as annual drills and defensive ones," it said. "The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle 17 joint military drills revealed that the new Trump administration, too, is resorting to the hostile policy toward the DPRK by use of force, tougher sanctions and pressure," it said. The US and ROK have just concluded two-month-long joint military drills involving 300,000 troops. The US has also sent its aircraft carrier task group USS Carl Vinson and a nuclear submarine to waters off the Korean peninsula, besides carrying out nuclear bomb dropping drills in ROK and test launching two intercontinental ballistic missile within one week from California to the Western Pacific over the past two weeks. make your own rubber braceletrubber wristbandsrubber wristbands ukhow to make rubber bracelets24 hour wristbands
BEIJING -- China is working to reduce the prices of cancer drugs and the financial burden on patients, according to health officials Saturday. Prices of cancer drugs will be reduced through centralized negotiations and procurement, Zeng Yixin, vice director of the National Health Commission, said at a press conference. According to Chen Jinfu, head of the medical insurance department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, last year the government reached agreements with pharmaceutical enterprises on the prices of 36 cancer medicines on the medical insurance list. Prices of these drugs have been marked down by 44 percent on average, Chen said. Stressing a patient-centered approach in negotiations, the official also noted that market competition is also needed. The government will work to include more antineoplastic drugs into the country's catalogue of medical insurance reimbursement, which already incorporates most of the relevant drugs. Moreover, efforts have been made in accelerating the review and approval procedures for new medicines, reducing circulation costs and improving diagnosis to reduce the burden on patients and their families, Zeng said. The average approval time for imported drugs has been significantly shortened, and the customs clearance procedures streamlined, said Li Jinju, an official with China Food and Drug Administration. The Ministry of Finance announced Monday that China will exempt 28 drugs from import tariffs, including all cancer drugs from May 1, as part of wider opening of the market. Admitting that the tariff cut may challenge China's domestic pharmaceutical industry, Liu Dengfeng of the health commission expressed confidence in tackling it. China's medical research and development has progressed in recent years with the talent pool getting stronger and innovation booming, he said.
