North Korea destroyed a joint liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong today in a dramatic escalation in tensions with Seoul over anti-North messages sent from South Korea. North Korean defectors and others have used balloons to send the leaflets across the border, prompting Pyongyang to threaten military action, such as moving troops into demilitarized zones (New York Times). North Korean state media called the destruction of the liaison office, which served as the de facto embassy between the countries since 2018, an act of “enraged people” retaliating against “human scum.” No officials were working in the office, which had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic (Washington Post).

Riyadh announced a proposal to end a standoff between members of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The conflict between the country’s Saudi-backed government and the separatist Southern Transitional Council, backed by the United Arab Emirates, has stalled efforts to end Yemen’s war (Reuters).

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stressed the alliance’s commitment to the Afghan peace process and urged the Taliban to live up to commitments agreed to in a deal signed with the United States, including breaking ties with al-Qaeda (TOLO).

President Nicolas Maduro revoked the license of one of the country’s biggest political parties, giving control to an ally. Critics said the move is meant to weaken Maduro’s political opposition ahead of congressional elections (Wall Street Journal).

Turkey deployed special forces to northern Iraq’s Haftanin region and struck 150 Kurdish targets with air and artillery strikes in a renewed operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) (Al Jazeera).

The sanctions of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 are set to take effect today, placing new economic and diplomatic pressure on any Syrian or non-Syrian actor aiding the government of Bashar al-Assad (Washington Post).

The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed “great concern” regarding the rising number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, citing the recent attacks on healthcare facilities (Al Jazeera). Separately, at least seventeen Afghan soldiers were killed in two attacks by the Taliban, Afghan officials said, and others were wounded or taken hostage. The group has killed or wounded more than four hundred Afghan personnel in recent weeks, the Afghan government said (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty).

Pyongyang rejected Seoul’s offer for a meeting between special envoys and said it will deploy troops near the countries’ border as it continues to escalate a dispute over anti–North Korea leaflets. South Korea’s defense ministry warned of consequences if North Korea takes military action (Yonhap).

President Nicolas Maduro is restricting the return of Venezuelan migrants, blaming them for the spread of the coronavirus (MercoPress).

WHO officials suspect that COVID-19 cases are much higher in Yemen, especially in areas control by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north, where rumors of “mercy injections” and retaliation for reporting COVID-19 cases has potentially contributed to false case and death numbers (Associated Press).