SYDNEY — Australia will issue a national apology to all citizens affected by the “Thalidomide tragedy,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, more than half a century after babies were born with birth defects when mothers took the morning sickness pill.

Thalidomide was the active ingredient in a sedative widely distributed to many mothers in Australia and around the world in the early 1960s. It was found to cause malformation of limbs, facial features and internal organs in unborn children.

“The thalidomide tragedy is a dark chapter in the history of our nation and the world,” Mr. Albanese said in a statement. “The survivors, their families, friends and carers have advocated for this apology with courage and conviction for many years. This moment is a long overdue national acknowledgement of all they have endured and all they have fought for.”

The thalidomide scandal triggered a worldwide overhaul of drug-testing regimes and boosted the reputation of the US Food and Drug Administration, which proved a lone voice in refusing to approve the drug, although it was distributed in the United States for testing. The British government in 2010 apologized to the victims.

Thalidomide, developed by the German firm Gruenenthal, killed an estimated 80,000 children around the world before they were born, and 20,000 more were born with defects.

An Australian woman, who was born without arms and legs after her mother took Thalidomide, in 2012 won a multi-million dollar settlement from Diageo Plc, the local distributor. In 2010, Diageo agreed to make an A$50 million ($32 million) payment to 45 victims in Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Albanese will deliver the apology in the Parliament on Nov. 29. There are 146 Thalidomide survivors registered with the government, though the exact number of affected is unknown.

“In giving this apology, we will acknowledge all those babies who died and the families who mourn them, as well as those who survived but whose lives were made so much harder by the effects of this terrible drug,” Mr. Albanese said. — Reuters

SEOUL — South Korea and the United States during talks on Monday revised a bilateral security agreement aimed at deterring North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea’s defense ministry said.

The Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) is aimed at countering North Korea’s nuclear weapons and other arms, according to an announcement on the agreement by the two countries 10 years ago.

South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, signed the updated agreement at the security talks in Seoul, the ministry said.

The revision was considered necessary because the existing strategy did not adequately address rapid advancements in North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, it said.

The Defense Ministry did not immediately specify what had been updated.

Earlier, South Korea’s defense ministry said Shin and Austin would discuss jointly countering threats by North Korea, including through executing an “extended deterrence” strategy.

The strategy, which holds that the United States will use strategic military assets, including nuclear forces, to defend its allies, has taken on a greater significance as North Korea pushes ahead with its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

Mr. Shin said the two countries have been upgrading security cooperation, including the launch of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) and bolstering the execution of the extended deterrence strategy, Yonhap news reported.

The nuclear discussions are aimed at better coordinating an allied nuclear response during a war with North Korea.

Mr. Shin on Monday cited expanded military drills with the United States in recent months as an indication of upgraded strategic cooperation, including the involvement of US strategic bombers and a nuclear ballistic missile submarine, Yonhap reported.

Recent changes in North Korean and Chinese capabilities and intentions are likely to “dramatically” increase the risk that US and South Korean deterrence could fail within the next decade, and the allies must undertake major steps to strengthen deterrence, the Atlantic Council think tank said in a study last week. 

That study, which convened more than 100 experts, found that although an all-out nuclear attack is the least likely scenario, Pyongyang could feel emboldened to escalate with more limited military actions, including possible nuclear strikes.

The Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also cast a shadow over Monday’s meeting amid Pyongyang’s growing military cooperation with Moscow and questions about the North’s support for Hamas militants.

On Sunday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a dinner that the allies must stand ready for any provocations by North Korea, including a “Hamas-style surprise attack.”

At the reception, Mr. Austin reaffirmed that the US commitment to defending South Korea involved the full range of American military capabilities, Mr. Yoon’s office said.

The defense meetings come as North Korea is believed to be preparing to launch a military reconnaissance satellite after two failures.

Pyongyang is also accused of shipping munitions to Russia for use in the war with Ukraine in return for technical support to help its weapons programs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that Russia would help North Korea build satellites but did not elaborate.

The defense chiefs from South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed on Sunday to start a real-time data sharing scheme on North Korean missiles in December, South Korea’s defense ministry said. — Reuters