Security and intelligence developments: a European emergency communications system, thwarting a plan in Britain, and a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Kiev.

The European Commission intends to create a new communications system for emergency services in the European Union, in order to link first response teams across borders, according to what was reported by the German News Agency.

Magnus Brunner, the European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs, said in a statement published today (Wednesday), that “Europe’s security depends on our ability to work together.”

Brunner added: “When crises occur, our first response teams must be able to communicate in real time between agencies, across borders and across Europe. “When lives are at risk, Europe must respond with one voice.”

Emergencies, such as natural disasters, can present common challenges for cross-border emergency services. Brunner pointed out that firefighters from Germany and Belgium lost contact with each other last summer while fighting a forest fire on the common border between the two countries.

The network intends to rely on components from European companies, and to be used by police, firefighters, medical services and civil protection teams in cases of natural disasters, threats targeting critical infrastructure, or terrorist attacks.

The British newspaper "The Times" said on Wednesday that a plot targeting a British air base used by American forces to strike Iran was foiled when a man called the police, and it later turned out that he was among the people who were later arrested at the same location.

The report added more mystery to the events that took place on Sunday near the British Royal Air Force base in Fairford, western England, where five Britons in their twenties were arrested on suspicion of committing terrorist crimes and crimes related to explosives, according to Reuters.

The authorities released the five, who all live in London, on bail, although US President Donald Trump said they planned to “cause serious harm,” while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also pointed to the involvement of a “foreign party.”

The newspaper report stated that one of the men called emergency services shortly before he was arrested in the early hours of that morning.

The newspaper said: “Possibilities are being considered that this could be surveillance, or an actual experiment to test security measures, or a demonstration movement to send a message to the British government,” adding that investigators are not sure whether the man retreated out of fear, or whether that was part of a plan.

An informed source said that a motive linked to Iran is the most likely possibility, but a Russian sabotage operation, or a plan carried out by Islamic extremists, also remain among the possibilities. Iran denied any involvement in the matter.

Police said on Tuesday that they found gasoline in the trucks used by the men, but did not find any improvised explosive devices.

A South Korean lawmaker said on Wednesday that his country's intelligence service believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may have revealed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, in an effort to arouse popular support in South Korea to provide weapons to Kiev.

Zelensky announced before the United Nations General Assembly last week that his country had transferred two North Korean soldiers to South Korea, noting that “capturing them alive was not an easy matter.”

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung responded to Zelensky, expressing his “disappointment,” especially since Seoul considered the move a breach of trust between the two countries, stressing that maintaining secrecy was necessary to protect the relatives of the two prisoners from any repercussions that might affect them in North Korea.

“The Ukrainian side’s violation of the confidentiality agreement between the two countries and its unilateral disclosure of information is in itself considered a very serious matter,” Song Gi-hong, South Korea’s chief presidential secretary for media affairs, said in a statement.

According to Representative Yoo Young-ha, the South Korean intelligence service believes that Zelensky “may have decided to reveal the transfer of the two prisoners, in the hope that this will contribute to generating popular momentum in Seoul to provide Ukraine with weapons and other forms of support.”

Representative Yoon Kun-young confirmed that the two prisoners of war arrived in South Korea from Ukraine in mid-September, noting that their health condition was “generally good.”

He pointed out, quoting the intelligence service, that “their desire to come to South Korea was confirmed several times.”

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said (Monday) that “the issue concerns the personal safety of the two people involved and their family members,” and that Seoul and Kiev “agreed to deal with it confidentially.”

But Yoon said on Wednesday that there was no agreement between the two countries to keep the issue secret, adding that diplomatic officials from both sides agreed to this during their contacts.

He added: “Since the start of the discussions, the Ukrainian side has proactively requested that strict confidentiality be maintained, citing concerns about a potential impact on future prisoner exchanges with Russia.”

Early last year, Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers who were fighting among the units that Pyongyang sent to support Russian forces in the war.

One of the soldiers told South Korean media that he served in a reconnaissance unit, and that some North Korean soldiers received training in using Russian military equipment, adding that he was conscripted into the army at the age of 17 and has remained in service since then.

A South Korean lawmaker previously said that the two soldiers expressed their desire to live a “normal life” in South Korea.

The dispute would affect Ukraine's requests to obtain weapons from South Korea, knowing that Seoul has not yet supplied Kiev with lethal weapons, citing internal restrictions that prevent the provision of military aid to countries waging wars, but it was considering supplying them with defense equipment, especially after North Korea sent forces to support Russia.