SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will not seek to renegotiate a deal with Japan on wartime sex slavery, it said Tuesday, despite new President Moon Jae-In saying on the campaign trail he “could not accept” the agreement. The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II is a hugely emotional one that has long marred ties between the South and its former colonial ruler. Ousted president Park […]
Tag: diplomacy
North Korea names delegates for inter-Korean talks
https://youtu.be/s6GK9-tyUio SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has named its delegation for a rare high-level meeting with the South this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said Sunday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cautiously welcomed the talks. The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and are expected to discuss the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. The North Korean […]
Trump says he is willing to talk with North Korean leader
by Saul Loeb Agence France Presse CAMP DAVID, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would be willing to speak directly with Kim Jong-Un, voicing hope that rare talks between North and South Korea could help deescalate the crisis over Pyongyang’s nuclear drive. Trump’s remarks were a further pivot from his often-bellicose rhetoric on North Korea and Kim, with whom he has engaged in a war of words that raised […]
N. Korea names delegates for inter-Korean talks
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has sent a list of its delegation for a rare high-level meeting with the South this week, the unification ministry in Seoul said Sunday. The two Koreas agreed Friday to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and are expected to discuss the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. The North Korean delegation for Tuesday’s meeting in the truce village of Panmunjom will […]
North Korea ‘likely’ to join Winter Games, says IOC official
Beijing, China (AFP) — North Korea’s Olympic representative said Saturday the reclusive nation was “likely to participate” in next month’s Winter Games in South Korea, Kyodo news agency reported, in the latest sign of a thaw in tensions on the peninsula. The comments by Chang Ung, Pyongyang’s representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), come a day after the North and South agreed to hold rare talks next week and follow Seoul and Washington’s announcement […]
Iran foreign minister ridicules Trump ‘blunder’ at UN
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ridiculed US President Donald Trump on Saturday over what he called the foreign policy “blunder” of trying to raise its recent protests at the UN Security Council. The Security Council “rebuffed the US’ naked attempt to hijack its mandate”, wrote Zarif on Twitter. “Majority emphasised the need to fully implement the JCPOA (nuclear deal) and to refrain from interfering in internal affairs of others. Another […]
EU foreign policy chief says ‘blockade’ of Cuba not solution
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Blockading Cuba is not the solution, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said Wednesday on a trip aimed at strengthening ties with Havana, after Washington tightened restrictions on the island. Much of the half-century-old US economic embargo against Cuba remains entrenched in law, but under former president Barack Obama federal authorities began to loosen some rules — something his successor Donald Trump vowed to reverse. “The blockade (of Cuba) is not the solution. […]
Macron to raise human rights issues with Erdogan
PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will raise human rights issues with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan when they meet next Friday, the Elysee said on Saturday. Erdogan’s visit to France comes as he faces widespread criticism over a far-reaching crackdown against opponents linked to last year’s failed coup attempt, which has seen the arrest of opposition politicians, journalists and activists, and led to accusations of human rights abuses. The meeting “will be an opportunity […]
No US pressure behind Guatemala embassy move to Jerusalem: FM
by Edgar Calderon Agence France-Presse GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — The United States did not pressure Guatemala into announcing it will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the Central American state’s foreign minister said Wednesday. “There wasn’t any pressure. There wasn’t any overture from the United States to make this happen. This was a decision by the government, the state and the foreign policy of Guatemala,” the minister, Sandra Jovel, told a news conference in Guatemala City. […]
South Korea says deal over ‘comfort women’ faulty
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea said Wednesday a 2015 deal intended to end a festering dispute with Japan over Tokyo’s wartime sex slavery was faulty, reopening a historical wound as the two countries try to rein in North Korea. Seoul and Tokyo signed the agreement to settle the hugely emotional and decades-long issue with a Japanese apology and payment of money to survivors. Following an election pledge, the new government of President Moon […]
Venezuela government, opposition hold new round of talks
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AFP) — Venezuela’s government and opposition concluded a new round of talks Friday in an effort to bridge deep and entrenched differences to find a way to end the dire political and economic crisis tearing apart their country. After eight hours of discussions at the foreign ministry in Santo Domingo, the two sides agreed to resume negotiations on January 11, Dominican President Danilo Medina announced. It will be followed by a meeting of […]
Chinese, S. Korean leaders meet hoping to smooth tensions
BEIJING, China (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-In will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, seeking to repair a relationship strained over Seoul hosting a US missile system. Moon’s office has said he hopes to “normalize” ties during the visit after Beijing was angered by the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), installed earlier this year to protect South Korea against threats from the nuclear-armed North. Beijing, which […]





