Tehran, Iran | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday declared a more aggressive strategy on a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers but stopped short of withdrawing from the 2015 deal. Struck in Vienna by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, …
Read More »Earthquake hits North Korea near nuclear test site
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | A shallow 2.9-magnitude earthquake struck near North Korea’s nuclear test site before dawn on Friday, weeks after Pyongyang’s biggest detonation, but South Korean experts said the tremor did not appear to be man-made. The tremor hit at 01:41 am (1641 GMT Thursday) with a depth …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim ‘very rational’: CIA
Washington, United States | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday. “Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong-Un is a rational actor,” said Yong Suk Lee, the …
Read More »Pentagon chief says US admin backs Tillerson’s North Korea effort
Washington, United States | AFP | Pentagon chief Jim Mattis tried to clear up doubts about the US administration’s North Korea strategy Tuesday, backing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. Defense Secretary Mattis was speaking two days after President Donald Trump appeared …
Read More »Negotiating with North Korea a waste of time: Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear program would be a waste of time Sunday after it emerged that Washington had channels of contact with Pyongyang. Only hours after his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed that US officials were …
Read More »US probes North Korea’s willingness to talk
Beijing, China | AFP | Washington has opened channels to North Korea to find out if the regime is ready to talk about giving up its nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Saturday. Speaking after a day of talks with China’s President Xi Jinping and top diplomats, Tillerson told …
Read More »North Korea says Trump has declared war
New York, United States | AFP | North Korea’s foreign minister on Monday accused US President Donald Trump of declaring war against his country and said Pyongyang was ready to defend itself by shooting down US bombers. The White House dismissed the claim as “absurd”. The latest threats stoked a …
Read More »US calls N. Korea nuclear bomb test threat ‘shocking’
New Delhi, India | AFP | US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday it would be “shocking” irresponsibility for North Korea to carry out its threat to test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific. The new comments, made while Mattis headed for India, followed a shrill war of words between the …
Read More »US, N. Korea brinksmanship brings warning of ‘unpredictable nosedive’
Washington, United States | AFP | Spiking nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea showed little sign of abating Sunday as Russia warned of a “very unpredictable nosedive” if Washington does not ease up on its fiery war of words with Pyongyang. US bombers and fighter escorts flew off …
Read More »China confirms will limit oil exports to North Korea
Beijing, China | AFP | China will limit exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1, its commerce ministry said, confirming Beijing’s participation in new UN sanctions intended to rein in its rogue neighbour. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang …
Read More »