
How South Korea aims to ease tensions with North Korea
Seoul is exploring allowing individual tours to North Korea, which a Unification Ministry spokesperson believes would not breach international sanctions.
Tourism is one of the few cash sources for North Korea not targeted by United Nations sanctions over its weapons programmes.
To ease tensions, President Lee suspended anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts and halted leaflet campaigns.
The president plans to discuss further with top security officials how to resume dialogue with North Korea.
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Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
US considers limited authorizations for oil firms in Venezuela, sources say
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is discussing authorizations to key partners of Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA, starting with Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab, which would allow them to operate with limitations in the sanctioned OPEC country, four sources close to the matter said on Thursday. If granted, the authorizations to Chevron, and possibly also to PDVSA's European partners, would mark a policy swift from a pressure strategy Washington adopted earlier this year. A senior State Department official said in a statement they could not speak about any specific licenses to PDVSA's partners, but added the U.S. would not allow President Nicolas Maduro's government to profit from the sale of oil. The U.S. might now allow the energy companies to pay oilfield contractors and make necessary imports to secure operational continuity, two of the sources said. "Chevron conducts its business globally in compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government, including in Venezuela," a company spokesperson said. The discussions follow a prisoner swap this month. Washington has accused the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro of violating democratic norms. Trump in February announced the cancellation of a handful of energy licenses in Venezuela, including Chevron's, and gave until late May to wind down all transactions. The U.S. State Department, which in May blocked a move by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell to extend the licenses, is this time imposing conditions to any authorization modifications, so no cash reaches Maduro's coffers, the two sources added. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio could still decide to ban the move at the last minute or modify the scope of the new authorizations.


Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Europeans to test Iran's appetite for nuclear compromise as sanctions loom
PARIS, July 24 (Reuters) - France, Britain and Germany will hold face-to-face talks with Iran on Friday for the first time since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, aiming to gauge Tehran's appetite for a compromise to avert sanctions, diplomats say. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. Friday's talks between senior diplomats from the so-called E3 group and Iran's negotiating team will be held in Istanbul. The United States held five rounds of talks with Iran prior to its airstrikes in June, which U.S. President Donald Trump, said had "obliterated" a programme that Washington and its ally Israel say is aimed at acquiring a nuclear bomb. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. European and Iranian diplomats say there is no prospect of Iran re-engaging with the U.S. at the negotiating table for now. But the Europeans say negotiations must be revived due to a halt in inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and as an October 18 deadline for the expiration of the 2015 deal draws closer. They also want answers over the location of 400 kg (880 pounds) of near-weapons grade highly enriched uranium, whose whereabouts have not been known since last month's strikes. "We are determined to do everything to reach a diplomatic solution," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told a press conference in Paris on July 18. Under the terms of the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the 2015 deal, U.N. sanctions could be reimposed before the agreement expires - a process that would take about 30 days. The E3, who do not want to lose leverage by letting the deal expire, have warned that unless there is a new nuclear accord they will launch the "snapback mechanism", which would restore all previous U.N. sanctions on Iran, including on the oil, banking and defence sectors. With Russia - an ally of Iran - taking over the Security Council presidency in October, the three European countries have signalled that the latest window to reactivate the sanctions would be the end of August. Three European, one regional and an Iranian diplomat said the meeting in Istanbul would focus primarily on the issue of the snapback mechanism. They said the E3 would float the possibility to Iran of extending the snapback mechanism by up to six months. In return, Iran would need to make commitments on key issues, including eventual talks with Washington, full cooperation with the IAEA, and accounting for its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Speaking to reporters at the U.N. on Wednesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who will be in Istanbul, said Tehran had agreed to allow a technical team from the IAEA to visit in the coming weeks. He warned that a triggering of the snapback mechanism would be met with a strong response from Tehran. It has previously threatened to leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) over the issue. Gharibabadi added that he had heard about the possibility of an extension. "That's very premature now to discuss the issue of the extension. We have almost about three months actually, till the deadline of 18th of October," he said. A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was "coordinated" with the E3 when asked whether Washington was discussing the reimposition of sanctions with them, but declined to elaborate. Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was in Paris on Thursday and due to meet French officials for talks on various subjects, including Iran, four sources said. Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying it wanted to remove any chance of its arch-foe developing nuclear weapons.


BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Plans to boost UK tourism criticised as unrealistic
Government plans to increase tourism in the UK have been criticised as "completely unrealistic" by a leading travel a visit to Falmouth in Cornwall, Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant said he wanted 50 million more overseas visitors to the UK by Calder, travel correspondent for The Independent, said the plan was "completely impossible" without reversing "damaging" post-Brexit travel said taking away the ability for EU citizens to travel using national ID cards instead of passports had reduced tourism, adding some people thought "we won't bother". Mr Calder said plans to encourage more British people to holiday in the UK were likely to fail because UK holidays were "just too expensive".It would "almost certainly" be cheaper for a family from Manchester to fly to Spain than to catch the train to Cornwall, he Chris had said he knew things were still "really tough" for people working in the tourism sector and more needed to be done to highlight what areas like Cornwall could offer domestic Labour MP said Covid had impacted the industry greatly but he remained confident visitor numbers could return to pre-pandemic levels."I want many more British people to say 'what's the point of Spain - we've got this'," he said. Mr Calder said it was "absolutely crucial" to get international visitors, as it was the "closest any area could get to free money", because of the money tourists spent gave a proposal to extend the tourist season in Cornwall a cautious backing."Cornwall's problem isn't attracting people in July and August it's attracting them in November," he said."The minister was talking up the idea of being in Falmouth on a winter's day watching the storms... that might work."The issue would be persuading people, Mr Calder said."Unfortunately, a lot of people in November would slightly rather be in Spain than in lovely Cornwall," he said.