After Donald Trump calls him 'nasty person', London mayor Sadiq Khan is 'delighted'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
Top South Korean, US diplomats reiterate 'resolute' commitment to North Korean denuclearisation
Seoul: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States reaffirmed their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearisation of North Korea and the "full" enforcement of sanctions against it during their talks in Washington, a State Department spokesperson said. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first talks since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration last month, as Seoul and Washington face a series of cooperation issues, including preparations for a summit between Lee and US President Donald Trump. Their meeting came just a day after Trump announced a trade deal with Korea, saying that his summit with President Lee will take place at the White House in two weeks. "Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho also reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the DPRK, the full implementation of international sanctions, and expressed serious concerns about North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia," Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson, said in a readout. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The chief diplomats' show of unity against North Korea's nuclear threats came days after Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ruled out the possibility of talks on the North's denuclearisation, while noting the personal relationship between Trump and Kim is "not bad." At the talks, Cho and Rubio underscored the "unwavering" strength of the bilateral alliance, which has served as the "linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years," according to Bruce. "They expressed continued support for their mutual goal of strengthening the US-ROK alliance, including through our robust combined defense posture and the continued provision of extended deterrence to the ROK," the spokesperson said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. Extended deterrence refers to the US' stated commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally. The chief diplomats welcomed Wednesday's trade deal and the forthcoming visit to Washington by the South Korean president, Yonhap news agency reported. The trade agreement, reached Thursday, commits South Korea to investing US$350 billion in the US in exchange for lowering the reciprocal tariff rate to 15 per cent from the initially proposed 25 per cent. "The minister and secretary shared the understanding, in particular, of the need to enhance cooperation in shipbuilding and agreed to boost the pan-government framework to materialise the cooperation," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a separate release. They also agreed that the two countries should work to "modernise" the bilateral alliance in order to elevate its "strategic importance," the ministry said. "Modernisation of the alliance" is a term that has increasingly been cited by Seoul and Washington, and is largely seen as a US call for its allies to shoulder more of the defence burden and support its strategy to counter China. Cho hoped that the advanced technology sector, like artificial intelligence, nuclear energy and quantum technology, will develop into another key pillar of alliance cooperation going forward, the ministry said. Recalling South Korea's invitation to Trump for this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Cho also requested US support for the successful hosting of the meeting.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
North Korea slams US, Japan for turning alliance into 'nuclear' coalition
Seoul: North Korea on Friday slammed the United States and Japan for turning their alliance into a threatening "nuclear" coalition, claiming the move justifies its own defence buildup. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in an article by a North Korean international affairs analyst, citing last year's upgrade of US-Japan consultations on extended deterrence to the ministerial level and the two countries' recent reaffirmation of extended deterrence guidelines. Extended deterrence refers to the US' stated commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally, Yonhap news agency reported. North Korea also cited Japanese authorities' recent tour to a base for US B-52 strategic bombers and the staging of a joint military drill simulating nuclear use. "It shows the US-Japan military alliance is turning into a dangerous 'nuclear alliance,'" the article said, accusing Japan of attempting to "embark on the road of invasion ... with the backing of the US" It claimed that the US is driving the regional situation to a "dangerous touch-and-go" condition by deploying nuclear strategic assets at naval and air bases in Hawaii, Guam and Japan and staging joint military drills with its "junior allies." The article also accused Japan of attempting to challenge nuclear powers through its nuclear alliance with the US, describing it as "an extremely dangerous attempt" and warning that it can "bring a nuclear disaster to the world." "What should not be overlooked is the fact that Japan is ... making it a fait accompli that the target of the US-Japan nuclear alliance is none other than the DPRK and other neighboring countries," the article claimed. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official North Korean name. The article said these facts demonstrate the country's buildup of its "self-defensive" capabilities, aimed at ensuring balance in the region and defending its territory from "the ever-increasing attempt of the enemy countries," is "quite just."
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
'Trump open to engage with Kim': White House reacts to North Korea's warning over denuclearisation; reflects on past summits
US President Donald Trump remains open to renewed denuclearisation talks with , even as Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader , warned that any attempt to pressure the country into giving up its nuclear weapons would be seen as 'nothing but a mockery' by the US side. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A White House official in response to Yo Jong's remarks said, "President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilised the Korean Peninsula and achieved the first-ever leader-level agreement on denuclearisation." "The President retains those objectives and remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully de-nuclearized North Korea," the spokesperson added in a statement to Fox News. In a statement carried by North Korean state media, Yo Jong said that while personal relations between Trump and Kim remain 'not bad,' Pyongyang now considers any discussion of its expanding nuclear arsenal to be completely off the table, according to Fox News. She noted that North Korea's nuclear arsenal has expanded significantly since the last meeting between the two leaders, and made clear that no future summit would take place if denuclearisation remains on the agenda. "If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK- US meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the US side," Kim Yo Jong said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 'It would be advisable to seek another way of contact,' she added as quoted by Fox News. Trump held three unprecedented meetings with Kim Jong Un during his first term- in Singapore in 2018, Hanoi in 2019, and at the Korean demilitarized zone later that year, where he became the first sitting US president to step into North Korea. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At the 2018 Singapore summit, both leaders signed a joint statement committing to "work toward complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" and agreed to build new US–North Korea relations. However, progress stalled in later meetings. North Korea did not abandon its nuclear weapons, and the US did not lift sanctions. Reports indicated Kim wanted to dismantle parts of his arsenal in exchange for full sanctions relief, a proposal Trump rejected. By 2020, the talks had collapsed completely, and North Korea resumed weapons testing. In a statement Monday marking the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War, Trump reflected on his past meetings with Kim, saying, "I was proud to become the first sitting President to cross this demilitarised zone into North Korea." He also reaffirmed the US alliance with South Korea, stating, "Although the evils of communism still persist in Asia, American and South Korean forces remain united in an ironclad alliance to this day."
