SEOUL (Reuters) – Accounts by former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton of discussions between leaders of the United States and the two Koreas in his upcoming book are inaccurate and distorted, South Korea said on Monday. Bolton gives details in the bo... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and Chinese officials on Tuesday cast doubt on reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ill after media outlets said he had undergone a cardiovascular procedure and was in “grave danger”. Daily NK, a Seoul-based speciality web... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a live speech on state TV for the start of the Persian new year, said on Friday that U.S. sanctions has forced the country to become self-sufficient as he called on Iranians to preserve unity. ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired two short-range missiles off the east coast into the sea on Monday, resuming testing after a three-month pause, South Korea’s military said. The missiles were launched from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan and flew 240 km ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s defence ministry said on Monday there was no indication that North Korea projectiles reached Japan’s territory or its exclusive economic zone. South Korea’s defence ministry said earlier North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles ... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Monday reiterated a call for dialogue in response to North Korea’s latest missile launch and said all sides involved in efforts to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons should reconcile conflicts through discussion. Foreign m... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. presidential contender Michael Bloomberg pledged on Sunday to “always have Israel’s back,” while separately joking he was the only Jewish candidate who does not want to turn the United States into a “kibbutz.” The joke, made during a speech on... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Monday that it had not closed the “door to negotiations” in efforts to resolve a dispute over its nuclear agreement with world powers that has escalated steadily since the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018. Foreign Min... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday the House would vote on a resolution intended to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions regarding Iran, stating that concerns about the administration’s strate... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and U.S. special forces troops recently conducted drills simulating the infiltration of an enemy facility, U.S. military photos seen by Reuters on Monday show, as tensions with North Korea ratchet up ahead of a year-end deadline.... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – The secondary circuit of Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor will become operational on Monday, the country’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The starting of the secondary circuit will not violate restrictions placed on Iran’s n... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Stalled denuclearization talks and a recent flare-up in tension between the United States and North Korea are not beneficial for Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday. North Kor... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping told South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday that China supports South Korea’s efforts to improve ties with North Korea and inject new impetus into promoting peace talks, state television reported. Source: ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, urged Pyongyang on Monday to return offers of talks, dismissing leader Kim Jong Un’s year-end deadline while highlighting Washington’s willingness to discuss “all issues of interest.” Tensio... More »
INCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) – Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, arrived in South Korea on Sunday as Pyongyang stepped up pressure on Washington to make concessions to revive stalled denuclearization talks ahead of a year-end deadline. ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for talk on climate, the EU’s long-term budget, Brexit, the euro zone and Russia sanctions, among others. Here are comments made by them on Thursday ahead of the summit.... More »
(Reuters) – Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential campaign launched new attacks on Donald Trump on Sunday, advocating a reevaluation of U.S.-Saudi relations and calling North Korea’s apparent weapons test a “rebuke” to the U.S. president in a statement to Reuters.... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Pope Francis expressed concern about future energy sources as he comforted victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster on Monday, noting a call by Japan’s Catholic bishops to abolish nuclear power outright. Around 18,000 people die... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Saturday warned regional countries of consequences if it is proven that they meddled to stoke recent unrest in Iran. “Some countries in the region should know that they will not have an easy life in t... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean media reported on Monday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised air force drills for the second time in three days, even as the United States and South Korea decided to postpone their joint air drills to ease denuclearisation talks w... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean and U.S. officials resumed talks on Monday to narrow a $4 billion gap in how much they want Seoul to pay for the cost of hosting the American military amid public protests of “highway robbery” against sharply increased U.S. deman... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Croatian Foreign Minister Grlic Radman defended NATO on Monday following criticism of the 70-year-old alliance from the United States and France. French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that NATO was dying, comments German chancell... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Monday suggested high-level talks to resolve a deepening political and trade row with Japan during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Moon’s spokeswoman said. The two leaders held an 11-m... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea and the United States could hold another round of working-level talks as soon as mid-November to expedite progress before a year-end deadline set by Pyongyang, a South Korean lawmaker said on Monday. North Korean and U.S. official... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” near the old U.S. embassy on Monday, the 40th anniversary on the seizure of the mission, with the country’s army chief comparing the United States with a poisonous scorpion intent on harming Ir... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean football fans will be left in the dark as their national team play in North Korea for the first time in 30 years on Tuesday, with Pyongyang refusing to broadcast the World Cup qualifier live amid a return of chilled relations wit... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to “unimaginably high numbers” if the world does not come together to deter Iran, but said he would prefer a political solution to a milit... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Pyongyang in a letter sent in August, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday, citing diplomatic sources. The letter, the second Trump received from Kim last mon... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – The resignation of White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, a hawk on Iran, will not lead to talks between Washington and Tehran, Iran said on Wednesday. President Hassan Rouhani urged the United States to end its policy of “maximum... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said on Wednesday the firing of John Bolton as U.S. national security adviser will not push Tehran to reconsider talks with the United States. “The departure of US National Security Adviser John Bolton from President Donald Trump’s admin... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Having once branded John Bolton a “war maniac”, North Korean officials could see U.S. President Donald Trump’s removal of his national security adviser as a chance to resume denuclearization talks without facing an unyielding hawk on the... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Europe had decided to uphold the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and would keep trying to find solutions that averted escalation. “Step by step we will keep trying to find solutions with Iran that preve... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – A recent remark by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about “North Korea’s rogue behavior” will make talks with the United States more difficult, the North’s KCNA news agency on Saturday quoted its vice foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, as say... More »
BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) – Iran has an opportunity to come back into compliance with the nuclear deal and resume dialogue about its nuclear activities, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier he would mee... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Radiation levels in the Russian city of Severodvinsk rose by up to 16 times on Aug. 8 after an accident that authorities said involved a rocket test on a sea platform, Russia’s state weather agency said on Tuesday, the TASS news agency repor... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Saturday’s test of a new weapon, which was developed to suit the country’s terrain, state media KCNA said on Sunday. North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range missiles on Saturday, South K... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that he was in favor of placing ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon, a day after the United States withdrew from a landmark arms control treaty. Esper’s comm... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – An emergency meeting with parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal was constructive but there are unresolved issues and Tehran will continue to reduce its nuclear commitments if Europeans fail to salvage the pact, Iranian official Abbas Araqchi s... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European foreign ministers will seek to flesh out how to convince Iran and the United States to reduce tensions and initiate a dialogue when they meet in Brussels on Monday amid fears that the 2015 nuclear deal is close to collapse. U.S.-I... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Monday that there was still time to save the Iran nuclear deal and that despite the United States being Britain’s closest ally it disagreed on how to handle the Iran crisis. “Iran is still a go... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday that Europe had to remain united in trying to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, and said Tehran should reverse its decision not to comply with parts of the accord. “The Europeans ha... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Britain’s seizing of an Iranian oil tanker last week was a threatening act that will not be tolerated, Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Hatami said on Monday in a speech broadcast live on state television. Royal Marines impounded the tanker in G... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will never succumb to U.S. pressure and if Washington wants talks with Tehran it should show respect, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday. Tension between Tehran and Washington have risen sharply in recent weeks, a year ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. candidates running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump’s latest overture to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying the leaders’ meeting lacked substance and elevated a ruthles... More »
DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not seeking war with Tehran after a senior Iranian military commander warned any conflict in the Gulf region could spread uncontrollably and threaten the lives of U.S. troops. Tensi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday the U.S. Middle East peace plan that is set to be presented at an international conference in Bahrain this week is “shameful” and “doomed to failure”. “This conference and the sale of Palesti... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran on Monday described its shooting down of a U.S. drone in the Gulf last week as a “firm response” to the United States and warned it could be repeated. “Everyone saw the downing of the unmanned drone,” navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday Tehran welcomes any defusion of tensions in the GUlf region following weeks of deteriorating relations with Washington. “We welcome defusion of tensions in the region. We do not want rise of t... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will visit South Korea this week to discuss ways to revive nuclear talks with North Korea, the South’s presidential Blue House said on Monday. Trump is set to start his two-day visit on Saturday, and hold a summit ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that he hopes a letter sent by President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can pave the way for new talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program. Pompeo, who confirm... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Sunday he will travel to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for talks, and repeated his offer for negotiations with Iran “with no preconditions” to de-escalate tensions. “We’re prepared... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Iran is feeling the effects of existing U.S. sanctions as President Donald Trump prepares to impose more of them from Monday, his National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday during a visit to Israel. While flagging further sancti... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it was adding several Chinese companies and a government-owned institute involved in supercomputing with military applications to its national security “entity list” that bars them from buying ... More »
WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) – Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced on Monday the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes, citing concerns about a threat from Iran. Fears of a confront... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government’s top diplomat warned on Tuesday that the world should not open a “Pandora’s Box” in the Middle East, as he denounced U.S. pressure on Iran and called on it not to drop out of a landmark nuclear deal. Fears of a confr... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that Iran had so far faithfully stuck to internationally-agreed curbs on uranium enrichment and that Moscow was unaware of any statement suggesting that Tehran intended to stop doing so. Iran said earlier on Monday... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged world powers on Monday to step up sanctions against Iran swiftly should it go through with a plan to exceed an enriched uranium limit set by a 2015 nuclear deal. Locked in a stand-off with W... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran will quit a treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons unless European powers save a separate 2015 atomic deal that Washington abandoned last year, a senior Iranian lawmaker told the semi-official Fars news agency on Monday. “There is ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he regretted Iran’s announcement that it would exceed the allowed enriched uranium limit, but that Paris would hold talks with Iran and its partners to avoid any further escalation in the region... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s former top nuclear envoy, Kim Yong Chol, accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to an art performance, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in the power structure. Sunda... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to even out a trade imbalance with the United States and expressed confidence, despite Japanese wariness, that “good things” would come from North Korea. Trump i... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is “inordinately ignorant” to argue that North Korea’s recent missile tests violated United Nations resolutions, the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media on Monday. A s... More »
(Reuters) – A committee in Ohio’s House of Representatives voted along party lines to approve a bill to save the state’s two nuclear power reactors from retirement and provide some financial support for a couple of ailing coal plants. Republicans in the House ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union fully supports the international nuclear accord with Iran and wants rival powers to avoid any further escalation over the issue, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday. “We will continue to support it ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe’s top ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a “very productive” call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on issues ranging from North Korea, Ukraine and Venezuela to trade and nuclear weapons. Trump, in a series of tweets, also a... More »
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The United States is expected to announce on Monday that buyers of Iranian oil need to end imports soon or face sanctions, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, triggering a 3 percent jump in crude prices to their ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea reversed a decision to withdraw its staff from an inter-Korean liaison office by sending some back to work on Monday, South Korea said, in a turnaround that came after U.S. President Donald Trump opted not to impose extra sanction... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is open to a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but some time may have to go by before this takes place, Trump’s national security adviser said on Sunday. Speaking on ABC, John Bolton said the U... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Perhaps none of the communist legacies shared by Vietnam and North Korea highlighted during Kim Jong Un’s “goodwill visit” to Hanoi is stranger than the embalmed leaders on display in their capital cities, and the secretive team of Russian te... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Democrats’ decision to interview his longtime fixer, lawyer Michael Cohen, on the same day as a meeting with Kim Jong Un may have contributed to the North Korea summit ending with no deal. T... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Sunday the reason he wanted to curb military drills with South Korea was to save the United States hundreds of millions of dollars in costs, and suggested it could also reduce tensions with North Korea. “Th... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Looking for a quick way to stop North Korean missiles immediately after lift-off, the Pentagon is studying as a near-term option whether a group of F-35 fighter jets hovering around North Korean airspace could pick off freshly-launched r... More »
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) – A Russian tanker violated international trade sanctions by transferring fuel to a North Korean vessel at sea at least four times between October 2017 and May 2018, two crew members who witnessed the transfers said. Such transact... More »
GENEVA (Reuters) – Fighting between parties and factions in Iran is a “deadly poison” undermining foreign policy, Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying in an interview published on Tuesday, a day after he resigned as Iranian foreign minister. Zarif’s comme... More »
(Reuters) – A renewed nuclear arms race, rising greenhouse gas emissions and the emergence of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns have left the modern world as close to annihilation as it was at the height of the Cold War, atomic scientists said on Thursd... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left a station in the Chinese capital on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said. Kim was invited to Beijing by Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit China amid negotiations for a se... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed an expected U.S.-North Korea summit in talks in Beijing on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency said, days after Kim warned he may take an alternative path if the United Stat... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said that the U.S. military presence in Syria had been “a mistake, illogical and a source of tension”, in Tehran’s first reaction to President Donald Trump’s planned pull-out. Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troop... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will quit in February after falling out with Donald Trump over the president’s foreign policies, including the surprise decision this week to pull troops out of Syria and plan a drawdown in Afghanistan. Mattis, a r... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States has agreed to help South Korea send flu medication to North Korea, a South Korean official said on Friday, after the United States said it would help deliver aid to the North despite stalled nuclear talks. North Korean leade... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Hitachi Ltd (6501.T) shares rose as much as 2.9 percent on Monday after Japan’s TV Asahi reported the firm is considering scrapping its 3 trillion yen ($26.61 billion) nuclear project in Britain due to projections of further increases in cons... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday condemned what he described as Iran’s testing of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads as a violation of the international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear pro... More »
WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump told Iran it risked dire consequences “the like of which few throughout history have suffered before” if the Islamic Republic made more threats against the United States. His words, spelled out in capit... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he ‘gave up nothing’ at last week’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin but continued to remain elusive about details of their controversial private conversation in Helsinki. “I gave u... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran’s vice president acknowledged on Tuesday that U.S. sanctions would hurt the economy, but promised to “sell as much oil as we can” and protect banking. Eshaq Jahangiri said Washington was trying to stop Iran’s petrochemical, steel and co... More »
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brushed off North Korean charges that he used “gangster-like” diplomacy in negotiations in Pyongyang, saying on Sunday after meeting his Japanese and South Korean counterparts that he would keep ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department on Thursday denied that the United States had softened its approach toward North Korea’s denuclearization, as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to Pyongyang hoping to hammer out a roadmap for its nuclear disa... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants a “different, brighter future” for North Koreans, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet on Thursday. “I spoke with @POTUS while we were both in the ... More »
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sees a different future for his country, as America’s top diplomat heads to Pyongyang for talks on denuclearization. Speaking to repo... More »
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday he believed the bulk of North Korea’s weapons programs could be dismantled within a year, as the United States and North Korea resumed working-level talks. Bolton tol... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. envoy Sung Kim held talks with North Korean officials on Sunday in the border village of Panmunjom within the demilitarized zone between the North and South Korea, South Korean media reported on Sunday. Kim, the U.S. ambassador to t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani promised Iranians the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new U.S. sanctions, a day after traders massed outside parliament to protest against a sharp fall in the value of the national currenc... More »
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea’s top three military officials have been removed from their posts, a senior U.S. official said, a move analysts said on Monday could support efforts by the North’s young leader to jump-start economic development and eng... More »
TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) – A top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Singapore on Monday night, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Tuesday, the latest indication that the on-again-off-again summit with U.S. President Donald Trump may go ahead.... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Former North Korea spy chief and senior official Kim Yong Chol is headed to the United States after stopping over in Beijing, presumably for talks with U.S. officials regarding a possible summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Pre... More »
WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) – The United States on Sunday said it hopes to use strong shared interests that have emerged with its European Union partners in recent months to move forward on addressing Iran’s nuclear program, missile development and role in reg... More »
TEHRAN (Reuters) – The European Union is not doing enough to preserve the benefits for Iran from the 2015 international nuclear pact following the withdrawal of the United States, Iran’s foreign minister told the EU’s energy chief on Sunday. Miguel Arias Canet... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Admiral Harry Harris, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, as U.S. ambassador to South Korea ahead of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled next month but since called into q... More »
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shutting down North Korea’s nuclear test site is trickier than it might seem. A botched tunnel collapse could spread radioactive debris. Nuclear material might be buried, but accessible enough to be dug up and reused in a weapon. A... More »
