Diplomacy

Europe 05/23/19, 03:50

A senior German diplomat is in Tehran to press Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear deal, despite the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. and increasing pressure from Washington.The Foreign Ministry says Political Director Jens Ploetner is meeting with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday.The visit comes ...

Europe 05/18/19, 09:56

Turkey's leader spoke of cooperation with the United States during a White House visit two years ago with President Donald Trump, but by day's end, the warm rhetoric had been overshadowed by a violent brawl outside the Turkish Embassy that left anti-government protesters badly beaten. That altercation on May 16, 2017, ...

Asia & Pacific 05/12/19, 02:13

A South Korean violinist and a North Korean singer on Sunday held a rare joint performance they hope would help bring the divided Koreas closer together via music — especially at a time of emerging tensions amid deadlocked nuclear diplomacy. Violinist Won Hyung Joon and his North Korean soprano partner, Kim ...

Asia & Pacific 04/25/19, 23:44

Japan's Emperor Akihito has had a lifetime mission: Make amends for a war fought in his father's name.Akihito was just 11 when he heard his father Hirohito's voice on the radio declaring Japan's surrender in World War II. Though he wouldn't become emperor himself for another 44 years, Akihito embraced ...

Sports 03/19/19, 12:02

An initiative to build bridges between the Greek and Turkish speaking communities of ethnically split Cyprus faltered Tuesday after the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots skipped a soccer match over a dispute of the game's location.Mustafa Akinci said he couldn't attend because the small stadium in the mixed village ...

Asia & Pacific 03/12/19, 02:28

North Korea must not use a possible rocket launch as leverage in negotiations with the U.S, a South Korean presidential adviser said Tuesday, saying such a move could be "catastrophic" for global diplomacy on its nuclear program. U.S.-based websites recently released satellite photographs indicating North Korea has restored structures at its ...

Europe 03/09/19, 14:32

A senior U.S. official on Saturday met with top Kosovo leaders in an attempt to persuade the government to revoke or suspend a tariff on Serb goods so that dialogue with Belgrade can resume.Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is the latest U.S. envoy to take part ...

Asia & Pacific 03/04/19, 22:25

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned home on Tuesday after traveling two and a half days by train from Vietnam, where his high-stakes nuclear summit with President Donald Trump ended without any agreement. The Kim-Trump summit broke down mainly because of disputes over the extent of sanctions relief the North ...

Asia & Pacific 03/04/19, 02:29

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that Seoul will actively try to get the nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang quickly back on track. Moon made the comments as he led a National Security Council meeting in Seoul to discuss South Korea's diplomatic strategy following the breakdown of a high-stakes ...

Politics 03/03/19, 15:41

South Korea and the U.S. are eliminating their massive springtime military drills and replacing them with smaller exercises in an effort to support diplomacy aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. The decision announced by both countries Sunday came after President Donald Trump complained about the cost of joint drills ...

Asia & Pacific 02/20/19, 20:06

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has staked his legacy on the stunning diplomatic progress he has forged with North Korea, as well as the behind-the-scenes orchestration of the U.S.-North Korean summits. But following months of stalemate on North Korea nuclear talks, Moon's presidency faces a crucial moment, with President Donald Trump ...

Europe 01/16/19, 06:42

The Latest on the Russian foreign minister's annual news conference (all times local): 12:40 p.m. Russia's foreign minister has ridiculed allegations that U.S. President Donald Trump could have worked for Moscow's interests. Sergey Lavrov has told a news conference that U.S. media reports claiming that Trump might have been a Russian agent reflect ...

Europe 01/03/19, 08:36

North Korea's top diplomat in Italy and his wife have gone into hiding, according to a South Korean lawmaker, raising the possibility of a rare defection of a senior North Korean official. The news came from South Korea's spy agency, which briefed lawmakers in Seoul on Thursday on the status of ...

World 12/06/18, 12:16

Ecuador's president has ramped up pressure on Julian Assange to leave his country's embassy in London, saying that Britain had provided sufficient guarantees that the WikiLeaks founder won't be extradited to face the death penalty abroad.Lenin Moreno's comments in a radio interview Thursday suggest that months of quiet diplomacy between ...

Asia & Pacific 11/07/18, 15:53

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. is "in no rush" after talks between his top diplomat and a senior North Korean envoy were postponed, throwing stalled diplomacy over the North's nuclear weapons into further uncertainty. Trump said the meeting, which had been due to take place on Thursday in New ...

Asia & Pacific 10/31/18, 22:11

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will "soon" visit Seoul as part of a flurry of high-profile diplomacy aimed at ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons.During a speech before parliament, Moon said that a second North Korea-U.S. summit is "near at ...

Politics 10/28/18, 23:28

The top U.S. envoy for North Korea has expressed confidence about achieving North Korea's nuclear disarmament. There are worries about the slow pace of nuclear diplomacy since U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's fourth trip to Pyongyang earlier this month. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, shakes hands with U.S. special ...

World 10/22/18, 22:20

Both ignorant and malicious" was how the official China Daily newspaper recently described comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, offering a stinging insight into the current bitter tone of discourse between the two countries.The White House's move to expand Washington's dispute with Beijing beyond trade and technology and ...

World 10/10/18, 03:26

Seoul is considering lifting some of its unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang to create more momentum for diplomacy aimed at improving relations and defusing the nuclear crisis, South Korea's foreign minister said Wednesday.During a parliamentary audit of her ministry, Kang Kyung-wha said the government is reviewing whether to lift sanctions South ...

World 10/10/18, 02:25

The Latest on South Korea saying it's considering lifting sanctions against North Korea to help diplomacy (all times local):3:10 p.m.South Korea's foreign minister says Seoul is considering lifting some of its unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang to create more momentum for diplomacy aimed at improving relations and defusing the nuclear crisis.Kang ...