WASHINGTON (AFP) -- As North Korea reportedly continues to build missiles and produce plutonium, a top aide to US President Donald Trump said Sunday that "there's nobody in his administration starry-eyed about the prospects of North Korea actually denuclearising."National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the "point may well come" when the US concludes that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is not serious about his promises to denuclearise.But Bolton, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," said Trump

Seoul said Thursday it had deployed a warship to Libya in an apparent show of force to secure the release of a South Korean national kidnapped along with three Filipinos in the North African country.The 4,000-tonne vessel, Munmu the Great, which takes part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, was now on its way to Libya, officials said.In addition to “carrying out its duty of protecting commercial vessels, (the warship) is also preparing for all possibilities including the need for mil

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union on Monday said elections in Cambodia that handed strongman Hun Sen full control of parliament lacked credibility and did not reflect the will of the people. "The lack of genuine electoral competition and the absence of an inclusive political process mean that the July 29 election is not representative of the democratic will of the Cambodian electorate," a statement from the EU's foreign affairs office said.  (European Union Website)"Therefore its outcome lack

LONDON (AFP) -- Asian and European stock markets slid Monday in a downbeat start to the week as investors waited on key global interest rate decisions.Nearing midday in London, the British capital's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.1 percent, while Frankfurt dipped 0.2 percent and Paris pared 0.3 percent in eurozone early afternoon deals. (AFP-Yonhap)"Monday's barren economic calendar (has been) allowing the markets to stew ahead of the week's trio of central bank get-togethers," noted Spreadex a

WASHINGTON  -- Dozens of US legislators are demanding that the Trump administration explain a recent agreement to allow the free distribution of plans for using 3D printers to make plastic handguns that will be easy to hide and almost impossible to control.After a lengthy legal battle, the government reached agreement last month with Cody Wilson, a militant gun rights advocate from Texas. He successfully argued that the US Constitution‘s Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to private gu

REDDING, California -- The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings.The largest of the fires menacing the state has nearly doubled in size, while another pushed thousands of people to flee and a third forced the partial closure of the popular Yosemite National Park.A huge co

WASHINGTON -- North Korea appears to have started dismantling key facilities at a rocket-engine test center, a group of experts said Monday, potentially marking a significant step after last month‘s summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.According to the 38 North group, commercial satellite imagery of the Sohae satellite launching station indicates Pyongyang has begun taking down a processing building and a rocket-engine test stand that had been used to test liquid-fuel engines

LONDON - Britain will only pay its EU divorce bill if the bloc agrees the framework for a future trade deal, the new Brexit Secretary warned in an interview published Sunday.Dominic Raab, who replaced David Davis earlier this month after he quit the role in protest over the government's Brexit strategy, said "some conditionality between the two" was needed."Article 50 requires, as we negotiate the withdrawal agreement, that there's a future framework for our new relationship going forward, so th

The US appeal at the United Nations for "full enforcement" of sanctions against North Korea underscored the difficulty of attaining real progress on denuclearization, more than a month after the much-vaunted Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un summit.In their joint declaration after the historic meeting June 12 in Singapore, the North Korean leader "reaffirmed his commitment" to the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." But the actual details of the process, including how and by what timetab

Japan and the EU signed a sweeping free trade deal Tuesday saying they were sending a "clear message" against protectionism, as Washington puts up barriers and threatens a trade war.  The deal signed in Tokyo is the largest ever negotiated by the EU and creates a massive free trade zone, eliminating tariffs for everything from Japanese cars to French cheese.It also provides a stark counterpoint to US President Donald Trump's aggressive "America First" protectionism, which has seen Washington imp

JAKARTA -- The leaders of the two Koreas have been invited to next month‘s Asian Games in Indonesia, Jakarta said Monday, after the neighbours agreed to field several joint teams at the event.Indonesian president Joko Widodo sent a formal invitation Friday to South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Widodo‘s spokesman said, but it was not immediately clear if either has responded.“The invitation letters have been sent to the leaders,” spokesman Johan Budi told AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin knows the legacy of his World Cup will be judged partly by the fate of the stadiums after the tournament and he is determined they are put to good use.Russia has spent at least $4 billion on arena construction and refurbishments for the month-long showpiece.Stunning venues rose from the ground in developed cities far from Moscow such as Nizhny Novogrod on the Volga River and in small and isolated places like Saransk.Putin's last TV phone-in show held a week befor

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens injured in a landslide at an old jade mine in northern Myanmar, state media reported on Sunday, as rains complicate the search for more victims.The accident is the latest to strike the multibillion dollar industry centred in Kachin state, the source of most of the world's jade.The poorly regulated and murky business is fuelled by demand across the border in China where the near-translucent green gem is prized. The accident is the latest to strike th

Three more people were rescued from a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday, officials said, bringing to 11 the number saved and raising hopes all members of the young football team who became trapped 18 days ago would survive.An ambulance leaves from the Tham Luang cave area as the operations continue for those still trapped inside the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on July 10, 2018. (Yonhap)Two more were still inside the cave but authorities were co

MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) - Elite divers on Sunday began the extremely dangerous operation to extract 12 boys and their football coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, with some of the rescuers reaching the area where the team is sheltering.　　The “Wild Boars” team has been stuck in a cramped chamber several kilometres (miles) inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23, when they went in after football practice and were hemmed in by

As a trade war rages between China and the US, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is meeting leaders from central and eastern Europe in Bulgaria on Saturday to discuss investment opportunities.Road and rail projects funded by China will be high on the agenda at the summit, which has raised concerns in Brussels and richer Western European countries about growing Chinese influence in the region.At the seventh annual gathering of the so-called "16+1 cooperation", Li will meet leaders and firms from 11 EU m

Japan has lowered its military readiness level against North Korean missiles as Washington embarks on delicate nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang, a report said Sunday, citing multiple unnamed sources close to the matter.The report came as Japan finds itself under pressure to soften its hardline stance against Pyongyang following US President Donald Trump's landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month. (Herald DB)Japan's Self Defense Forces on Friday dropped their programme t

EU leaders headed to Brussels for emergency talks Sunday over migration as Italy's new populist cabinet turned away another rescue ship, vowing no longer to shoulder Europe's migrant burden.The talks involving 16 of the bloc's 28 leaders aim to mend rifts over burden sharing but also to shore up German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pressed by her own government to tighten her liberal approach to asylum.The meeting was called last week to clear the air before a scheduled full summit on Thursday and F

Chinese President Xi Jinping has coached his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un on high-stakes diplomacy. Now he seems poised to give the young autocrat another lesson: how to reform a state-controlled economy while keeping an iron grip on power.   Beijing has long pushed for Pyongyang to adopt similar measures to those that fuelled China's dizzying ascent from a communist backwater to one of the world's largest trading powers.   But while the highly secretive, nuclear-armed North has been qui

North Korea's national airline Air Koryo plans to open a new route linking Pyongyang and Xian in China, a staff member said Thursday, in the latest sign of the nuclear-armed state's possible emergence from isolation.   An Air Koryo representative told AFP "there is a plan" for flights to the central Chinese city, a major tourist destination famous for its ancient Terracotta Warriors.   But the staffer said he "did not know" whether the route would begin in July, as reported by the Xian Evening N