
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Kazakh Black Sea oil exports halted by new Russian regulations, sources say
MOSCOW, July 23 (Reuters) - Foreign oil tankers are being temporarily barred from loading at Russia's main Black Sea ports following new regulations, two industry sources said on Wednesday, effectively blocking exports from Kazakhstan handled largely by a consortium partly owned by U.S. energy majors. The lack of port access to foreign ships, which also affected Russian oil exports from the port of Novorossiisk, could amount to more than 2% of global oil supply, according to Reuters calculations based on loadings data from the region. It comes days after the EU imposed fresh sanctions on Russia and complicates operations of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, whose shareholders include Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and ExxonMobil (XOM.N), opens new tab. CPC ships oil through the pipeline, which carries more than 80% of all Kazakh oil exports, and further via Russia's Yuzhnaya Ozereevka terminal. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin signed a law under which foreign ships will require the approval of Russia's FSB security service to access the country's ports. The decree said that permission from port authorities for foreign ships to enter would need to be agreed with the FSB, which is the main successor organisation to the Soviet-era KGB. The new measures came into force immediately after the decree was published. CPC and Russia's ministry of transport declined to comment on the suspension. One of the sources said he expected the situation at the ports to be resolved in a day or two. Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports from the CPC terminal in Russia were set at 1.66 million barrels per day for August, or about 6.5 million metric tons, almost unchanged from the July export plan. Exports and oil transit via Novorossisk are seen around 2.2 million metric tons in July, according to industry sources. Mediterranean oil markets were already jittery following a contamination scare which led to delayed loadings of Azeri BTC crude oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan in recent days. CPC's operations were also disrupted by a damaged pumping station in February in a suspected drone attack, and Russia's brief restrictions on capacity of the CPC's Black Sea terminal in April.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Chinese engines, shipped as 'cooling units', power Russian drones used in Ukraine
July 23 (Reuters) - Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions, according to three European security officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. The shipments have allowed Russian weapons-maker IEMZ Kupol to increase its production of the Garpiya-A1 attack drone, despite the U.S. and E.U. sanctions imposed in October designed to disrupt its supply chain, according to the sources and documents, which included contracts, invoices and customs paperwork. An internal Kupol document, reviewed by Reuters, showed it signed a contract with the Russian defence ministry to produce more than 6,000 Garpiya this year, up from 2,000 in 2024. The document stated that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April. The long-range drone is being deployed to attack civilian and military targets deep within Ukrainian territory, with around 500 being used by Russia per month, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency said in a statement to Reuters. The European security officials asked that neither they nor their organisation be identified due to the sensitivity of the information. They also requested some specific details in the documents be withheld, such as their dates and the cost of contracts. In September, Reuters reported that Kupol was producing the Garpiya using Chinese technology, including L550E engines made by Xiamen Limbach Aviation Engine Co. A month after the Reuters' report, the European Union and the U.S. sanctioned several companies involved in producing the drones, including Xiamen. In the wake of the sanctions, a new Chinese firm called Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade has started supplying the L550E engines to Kupol, according to invoices, a Kupol internal letter and transportation documents reviewed by Reuters. The increase in production of Garpiya as well as the new intermediaries supplying parts for the drones are reported by Reuters for the first time. The news agency could not determine how Xichao obtained the engines from the maker Xiamen Limbach. Xiamen Limbach did not respond to a request for comment and Reuters was unable to reach Xichao. IEMZ Kupol, Russia's trade and industry ministry and the defence ministry also did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement to Reuters, China's foreign ministry said it was unaware of the export of parts for the Garpiya and it has controlled foreign sales of dual-use goods in line with China's own laws and international obligations. "China has always opposed unilateral sanctions that lack basis in international law and are not authorized by the U.N. Security Council," the statement said. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the U.S. and E.U. have repeatedly imposed sanctions on companies in third-party countries, including China, alleged to have provided dual-use technology to Russia. Kupol has been sanctioned since December 2022 by the EU and December 2023 by the U.S. for its involvement in Russia's defence sector. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to travel to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, amid tensions over Beijing's support for Russia's war effort. The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on July 2 that Chinese firms' support for Russia in the war posed a threat to European security and she urged China to cease trade that sustains Russia's military machine, the EU said in a statement. Meia Nouwens, senior fellow for Chinese security and defence policy at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said China's prime concern was to help sustain Russia's war effort to ensure the United States remained focused on Ukraine. "This does not help China and Europe come closer together, diplomatically," she said. China says it imposes strict controls on the export of drones and their parts and has never provided either side of the war in Ukraine with lethal weapons. A person familiar with Beijing's thinking on the issue said that China produces around 75% of world's drones, with the majority not for military purposes; if Russia was using them as weapons, then the same was also true of Ukraine, the person added. Ahead of Thursday's summit, one European official said the EU was not asking China to cut economic ties with Russia but to strengthen customs and financial controls to reduce the flow of specific dual-use goods. The Garpiya, which means harpy in Russian, is based on the Iranian-made Shahed drones but relies on Chinese technology, the three European sources said. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said the Chinese-made components in the drone included the engine, control systems, and navigation equipment. The engines were shipped by Xichao to a Russian front company identified as SMP-138, which then forwarded them to a second Russian firm LIBSS, according to another internal Kupol document, seen by Reuters. Abram Goldman, registered as the owner of SMP-138, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. LIBSS also did not respond to Reuters' questions. A contract for LIBSS to supply Kupol with the engines, reviewed by Reuters, stated they would be described as cooling units in shipping documents because of their sensitivity. The delivery route was from Beijing to Moscow then to Izhevsk, where Kupol has manufacturing facilities. Describing them as cooling units allowed the goods to be exported to Russia without alerting Chinese authorities, the three security officials said. Transportation documents reviewed by Reuters showed that Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines ( opens new tab, China's largest carrier, had transported components for the drones to sanctioned Russian companies since October. China Southern did not respond to Reuters' questions and Sichuan could not be reached for comment.


The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Iranian negotiator doesn't rule out exiting nuclear treaty if sanctions are reimposed
A top Iranian official warned Wednesday that European threats to reimpose sanctions could lead Iran to withdraw from an international pact that limits the spread of nuclear weapons, one of the last remaining safeguards against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi discussed with reporters his country's recourse against further financial punishment ahead of a critical meeting Friday with Britain, France and Germany. The talks between Iran and some of the remaining members of the 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. withdrew from in President Donald Trump 's first term, are expected to take place in Istanbul. The three European countries have suggested triggering a so-called snapback provision in that accord that would reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August. The 2015 deal had eased economic penalties on Iran in exchange for restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program, which Iran has insisted is peaceful. Gharibabadi, who has been part of the nuclear negotiation team, said that despite domestic pressure to withdraw from the separate, older Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, especially in the aftermath of the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites, Iran has remained compliant with the 1970 treaty. 'But, I'm quite confident that if the snapback is triggered, Iran will not show more restraint in this regard,' Gharibabadi said. If Iran does exit the treaty, it will be just the second country to do so, after North Korea in 2003, whose withdrawal has never been formally accepted. The warning from Iran comes as the Trump administration is once again seeking to reach a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program. The two sides had held several rounds of talks before Israel staged a surprise attack in June. Gharibabadi and Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, have remained optimistic that the triggering of sanctions and withdrawal from the treaty can be avoided with 'diplomacy and negotiation.' Gharibabadi said Friday's meeting is very important but that its success will depend on how the Europeans approach Iran this time around. 'We have always valued our meetings with the European countries. But there is an important issue: I think we have always told them that the policies of the European countries should be independent,' he said. 'They should not coordinate their positions with the Americans.' He added, 'If this is the case, why should we negotiate with the Europeans when we can negotiate with the Americans?' Iranian officials, including Gharibabadi, said they are open to proposals on how to prevent further sanctions and 'prevent a more complicated situation.'