U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year when he discussed trade and defence issues with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a White House visit on Monday.
"I'd like to meet him this year," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he welcomed South Korea's new president, Lee Jae Myung, to the White House for the first time.
"I look forward to meeting with Kim Jong Un in the appropriate future."
Lee highlighted North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities. "Despite the massive sanctions imposed to deter North Korea, the result has been the continuous development of nuclear weapons and missiles."
He added that the country could now build 10–20 nuclear warheads per year, needing only to perfect a reentry vehicle for its largest missiles.
North Korea did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks. Its state media said later that U.S.-South Korea joint military drills proved Washington's intention to "occupy" the Korean peninsula and target countries in the region.
Trump and Lee discussed trade, including a non-binding agreement to set up and operate a $350 billion financial packaged pledged in their July trade deal, to support the strengthening of strategic industries including energy and critical minerals, batteries, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
South Korean presidential policy adviser Kim Yong-beom said the Ministry of Finance would establish a working-level team to discuss detailed future implentation.
Trump said, "I think we have a deal done. They had some problems with it, but we stuck to our guns."
The two leaders also addressed defence spending and military arrangements. Trump suggested Seoul might give the U.S. more flexibility in using its forces, but said, "I don't want to say that now," when asked about troop reductions.
Before the meeting Lee had said that it would be difficult for South Korea to adopt such "flexibility," particularly regarding operations related to China, acknowledging the challenges in meeting U.S. demands.
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Iran’s armed forces are prepared to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any U.S. attack, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, as American military assets arrived in the Middle East amid renewed tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“The decision is made that the Qamishli air base is not needed anymore,” political analyst Dmitry Bridzhe said, as Russia begins withdrawing forces from its facility in northeastern Syria amid shifts in the country’s political and security landscape.
“For some weeks now, we have been seeing with increasing clarity the emergence of a world of great powers,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday (29 January), declaring that Europe had found “self-respect” in standing up for a rules-based global order.
Kazakhstan lost around 3.8 million tonnes of oil exports following an attack on facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said, stressing that it is still too early to assess the losses in monetary terms.
The S&P 500 edged to a record closing high on Tuesday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as strong advances in technology stocks offset a sharp selloff in healthcare shares and a mixed batch of corporate earnings.
Residents in Syria’s Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli have stepped up volunteer patrols amid growing pressure from the country’s Islamist-led government, expressing deep mistrust of Damascus despite a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire.
Liverpool confirmed direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 with a 6-0 win over Qarabağ at Anfield in their final league-phase match. Despite the setback, Qarabağ secured a play-off spot, with results elsewhere going in the Azerbaijani champions’ favour on the final matchday.
Iraq's former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said on Wednesday that he rejects U.S. interference in Iraq's internal affairs, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off support to the country if Maliki was picked as prime minister.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stressed to U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Tuesday the importance of unifying international efforts to prevent the return of "terrorist groups", including Islamic State.
“For some weeks now, we have been seeing with increasing clarity the emergence of a world of great powers,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday (29 January), declaring that Europe had found “self-respect” in standing up for a rules-based global order.
Colombian authorities on Wednesday (28 January) located a missing plane carrying 15 people in the northeast of the country, with no survivors found, an Air Force source and local media said.
Chinese authorities say they've carried out capital punishment against a group of individuals tied to notorious telecommunications fraud syndicates operating across the southern border, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is likely to increase its number of parliamentary seats and gain a majority in the lower house, a preliminary survey by the Nikkei newspaper showed on Thursday (29 January).
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