Daisies for peace, an oval table exactly 2,018 millimetres wide and a huge picture of a mountain representing inter-Korean reconciliation: the room hosting historic talks between the leaders of North and South Korea dripped with symbolism.As camera shutters clicked furiously, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in, flanked by their trusted advisers, took their seats at the oval walnut table that was supposed to enable "frank talks without any feeling of distance", according to host officials. South Korean

North Korea April 27, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "flooded with emotion" as he walked into the neighbouring South, he told his host Moon Jae-in as they began the first inter-Korean summit for more than a decade.Walking across the cement blocks that mark the border was "so easy," Kim said, making him wonder "why it took so long to do so after 11 years," referring to the last summit in Pyongyang in 2007.Kim is the first North Korean leader to set foot on the South's territory since the 1950-53 Korean War ended

North Korea April 27, 2018

When the leaders of North and South Korea reached across the Military Demarcation Line to shake hands on Friday, they symbolically -- if fleetingly -- united a peninsula that has been divided for decades.The handshake between the two leaders marked the latest milestone in a rapid rapprochement after months of global fears about a nuclear conflict.Here are some other handshakes that shook the world:(Yonhap)- Arafat-Rabin, 1993 -After months of secret negotiations in Norway, Israeli Prime Minister

World News April 27, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in shook hands Friday over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism ahead of a historic summit."I am happy to meet you," Moon told Kim before the visitor stepped over the line, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago.The two men briefly stepped back over the line into the North before walking to th

North Korea April 27, 2018

US President Donald Trump and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for a "new" deal with Iran Tuesday, looking beyond divisions over a landmark nuclear accord that still hangs in the balance.Trump laid transatlantic divisions bare during a visit by the French president, pillorying a three-year old agreement designed to curb Iran's nuclear program.The US leader described the deal as "insane" and "ridiculous," despite European pleas for him not to walk away.US President Donald Trump and Frenc

World News April 25, 2018

US President Donald Trump praised Kim Jong-un as "very open" and "very honorable" on Tuesday, adding the North Korean leader wants to meet "as soon as possible.""We are having very good discussions," Trump said, ahead of a summit with the mercurial Kim expected sometime before the end of June."He really has been very open, I think -- very honorable." A photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, shows a meeting of the Political Bureau of t

North Korea April 25, 2018

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, ahead of an expected summit with the North's leader Kim Jong-un.Earlier, the US leader -- who spent the day in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron -- had described Kim as "very open" and "very honorable" -- his most positive comments yet about a man he once publicly belittled.But when pressed about what he hoped to gain from Pyongyang, the 71-year-old Republican president was blunt.US President Don

North Korea April 25, 2018

Avicii, one of the world's most successful DJs who helped usher in the global boom in electronic music but struggled to cope with the hard-partying lifestyle, died Friday in Oman, his representative said. He was 28.Two years after his unusually early retirement from touring, the Swedish DJ was found dead in the Gulf sultanate's capital Muscat.“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” his management said in a statement, without specifying the ca

World News April 21, 2018

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera (AFP)Japan is not satisfied with North Korea’s pledge to halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, its defence minister said on Saturday, warning that Tokyo will continue to put maximum pressure on Pyongyang.  “We can't be satisfied,” Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Washington, saying North Korea did not mention “abandonment of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.” (AFP)

North Korea April 21, 2018

 Syrian air defence shot down missiles over the central province of Homs, the state news agency said Tuesday, with the strikes reportedly targeting regime air bases.The news agency did not give further details and it was unclear who was behind the attack, which Syrian state television branded as an "aggression".Big explosions were heard near Al Shayrat Air base, southeast of the city of Homs, and in eastern Qalamoun near Damascus where two other air bases are located, the Syrian Observatory for

World News April 17, 2018

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Sunday began a visit to Japan described as a major step forward in improving frosty relations, as Tokyo tries to stay involved in a flurry of international diplomacy over North Korea.　Wang met his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in talks expected to touch on economic relations, territorial disputes in the East China Sea and ways to push the North to give up its nuclear weapons.(AFP-Yonhap)　“I would like to regard (Wang‘s visit) as a major step

World News April 15, 2018

Shortly after coming to power last year, Emmanuel Macron mused to a friend about the role of president. "You go through stages," he said. "Innocence is not allowed."On Friday night, like British Prime Minister Theresa May, he ordered his first major military intervention.Early Saturday, French and British aircraft took part in a wave of strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in response to alleged chemical weapons attacks.Though already active in a US-led coalition combating t

World News April 15, 2018

Hours after striking Syria, the United States, France and Britain on Saturday launched a new bid at the United Nations to investigate chemical weapons attacks in Syria.The three allies circulated a joint draft resolution at the Security Council that also calls for unimpeded deliveries of humanitarian aid, enforcing a ceasefire and demands that Syria engage in UN-led peace talks, according to the text obtained by AFP.The move signaled the West's resolve to return to diplomacy after a one-night mi

World News April 15, 2018

Iran warned of "regional consequences" on Saturday following a wave of punitive strikes in Syria by the United States, Britain and France. "The United States and its allies have no proof and, without even waiting for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take a position, have carried out this military attack," said the foreign ministry in a statement. The Damascus sky lights up missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the capital ear

World News April 14, 2018

Western strikes early Saturday hit Syrian military bases and chemical research centres in and around the capital, a monitor said, as the US announced a joint operation against the Damascus government."The Western coalition strikes targeted scientific research centres, several military bases, and the bases of the Republican Guard and Fourth Division in the capital Damascus and around it," said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The US, France, and Britain announced a joint oper

World News April 14, 2018