News In Brief
AP, Seoul
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un thanked workers during a visit to a factory that built the tires for a huge vehicle used to transport a new intercontinental ballistic missile that was test-launched this week, the country’s media reported Sunday.
The launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM in violation of international sanctions was celebrated Friday with a massive public rally and fireworks in capital Pyongyang.
Tillerson heads for Europe visit
AFP, Washington
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson embarks this week on a diplomatic mission to shore up alliances in Europe and their defenses against Russian aggression and subversion.
But as he prepares to set off Monday for Brussels, Vienna and Paris, his authority to speak for Washington has been called into question by a rift with President Donald Trump.
Venezuela talks end without deal
Reuters, Caracas
Members of Venezuela’s government and opposition coalition failed to reach a deal in a new round of talks in the Dominican Republic on Saturday aimed at resolving the OPEC nation’s protracted political crisis, but planned to meet in two weeks to try again.
Various mediation efforts have failed in recent years. Foes accuse President Nicolas Maduro of exploiting dialogue to buy time, while he says the opposition prefers violence.
Rouhani calls for Middle East ‘dialogue’
AFP, Tehran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that Middle Eastern countries should solve their problems together without relying on external powers.
“We believe that if there is a problem in the region, it can be solved through dialogue,” Rouhani said in a speech at the opening of a port in the southeastern city of Chabahar, broadcast by state television.
“We do not need arms nor the intervention of foreign powers. We can solve our problems ourselves through unity and dialogue.”
