By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have underscored their commitment to deepen cooperation in a closely watched summit. Xi traveled to Pyongyang on Monday in a likely attempt to reassert China's unique influence over its socialist neighbor. In a meeting with Kim, Xi expressed China's willingness to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, agriculture and technology. Kim said consolidating a new era of friendship between the two countries is the "unchanging strategic choice" of North Korea, according to Chinese state media.
By KEN MORITSUGU and HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea next week in what will be his first visit in years. His trip will the latest in a series of steps by China to reinforce its close ties with its nuclear-armed neighbor, whose leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to Russia in recent years, notably by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine. The announcement was made by both countries Friday a day after North Korea unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear fuel. Experts say the plant's disclosure implies that Kim is eager to cement his country's status as a nuclear weapons state ahead of Xi's visit.
By AAMER MADHANI, WILL WEISSERT and SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press
President Donald Trump says he's not yet made a decision on whether a major sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan can move forward following his three-day visit to China. The president spoke to reporters Friday as he flew back on Air Force One. Trump's Republican administration has authorized the sale, but it has yet to proceed. Some Republicans in Congress expressed displeasure at the president's comments on weapons to Taiwan. China opposes the deal and has suggested that Washington's relationship with the self-governing island is the key factor in China-U.S. relations. Trump also says he raised a potential three-way nuclear deal involving the U.S., Russia and China.
By AAMER MADHANI and SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press
President Donald Trump has demonstrated greater ambivalence toward Taiwan in his second term. That's raising questions about the Republican president's commitment to maintaining American support for the self-ruled island ahead of this week's summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In December, Trump authorized an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan but delayed its delivery and discussed the sale with Xi. Trump said Monday he expects Xi will ask him to hold back on arming Taiwan. Trump has accused Taiwan of "stealing" America's semiconductor business and pressured it to invest in U.S. tech sectors. Analysts say Xi might urge Trump to loosen ties with Taiwan, which Beijing views as its breakaway province.
By JOSHUA BOAK, BEN FINLEY and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
The U.S. military fired on an Iranian oil tanker as President Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war. The military said in a social media post that a fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman as the vessel tried to breach the American blockade of Iran's ports. The attack occurred as Iran and the U.S. are officially in a ceasefire. Trump threatened Tehran with a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz. The president posted on social media that the two-month war could soon end.
Diplomats are working through back channels to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran. As Washington enacted its blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran threatened to retaliate by striking targets across the war-weary region. Though last week's ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities. Meanwhile in Washington, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon concluded on an upbeat note. That's according to Israel's ambassador to the U.S. They are the first such negotiations in decades. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict in Iran failed to produce an agreement last weekend. Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round in the coming days.
Taiwan's opposition leader has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, marking the first such encounter in over a decade. Both sides affirmed the need for peace around Taiwan, which China claims as its territory. Xi and Cheng Li-wun, head of the Kuomingtang Party, expressed a desire for peaceful reunification. China has increased military exercises around Taiwan. Cheng opposes large defense spending increases in Taiwan and has blocked a special defense budget. Both leaders upheld the 1992 Consensus, opposing Taiwan's independence, and aim to prevent the Taiwan Strait from becoming a conflict flash point.
President Donald Trump is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that was planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to form a military coalition to protect the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks' time instead of at the end of the month. Trump's visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers, but it became tangled in his effort to find an endgame to his war in Iran.
