Timing the US-North Korea “confrontation”; G7 issues strong statement on the East Sea

1. Trump will meet Kim Jong-un in the next 3-4 weeks

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters.

CNN news agency reported on April 29 that US President Donald Trump, during a campaign in Washington, Michigan, announced the expected time of the US-North Korea summit: "I think we will have a meeting in the next 3 or 4 weeks. It will be a very important meeting, the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

Earlier, the White House owner said that he had narrowed down the meeting location to two places, but did not disclose specifics. Sources quoted some US officials as saying that Singapore is the top choice for the summit.

The head of the United States affirmed that the goal of the summit is "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, but admitted that the situation is very unpredictable. "I'm not going to predict what will happen because we really don't know," Trump emphasized.

2. The Inter-Korean Summit was a great success.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walk after crossing the southern side of the DMZ. Photo: AP

On April 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had a historic meeting at the truce village located in the demilitarized zone between the two countries' border.

The “Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula” states that the two leaders officially declared before the 80 million people of the two Koreas and the whole world that there will be no more war on the Korean Peninsula, and from now on an era of peace has begun.

Thus, after the Korean War broke out in 1950 and ended 3 years later with an armistice agreement rather than an official peace treaty, the latest statement by the leaders of Seoul and Pyongyang has opened the door to ending the state of war that has lasted for the past 65 years.

The two sides also affirmed the common goal of a nuclear-free peninsula, through comprehensive denuclearization. The successful event laid the foundation for the trust and expectations of world public opinion for the upcoming US-North Korea summit.

3. G7 issues strong statement on East Sea

G7 foreign ministers discuss at a conference in Toronto, Canada. Photo: AFP/VNA.

In a joint statement issued after the G7 Foreign and Security Ministers' Meeting in Canada earlier this week, G7 foreign ministers expressed deep concerns about freedom of navigation and compliance with international law.

Directly related to the East Sea and East China Sea issues, the G7 Foreign Ministers emphasized “strong opposition to any unilateral actions that escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order, such as the threat or use of force, large-scale land reclamation, construction of outposts and their use for military purposes”.

The G7 Foreign Ministers called on “all parties to comply with their obligations under international law and to fully and effectively implement the commitments in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in a comprehensive manner”.

4. French President Emmanuel Macron visits the US

US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at the official welcoming ceremony at the White House on April 24. Photo: Internet

On April 23, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the United States and became President Donald Trump's first state guest since taking office in early 2017.

The three-day visit comes amid disagreements between the two sides over trade and the Iran nuclear deal.

The Iranian government has previously called on European leaders to persuade US President Donald Trump not to "tear up" the nuclear deal reached between Tehran and the P5+1 powers (Russia, the US, the UK, France, China and Germany). This visit can be seen as a mission to rescue the agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Mr. Trump has announced he will withdraw from unless European allies fix the "terrible flaws" in the agreement by mid-May.

Observers believe that the purpose of Mr. Macron's visit to the US this time is to improve bilateral relations. The statement of the two leaders after this meeting shows that France and the US have reached a compromise on the issues that still disagree between the two countries.

5. $4.4 billion to support Syria reconstruction

According to a WB report, the conflict in Syria has destroyed and damaged about 27% of buildings and about half of educational and medical facilities - Photo: New York Times

On April 25, at the closing session of the Syria Reconstruction Funding Conference held in Brussels (Belgium), international donors pledged to spend 4.4 billion USD to support humanitarian activities and restore infrastructure in Syria in 2018.

Although this number is not as expected, the UN representative said that this is still a significant amount of money to help the Syrian people reduce some of the suffering caused by war.

This is the third annual conference after the Syria donor conference in London (UK) in 2016 and in Brussels (Belgium) in 2017 to help Syria restore electricity and water systems in heavily damaged cities.

The 85 countries and international organizations participating in the conference said that financial support only partially solved the immediate problem. The conference called on Russia and Iran to persuade Syria to negotiate an end to the eight-year war. So far, eight rounds of talks have been held in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, but have not produced any results.

The United Nations says more than 400,000 people have died, more than 5 million have sought refuge abroad and more than 6 million have been displaced by the Syrian conflict since 2011. The World Bank estimates that Syria will need about $200 billion to rebuild the country.

6. Car crashed into crowd in Toronto, Canada

Police inspect the truck that drove into a crowd in Toronto on April 23. Photo: AFP

At least 10 people were killed and 15 injured when a truck plowed into pedestrians in Toronto, Canada on April 23. Police have arrested the driver of the truck.

The accident happened at lunchtime, at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue in Toronto, about 30km from where Toronto hosted the G7 Ministerial Meeting. CNN quoted a Toronto official as believing that this was "a premeditated act."