Kim Jong-un's train arrives in China; Venezuela closes border with Colombia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's train arrives in China

It is not yet clear whether North Korean President Kim Jong-un was on this train. Photo: AFP

Media reports said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s armored train arrived in China on the evening of February 23 en route to Vietnam ahead of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi. According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and NK news agency, the train arrived in the border city of Dandong in Liaoning province at 9 p.m. on February 23 (local time).

However, it is not yet clear whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was on board the train. Security was tightened ahead of the train's arrival and police cordoned off areas around the bridge the train was passing over.

Venezuela closes border crossings with Colombia

Venezuelan soldiers stand guard at the foot of the bridge connecting to Colombia. Photo:AP.

On February 22, the Venezuelan government ordered the closure of all border crossings with Colombia to “deal with threats” to national sovereignty in the context of the US, Colombia, some countries in Latin America and the domestic opposition are urgently trying to bring aid into Venezuela despite the government's refusal.

The Simon Bolivar, Santander and Union bridges connecting Venezuela and Colombia will be temporarily closed and will only reopen when all issues related to Venezuela's security and sovereignty are guaranteed, according to a statement by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez from the Vietnam News Agency in Latin America. Operations at these bridges will be restored to normal as long as the Colombian government controls the violence against the country.

President Trump nominates person for US Ambassador to the United Nations

President Donald Trump said on February 22 that he would nominate US Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft to be the next US Ambassador to the United Nations. Trump's nomination came after a four-month search for a replacement for Nikki Haley, who resigned earlier. President Trump expressed confidence that Kelly would do a good job and represent the United States at the highest level.

As US Ambassador to Canada, Ms. Kelly participated in negotiating trade agreements with Canada and Mexico. If approved by the Senate, Ms. Kelly is expected to take over the difficult mission of defending President Trump's "America First" foreign policy while calling on other countries to support US policies. Before Ms. Kelly, President Trump nominated US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations, but Ms. Nauert withdrew last week for personal reasons.

Türkiye warns of power vacuum in Syria

A day earlier, a senior US official announced that Washington would leave about 400 US troops, divided into two areas of Syria, a decision by US President Donald Trump that is believed to pave the way for Western allies to continue maintaining troops in Syria.

EU not afraid to respond if US imposes car tax

Mercedes Benz cars at a container port in Bremerhaven, northern Germany. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

EU trade ministers are meeting in Bucharest, where they said they could target coal, cars, chemicals and US companies if Washington imposes tariffs on cars from the European Union. European officials are drawing up a list of 20 billion euros ($22.7 billion) worth of potential retaliatory tariffs and are now studying in detail products made by US companies including Ford, General Motors and Tesla.

The final list could still be expanded, but it would target products made in the United States rather than those made elsewhere by American brands. Europe is leaning toward a broad trade deal with the Trump administration, but would not hesitate to retaliate if Trump threatens to target EU auto exports.