Seoul intends to act as an intermediary between Washington and Pyongyang, following North Korea’s warnings to suspend the planned summit with the USA.This meeting is scheduled for the 12th of June, in Singapore. President of South Korea will visit White House on May 22 to discuss further with the US President.
The issue arose when N. Korea cancelled talks with S. Korea on Tuesday. High-level officials were to discuss further action for the implementation of “Panmunjeom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula”, signed following the historic inter-Korean summit back in April.
Joint military exercises conducted by the USA and North Korea prompted Kim’s decision. North Korea denounced joint military drill as “provocation” and practise for invasion. United States and South Korea stated that such defensive exercises are part of the ROK-US alliance’s annual routine.
The 28 EU leaders are striving to rescue the 2015 Iran Deal. Their first meeting after Trump’s pull-out of the Deal took place in Sofia, on Wednesday. The 28 agreed to try keeping the accord alive as long as Iran respects the Deal. Of course, the difficult part is to protect the private sector. EU is looking at all options in order to safeguard the EU companies doing business with Iran.
Russia supports the proposal of holding a meeting with EU on Iran sanctions next week.
MARKETS
The US Dollar index stopped at 93.373 below the 2018 high. Greenback rose 0.2 percent 110.575 yen, its highest since January.
Australian Dollar and CAD, supported by a rise in the price of commodities, edged up. AUD and Australian Dollar belong to commodity-linked currencies.
Euro continued its dip, near five-month lows, as political developments in Italy and rise in US Treasury Yields inched up the demand for the dollar.
The Sterling rose slightly and rallied against dollar ahead of a media report that Britain was prepared to stay in EU customs union.
Oil prices hit their highest since November 2014, with crude oil approaching $80 per barrel. Supply tightens, and demand is still high. Tension in the Middle East and upcoming US sanctions against Iran rise almost every indicator.
Sources: Reuters, Euronews, CNN Politics
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.