North Korea will not see any economic sanctions lifted until it has demonstrated ” complete denuclearisation,” US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has said.
Mr. Pompeo said this at a press conference in Seoul with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts.
It comes days after President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un held a historic summit in Singapore.
The leaders signed a statement pledging to establish a new relationship.
Mr. Kim also reaffirmed previous promises – like those made in a deal with South Korea earlier this year – to work towards the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
But there has been deep scepticism about the agreement, with observers saying it lacked detail on how North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons and how that process would be verified.
Mr. Trump had said after his meeting that sanctions – which place stringent restrictions on how North Korea can interact with the outside world – would remain in effect until “the nukes are no longer a factor,” but it was unclear exactly what that meant.
“At a certain point I look forward to taking them off and they will come off when we know we are down the road,” he said at a news conference.
Mr. Pompeo travelled from Singapore to South Korea to brief the US’s regional allies on the summit, and on Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement that he was ending routine US-South Korea military drills.
London Breed becomes San Francisco’s first black female mayor
A black woman is to lead San Francisco for the first time in its history – at a time when African-American residents are becoming increasingly scarce in the gentrified US city.
The ascent of London Breed to the mayoralty is all the more remarkable given she was raised in poverty by her grandmother in public housing.
Winning with just over 50 per cent of votes, the 43-year-old said she felt humbled.
According to the BBC, Ms. Breed is the only female mayor out of the top 15 largest US cities.
San Francisco is currently grappling with rampant homelessness, rubbish-littered streets that have been likened to developing-world slums, and a property-price boom that is driving working families out of the city.
She was formerly president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the city government’s legislative body.
Ms. Breed briefly served as acting mayor following the death of Mayor Ed Lee in December, before running for the post.
The election was held on June 5, but the result was delayed because the outcome was so tight that city election officials had to count thousands of provisional ballots.
Yemen war: Fighting rages over vital port of Hudaydah
Fierce fighting has been reported after pro-government forces in Yemen, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, launched an offensive on the rebel-held city of Hudaydah, a key port for aid supplies.
The United Arab Emirates confirmed four of its soldiers had been killed and 22 Houthi rebels reportedly also died.
Fighting raged mainly near the city’s airport and the al-Durayhmi area south of the city, media reports say.
Reports say the UN Security Council is to hold urgent talks on Yemen on Thursday.
It is the first time the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Gulf states has tried to capture such a well-defended major city in Yemen.
About eight million people are at risk of starvation in the war-torn country and the coastal city is where most aid arrives for people in rebel-held areas.
The Emirati news agency Wam quoted by the BBC, said attacking forces had managed to “liberate areas in the surroundings of the airport” and captured or killed “dozens” of Iranian-backed Houthis.
It reported the “martyrdom” of the four Emirati soldiers but did not give further details of the fighting.
Medical sources in the region said 22 Houthi fighters had been killed in coalition strikes.
Coalition sources say 18 air strikes were carried out on Houthi positions on the outskirts of Hudaydah on Wednesday.
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Chile police raid Catholic Church offices amid sex abuse scandal
Police and prosecutors in Chile have raided offices and seized documents of the Roman Catholic Church amid a child sexual abuse and cover-up scandal.
The surprise raids took place in the capital Santiago and in the city of Rancagua.
They come as two Vatican envoys are in Chile to investigate the claims and advise dioceses how to respond.
On Monday the Pope accepted the resignations of three Chilean bishops in the wake of the scandal.
They included the controversial Juan Barros who was accused of covering up sexual abuse committed by priest Fernando Karadima in the 1980s and 1990s.
Prosecutor Emiliano Arias said the raids on Wednesday had gone well.
“This is not an investigation against the Catholic Church, but rather an investigation of reports of sex abuse by members of the church who abused minors,” he said.
Archbishop of Santiago Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati said church officials had given prosecutors all the requested documentation and that they were co-operating with the justice system.
Papal envoys ,Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Msgr Jordi Bertomeu, are on their second visit to Chile to take statements from victims.
They have already compiled a report that says the Chilean Church covered up abuse cases and destroyed evidence.
Pope Francis became involved in the scandal surrounding Juan Barros when he defended the bishop during his visit to Chile in January.
At the time he said that allegations against the bishop amounted to “slander.”
He later apologised to victims, saying: “I apologise to them if I hurt them without realising it, but it was a wound that I inflicted without meaning to.”
About 80 Roman Catholic priests have been reported to authorities in Chile for alleged sexual abuse over the past 18 years.
Under Pope Francis, a Vatican committee has been set up to fight sexual abuse and help victims.
