President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new trade agreement with South Korea Thursday evening, securing $350 billion in Korean investments into the U.S. economy and committing Seoul to a $100 billion purchase of American energy. The agreement also imposes a 15 percent tariff on South Korean goods, significantly undercutting the country's long-standing advantages in the U.S. auto market.
Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un, warned the United States against engaging in talks surrounding denuclearization.
As the Trump administration pressures Mexico to crack down on drug cartels or face severe trade tariffs, a major scandal has erupted linking high-ranking political figures to one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations. Interpol has issued a Red Notice for Hernán “Comandante H” Bermúdez Requena, the former Public Security Secretary for the state of Tabasco, who is now accused of leading "La Barredora," an armed wing of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG)—a group recently labeled by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization.
South Africa’s top foreign policy official is accusing the United States of jeopardizing a trade agreement by demanding reforms to controversial domestic policies. With the August 1 deadline for a deal fast approaching, Director-General Zane Dangor claimed U.S. focus on “non-trade” issues—specifically Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)—is the primary obstacle to reaching an agreement.
