Vietnam and North Korea maintain diplomatic ties dating back to the Cold War, but Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the Vietnam War remains little known

International News via Reuters:

Vietnam will build a memorial and renovate a cemetery dedicated to North Korean servicemen killed fighting during the Vietnam War, state media reported, in a rare public acknowledgement of Pyongyang’s military role in the conflict.

North Korea sent fighter pilots to North Vietnam in the 1960s, where some flew Soviet-made MiG-17 jets in combat missions against U.S. aircraft, according to Vietnamese and North Korean state media.

Vietnam and North Korea maintain diplomatic ties dating back to the Cold War, but Pyongyang’s direct involvement in the Vietnam War remains little known.

The memorial project was discussed at a meeting chaired by Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Truong Thang in Hanoi on Monday and attended by North Korean Ambassador Ri Sung Guk, the Defence Ministry’s Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspaper reported. 

“The Party, State, people, and People’s Army of Vietnam always cherish and remember the effective assistance of North Korea and the sacrifices of North Korean martyrs in its struggle for national independence in the past,” Quan Doi Nhan Dan quoted Thang as saying. 

The memorial will be built as part of restoration work at the North Korean martyrs’ cemetery in northern Bac Ninh province, the report said.

The cemetery was established for 14 North Korean air force personnel killed in 1967 and 1968, aged between 19 and 40, according to online newspaper VnExpress. Their remains were repatriated to North Korea in 2002.

Reporting by Khanh Vu;Editing by Alison Williams

Brent crude futures fell $3.30, or 3.9%, to $80.47 a barrel by 11:19 a.m. ET (1519 GMT), and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped $3.67, or 4.6%, to $76.67 a barrel

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Tuesday to a three-week low after comments by Qatari and U.S. officials raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war that could improve oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell $3.30, or 3.9%, to $80.47 a barrel by 11:19 a.m. ET (1519 GMT), and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped $3.67, or 4.6%, to $76.67 a barrel. Both contracts fell more than 5% to their lowest since July 13 earlier in the session.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday there was progress in talks with Iran and Oman about moving more ships through the strait, but a final agreement was yet to be reached. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said earlier on Tuesday that a deal with Iran to reopen the strait could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war were continuing.

The prospect of a diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict has helped remove some of the geopolitical risk premium in oil prices after the U.S. resumed bombing Iran last month, said Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at brokerage XS.com.

“If negotiations between the United States and Iran make meaningful progress, the market could continue pricing in a lower probability of supply disruptions, further reducing the geopolitical risk premium embedded in crude prices,” Massabni said.

GULF SHIPPING TRAFFIC LITTLE CHANGED

Disruptions to shipping through the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas flowed before the war, have forced Middle Eastern nations to cut oil output sharply.

The world has lost more than 2.6 billion barrels of oil since the Iran war began in February, the head of Saudi oil company Aramco said.

The oil market will, therefore, remain highly sensitive to political developments, Massabni said.

Oil prices gained earlier in Tuesday’s session after a senior Iranian source told Reuters that Iran wants control over inbound shipping and visibility over outbound traffic through the strait, with the ability to intervene if necessary, as part of a plan being discussed with Oman to reopen the strategic waterway.

“Gulf exports remain under pressure, with Strait of Hormuz transits only marginally improving from extremely depressed levels. The export disruption story is intact, with Iranian attacks on vessels constraining flows,” ANZ analysts said.

Shipping traffic at the key Gulf waterways of Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz held largely unchanged at the start of the week.

Goldman Sachs expects Brent crude to trade in an $80-$90-a-barrel range until there is either confirmation of a new U.S.-Iran agreement or a significant escalation in attacks and targets.

Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York, Anushree Mukherjee and Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Editing by Andrei Khalip, Louise Heavens, Susan Fenton, Rod Nickel

The latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday in Rome and will continue through Thursday

International News via Reuters:

The latest round of U.S.-facilitated talks between Israel and Lebanon began on Tuesday in Rome and will continue through Thursday, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

“The United States remains fully committed to supporting both governments as they carry this process forward in a manner that delivers lasting security for both countries, eliminates security threats to Israel, and restores Lebanese state authority throughout the south,” Pigott wrote in a post on X.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Daphne Psaledakis;Editing by David Ljunggren

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee ordered officials to take necessary measures to protect the daily lives of people and inspect power systems as demand for air conditioning surges

International News via Reuters:

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged on Tuesday authorities to step up support for people affected by a record heatwave in the country, calling it a national disaster after scorching conditions were blamed for 19 deaths.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee ordered officials to take necessary measures to protect the daily lives of people and inspect power systems as demand for air conditioning surges.

“An even greater concern is that abnormal weather conditions make it highly likely that extreme weather will continue for a considerable period,” said Lee, who wants a major redesign of the disaster response system to cope with the hazardous conditions.

The nation’s weather agency said Yangsan, a southeastern inland city sitting in a basin, recorded a temperature of 42.5 degrees Celsius (108.5 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, the highest temperature measured in 122 years of weather observations.

The Korea Meteorological Administration also issued its first-ever heatwave warning for parts of Seoul and neighbouring Gyeonggi on Monday, extending this to all of the capital on Tuesday.

A heatwave alert advises people to suspend outdoor activities such as farming, sports and work on construction sites.

“I have never felt heat like this so far here,” said Cho Sang-yeon, who has lived for nearly 20 years in a jjokbang village, an area of cheaper single-room housing in western Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district.

Some residents have been moved to government-provided temporary housing equipped with air conditioning, though many homeless people also live in the area.

“I feel sorry to see homeless people who are suffering from the heat on the street,” said resident Son Ki-young.

Firefighters and other officials had been spraying water on roads in the area and checking on vulnerable residents for heat-related illnesses, said Jun Hong-cheol, an official at Yeongdeungpo Fire Station.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Tuesday that the death toll from the heatwave has risen to 19, including 13 people aged 80 or above.

Since May 15, 2,025 people have suffered heat-related illnesses nationwide, according to data from the weather agency.

Two baseball games scheduled for Tuesday in Seoul and Gwangju were cancelled because of the extreme heat, according to the Korea Baseball Organization’s website.

Reporting by Heejin Kim, Daewoung Kim, Soohyun Jung, Joyce Lee and Hyeyoon ChoEditing by Ed Davies