Business

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced a sweeping set of agreements after their second day of talks in Pyongyang on Wednesday that included a promise by Kim to permanently dismantle the North’s main nuclear complex if the United States takes corresponding measures, the acceptance of international inspectors to monitor the closing of a key missile test site and launch pad and a vow to work together to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.

DHAKA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved additional loan financing of 110 million U.S. dollars for a project that is improving access to urban primary healthcare services in Bangladesh through public-private partnerships (PPPs).

SEOUL, September 19. /TASS/. The leaders of North and South Korea, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in, agreed to reconnect severed rails and roads across the border, according to their joint statement signed on Wednesday.

"South and North have agreed that works to reconnect the railways and roads in the east and west should begin within a year," the document reads.

According to earlier reports, the project’s ultimate goal is to ensure access to Russia’s Trans-Siberian Rail for prompt deliveries of South Korean cargo to Europe.

JERUSALEM, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin to convey Israel's condolences to the death of Russian aircrew shot down by Syrian forces during an Israeli airstrike.

The phone talk came after Syrian air defense missiles shot down a 15-crew Russian plane amidst an Israeli air raid on the Syrian city of Latakia, according to Israeli and Russian officials.

PYONGYANG/SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday signed a document after their second face-to-face dialogue in Pyongyang.

There is no immediate report about the content of the document, signed at the Baekhwawon State Guest House.

Witnessed by the two leaders, defense chiefs of the two countries also signed an agreement on reducing military tensions on the peninsula.

Kim and Moon are expected to hold a joint press conference before the luncheon.

BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China announced on Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs on U.S. products worth 60 billion U.S. dollars starting from Sept. 24 in response to the newly announced U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council unveiled lists of 3,571 items of U.S. products to be subject to additional tariffs of 10 percent, and lists of another 1,636 items to be subject to additional tariffs of 5 percent.

The new tax rates will take effect at 12:01 p.m. Beijing time on Sept. 24, said the commission.

SOCHI, September 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that Ankara will create favorable conditions for the advancement of Russian products to the Turkish market.

"Russia, in accordance with the wishes of the Turkish partners, has lifted restrictions on the supply of a number of agricultural products from Turkey. In turn, we are counting on creation of favorable conditions for the advancement of Russian products in the Turkish market," Putin said after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

WASHINGTON, September 18. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of 10 % duties on imports goods from China worth $ 200 bln from September 24, as well as the intention to introduce additional duties worth $267 bln, if Beijing takes retaliatory measures. This is according to a press release of the White House published on Monday.

BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's environmental authority has named and shamed 158 companies that discharged major pollutants at seriously excessive levels in the first quarter of 2018.

Nearly half of the polluters were urban sewage treatment plants, and others included heat suppliers, coal chemical processing firms, and printing and dyeing companies, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Over 60 percent of the polluters were based in the provincial regions of Xinjiang, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Zhejiang, Liaoning, and Hebei.

PYONGYANG/SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a much-anticipated meeting with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the third inter-Korean summit this year.