President Lee arrives in Hanoi; South Korea-Vietnam summit set for April 22
President Lee Jae-myung arrived in Hanoi on April 21 local time, beginning a state visit to Vietnam after completing a state visit to India.The presidential aircraft carrying Lee and first lady Kim Hye-kyung landed at Noi Bai International Airport that afternoon.
Lee is scheduled to hold a luncheon meeting with South Korean residents on April 22, then meet with To Lam, Vietnam’s Communist Party general secretary and state president. The schedule also includes an exchange of memorandums of understanding, a joint press statement and a state banquet.
On April 23, Lee is to meet Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, and attend a South Korea-Vietnam business forum to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation.
On the final day, April 24, Lee is scheduled to tour the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi with To Lam.
Trump says Iran violated cease-fire repeatedly ahead of second talks
U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of repeatedly violating a cease-fire as a second round of cease-fire talks approached.In a post on his social media platform Truth Social on April 21 local time, Trump wrote, “Iran has violated the cease-fire multiple times!”
He did not provide evidence for the claim or outline any follow-up steps in response.
The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week cease-fire through April 22, but tensions have continued in the Strait of Hormuz.
Volkswagen CEO says group weighing up to 1 million more in capacity cuts
Volkswagen Group is considering reducing annual production capacity to about 9 million vehicles, CEO Oliver Blume said.In an interview with German business outlet Manager Magazin published April 21 local time, Blume said it would be difficult to sustain excess capacity over the long term and that the company is reviewing additional cuts of up to 1 million vehicles to reflect market conditions.
Volkswagen’s capacity was about 12 million vehicles in 2019, before the pandemic, but it has since reduced capacity by roughly 1 million each in China and Europe. If the plan is carried out, total capacity would be down about 25% from 2019 levels.
Sales have also declined. Global deliveries fell from 10.97 million vehicles in 2019 to about 8.98 million last year. Blume said the market environment has changed completely since the pandemic and that around 9 million vehicles is becoming the new baseline.
Iran military says tanker entered its waters despite U.S. maritime blockade
Iran’s military said April 21 local time that an Iranian oil tanker entered the country’s territorial waters after breaking through a U.S. maritime blockade.In a statement, the military’s public relations office said the tanker Silicity, with operational support from Iran’s navy, passed through the Arabian Sea overnight and entered Iranian waters. It claimed the U.S. Navy issued repeated warnings and threats, but that the tanker reached Iranian waters under what it called full security support and docked at a southern port.
There was no immediate official response from the U.S. military.
The U.S. military has stepped up maritime control operations in response to what it describes as Iranian moves to block the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command has said it has been intercepting vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman since April 13 and had blocked 27 Iran-related vessels through April 20.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.