Trump vows to renegotiate USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico
Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called for South Korea to provide direct military support to Ukraine, saying Kyiv is in urgent need of weapons to fight off the prolonged Russian invasion.
South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped, U.S.-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow. But it has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.
Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, urged South Korea to "step up on the specific issue of military support." He noted that several NATO members and allies, including Germany, Norway and Sweden, have changed their policies of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict to support Ukraine.
"If we believe in freedom, if we believe in democracy, if we don't want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons. That's the reality," said Stoltenberg, who arrived in South Korea on Sunday on a trip that also includes Japan.
Stoltenberg also met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday. They discussed South Korea's commitment to support Ukraine and NATO's possible role in dissuading North Korea from its growing nuclear ambitions following an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in 2022, Yoon's office said.
South Korean officials didn't confirm any specific discussions about sending arms to Ukraine.
Following a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin on Sunday, Stoltenberg mentioned U.S. intelligence reports accusing North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, which he said highlights how security between the regions is "more and more interconnected."
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, South Korea has reached billions of dollars worth of deals to provide tanks, howitzers, fighter jets and other weapons systems to Poland, a NATO member. An American official said in November that the United States has agreed to buy 100,000 artillery rounds from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, although South Korean officials have maintained that the munitions were meant to refill depleted U.S. stocks.
In an interview with The Associated Press this month, Yoon said that South Korean laws, as well as domestic public opinion, make it difficult for his government to arm Ukraine while it is at war. But he expressed openness to more arms deals with the United States in the future, noting the two allies regularly buy military equipment from one another.
Stoltenberg's comments at the forum came hours after North Korea condemned his visits to South Korea and Japan, saying that NATO was trying to put its "military boots in the region" and attempting to pressure America's Asian allies into providing weapons to Ukraine.
In a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea said that increasing cooperation between NATO and U.S. allies in Asia was part of a process to create an "Asian version of NATO" that would raise tensions in the region.
North Korea over the weekend also issued two separate statements condemning the United States over its decision to supply Ukraine with advanced tanks, calling it a sinister move to escalate a "proxy war" aimed at destroying Moscow.
The series of statements underscore North Korea's alignment with Russia over the war in Ukraine, which North Korea has blamed on the West.
However, North Korea has repeatedly denied U.S. accusations that it has been sending large supplies of artillery shells and other ammunition to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine and warned on Sunday that the Biden administration would face unspecified "undesirable" consequences if it continues to spread the "self-made rumour."
Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives are claiming a win after the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released an updated report on the economic impacts of the federal carbon tax on Canadian households.
Global Affairs Canada says it's aware of reports of the death of a Canadian in Lebanon.
One person was killed and officials were working to rescue 12 others trapped deep beneath the surface of a former Colorado gold mine after an elevator malfunctioned at the tourist site, authorities said Thursday.
The northern lights could be visible across most of Canada on Thursday night.
A Halifax-area couple has been ordered to pay nearly $61,000 in damages and $4,000 in court costs after their dog attacked and injured a homecare nurse at their residence in 2016.
TD Bank will pay US$3 billion to settle charges that it failed to properly monitor money laundering by drug cartels, regulators announced Thursday.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, causing widespread destruction and immobilizing critical infrastructure. Hundreds of residents have been rescued so far.
Several models of Fisher-Price infant swings have been recalled in Canada after the company received reports of fatalities link to affected products.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.
Saskatchewan鈥檚 Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate 鈥 and creative 鈥 in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.