【171-172】North Korea Cancels Anti-US Demonstration

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*【171】AS IT IS

North Korea Cancels Anti-US Demonstration

June 25, 2018

FILE - North Koreans gather at the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S." to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korea has cancelled its yearly anti-United States demonstration.

The Associated Press reports that the event in which people living in the capital, Pyongyang, wave flags and shout anti-U.S. messages will not be held.

Last year’s event reportedly involved 100,000 demonstrators.

Officials did not release an official statement about the decision, but AP reporters confirmed Monday that it would not be held.

North Korea has reduced anti-U.S. messages over the past several months. North Korean media usually are strongly critical of the U.S. especially around the anniversary date of the beginning of the Korean War.

June 25 marks the 68^th year since the beginning of the Korean War. Many observances took place in South Korea involving officials including South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Easing of anti-U.S. messages since leaders’ meeting

North Korean state media have shown many reports, photographs and videos of the recent meeting between the country’s leader and the U.S. president.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

The two signed a document calling for, among other things, efforts to remove nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula.

Also, North and South Korean officials met last week over the issue of families separated by the Korean War.

South Korean Jo Soon-jeon, 83, right, hugs her North Korean youngest sister Jo Kwi Nyo during the Separated Family Reunion Meeting in 2015.

Officials agreed to permit a reunion of 100 separated family members to meet on August 20 to 26 at the Mount Kumgang area in North Korea.

However, South Korean media criticized the small number of Koreans included. The Korea Times called on North Korea “to pay more attention to humanitarian issues. The Korean Herald said the North should “show a more active and forward looking attitude.”

Millions of Korean families were forced apart by the division of the country at the end of World War II and the Korean War. The Ministry of Unification says there are now about 56,000 registered separated family members in South Korea. But almost all are over 70 years old and each year there are fewer survivors.

The last inter-Korean family reunion took place in 2015. It involved 200 families from each side.

And on Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he is hopeful North Korea would soon return the remains of U.S. service members killed during the Korean War. North Korea has already returned the remains of over 200 U.S. soldiers.

Mattis is on a trip to Asia in which he will visit Japan, South Korea and China.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Brian Padden and AP reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

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Words in This Story

reunion –n. an act of getting people together again after they have been apart or separated

attitude –n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

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*【172】AS IT IS

Tariffs Push Harley-Davidson to Produce Overseas

June 25, 2018

FILE - President Donald Trump give a 'thumbs-up' as he meets with Harley Davidson executives and union representatives on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The American company Harley-Davidson will move the production of some motorcycles out of the United States to avoid rising costs from tariffs.

The European Union has ordered tariffs on American imports like bourbon, peanut butter and orange juice. The EU says about $3.4 billion worth of U.S. products are affected.

The new taxes are meant to answer tariffs the Trump administration is requiring on steel and aluminum imports from Europe.

Harley-Davidson sold almost 40,000 motorcycles in EU member countries last year. The company says the EU is its second largest market, after the United States.

The maker of the well-known motorcycle said on Monday that EU tariffs on its motorcycles jumped between six percent and 31 percent. The company said it expects the tariffs will result in an increased cost of about $2,200 per average motorcycle exported from the U.S. to Europe.

“Increasing international production…is not the company's preference,” the statement said. It added that the decision is the only way to operate a viable business in Europe, which Harley-Davidson called a ‘critical market.’

The company said that it will not raise its prices because that would cause an immediate and long-lasting effect on sales in Europe. In the near term, Harley-Davidson will instead absorb most of the cost of moving the production of motorcycles overseas. It estimates the cost for the rest of this year to be from $30 million to $45 million.

Harley-Davidson bikes are lined up at a bike fair in Hamburg, Germany, February 24, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

Harley-Davidson said that moving some production from the U.S. to factories overseas could take at least nine to 18 months to be completed.

On Monday, the vice president of the European Union's governing body said that Europe and China will form a group aimed at reforming international trade rules. The group will examine technology policy, government assistance to businesses and other issues in order to guarantee support for international trade.

European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen noted recent actions by U.S. President Donald Trump in disputes over steel, China's technology policy and other issues. He said they showed the need to modernize the World Trade Organization.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that the Trump administration plans to limit Chinese investment in American technology companies and high-tech exports to China.

I’m Caty Weaver

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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