Egypt's defense minister, on a visit to Seoul, announced that his country has cut military ties with North Korea, according to a report by South Korea's Yonhap news agency. In an Aug. 24 briefing, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration has had conversations with Egypt about the need to isolate North Korea. Yonhap's report late Monday quoted the South Korean Defense Ministry as saying Egyptian Defense Minister Sidki Sobhi told his South Korean counterpart that Cairo had "already severed all military ties with North Korea." "Egypt will actively cooperate with South Korea against North Korea acts that threaten peace," the agency quoted Sobhi as saying. Egypt has for decades maintained close ties with North Korea, with the secretive nation selling weapons to Egypt and upgrading its arsenal of medium-range, ground-to-ground missiles.

Source: ABC News September 12, 2017 09:31 UTC