Thai and Cambodian leaders are slated to hold talks on Monday (July 28) in Malaysia to resolve the border conflict between the two countries, a spokesperson for the Thai prime minister’s office said on Sunday (July 27).

According to Reuters, the talks will begin at 3 pm local time on Monday. Thai PMO spokesperson Jirayu Huangsap, said acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend Monday’s talks in response to an invitation from Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim “to discuss peace efforts in the region,” AP reported.

Huangsap said that Anwar was acting in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Also read: Thailand-Cambodia War: Why tensions escalated

Reuters said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet is also slated to attend the meeting.

Deadly clash, 34 dead so far

A clash broke out between Thailand and Cambodia in late May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a border clash. While forces were reinforced on either sides of the border, the fighting flared up on Thursday (July 24) after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia.

The conflict so far has claimed at least 34 lives including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. Authorities, as per Reuters, say over 2 lakh people have been evacuated from border areas to safer locations.

Trump’s warning

The ceasefire meeting also comes following US President Donald Trump’s warning to end the border dispute. Anwar too, had proposed a truce between the two countries last week.

Also read: Trump calls on Thailand, Cambodia to ‘end the war’, hold ceasefire talks

Trump on Saturday (July 26) posted on Truth Social that he spoke to the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia and suggested he would not move forward with trade agreements with either country if the hostilities continued. He later said both sides agreed to meet to negotiate a ceasefire.

Ready for unconditional ceasefire: Cambodian PM

Cambodian Prime Minister Manet said earlier on Sunday that his country agreed to pursue an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.” He said Trump told him that Thailand had also agreed to halt attacks following the US president’s conversation with Phumtham.

He said he tasked his deputy, Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to coordinate next steps with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and to engage directly with Thailand’s foreign minister to implement the ceasefire.

Also read: Cambodia seeks ‘immediate’ ceasefire with Thailand amid deadly clashes

Thailand expects ‘sincere intention’

Thailand expressed cautious support. Wechayachai thanked Trump and said that Thailand agreed in principle to a ceasefire but stressed the need for “sincere intention” from Cambodia, the Thai Foreign Ministry said. Wechayachai called for swift bilateral talks to discuss concrete steps toward a peaceful resolution, it said.

Fighting continues

Even as diplomatic efforts are underway to end the conflict, fighting continued on Sunday along parts of the contested border, with both sides refusing to budge and trading blame over renewed shelling and troop movements.

Colonel Richa Suksowanont, a Thai army deputy spokesperson, told AP that Cambodian forces fired heavy artillery into Surin province, including at civilian homes, early Sunday.

Also read: Hours after Trump ‘brokers’ peace, Cambodia, Thailand resume fighting He said Cambodia also launched rocket attacks targeting the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple, claimed by both countries, and other areas in a bid to reclaim territory secured by Thai troops. Thai forces responded with long-range artillery to strike Cambodian artillery and rocket launchers.

‘Battlefield ops will continue’

Richa said Trump’s efforts to mediate were a “separate matter.” The battlefield operations will continue and a ceasefire can only happen if Cambodia formally initiates negotiations, he added.

“Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith and repeatedly violating the basic principles of human rights and humanitarian law,” Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said separately.

Also read: US tariff hikes, Myanmar war, sea disputes will top ASEAN summit agenda

Thailand escalating violence: Cambodia

Cambodian Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt. General Maly Socheata accused Thai forces of escalating the violence with bombardment of Cambodian territory early on Sunday, followed by a “large-scale incursion” involving tanks and ground troops in multiple areas.

“Such actions undermine all efforts toward peaceful resolution and expose Thailand’s clear intent to escalate rather than de-escalate the conflict,” she said.

Thailand and Cambodia to hold peace talks

Displaced people are seen inside a shelter in Sisaket province, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Thailand and Cambodia’s leaders will meet in Malaysia for peace talks on Monday, the Thai government said, as clashes continued for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute.

At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as Thailand and Cambodia, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples.

Bangkok announced on Sunday that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet in Kuala Lumpur for talks mediated by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the Asean regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members.

Cambodia has not commented on the planned talks, which are due to begin at 3.00pm local time.

US President Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders late on Saturday, said they had agreed to “quickly work out” a ceasefire.

Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals.

“When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!” he wrote on social media.

Fresh artillery clashes erupted on Sunday morning near two long-contested ancient temples in the frontier region between northern Cambodia and northeast Thailand which has seen the bulk of the fighting. (AFP)

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Item 1 of 2 U.S. and Chinese flags and a “tariffs” label are seen in this illustration created on April 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Summary

Companies Third round of US-China talks to be held in Stockholm on Monday

Aim is to extend August 12 deadline, avoiding sky-high tariffs

Latest talks to focus on longstanding economic disputes

STOCKHOLM, July 27 (Reuters) – Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of the countries’ trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay.

China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump ‘s administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs.

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Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%.

The Stockholm talks, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Trump at his golf course in Scotland to try to clinch a deal that would likely see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods.

Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later this year.

Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States.

So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China’s state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing’s complaints that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth.

“Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of U.S.-China trade talks,” said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum.

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS

Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into deals accepting higher U.S. tariffs of 15% to 20%.

He said there was a 50-50 chance that the U.S. and the 27-member European Union could also reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to “make a deal very badly”.

Two of Trump’s top trade officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will attend the Scotland talks and then travel to Stockholm.

Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China’s grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries.

TRUMP-XI MEETING?

In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October.

Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi.

“The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China,” said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the August 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the U.S. side and 125% on the Chinese side.

Still, China will likely request a reduction of multi-layered U.S. tariffs totaling 55% on most goods and further easing of U.S. high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024.

China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump’s first term.

Bessent has also said he would discuss with He the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending.

Michael Froman, a former U.S. trade representative during Barack Obama’s administration, said such a shift has been a goal of U.S. policymakers for two decades.

“Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen,” said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.

Reporting by David Lawder; Additional reporting by Laurie Chen in Beijijng; Editing by Helen Popper

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Thai and Cambodian leaders are set to convene in Malaysia to negotiate an end to recent hostilities along their shared border. This diplomatic move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump exerted pressure to halt the violent clashes that have claimed 34 lives and forced 168,000 people to flee their homes.

Both Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet have expressed a willingness to discuss an immediate ceasefire. However, ongoing violence and mutual accusations over border incidents underscore the complexities involved in achieving peace.

Despite attempts to mediate, tensions remained high over the weekend, with continued fighting and both countries blaming each other for the aggression. The situation remains volatile, demanding urgent diplomatic intervention to prevent further loss of life and hardship for displaced communities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 12th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on June 24, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

SEOUL, July 27 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country would achieve victory in “anti-imperalist, anti-U.S.” battles, as the country marked the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, state media reported on Sunday.

Kim “affirmed that our state and its people would surely achieve the great cause of building a rich country with a strong army and become honourable victors in the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. showdown,” KCNA state news agency said, referring to his visit to a war museum on a previous day.

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North Korea signed an armistice agreement with the United States and China on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting in the three-year war. U.S. generals signed the agreement representing the United Nations forces that had backed South Korea.

North Korea calls July 27 “Victory Day” even though the armistice drew a border dividing the Korean peninsula roughly equally in area after the two sides had made major advances back and forth during the war.

South Korea does not mark the day with any major events.

But in a speech read out on Sunday at a commemoration ceremony honouring Korean War veterans in Washington, D.C., South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung pledged to further cement the country’s alliance with the United States and protect freedom and peace.

“Through efforts in various fields including politics, economy, security, and culture, we will further strengthen the noble South Korea-U.S. alliance forged in blood and make even more efforts to firmly protect freedom and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Lee said.

North Korea is now fighting alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine . Thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, while Pyongyang has also supplied Russia with munitions. It may deploy more troops in July or August, South Korea has said.

Kim also visited memorials honouring the veterans of the 1950-53 war including the Tower of Friendship remembering the Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers who fought with the North Koreans, and met soldiers in an artillery regiment to celebrate the day, state media KCNA said.

Reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Kate Mayberry

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