FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Today, I announced a new Executive Order with re: to North Korea. We must all do our part to ensure the complete denuclearization of #NoKo. https://t.co/igjOSM7N7h” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 21, 2017 12:58pm […]
Category: North Korea
9/21/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “South Korea’s government said it would send $8 million in new humanitarian aid to North Korea, despite the nuclear standoff on the peninsula. The left-leaning administration approved the new aid tranche Thursday, after a meeting of government officials chaired by unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon. Since taking office in May, President Moon […]
9/20/2017
ECONOMY/FOREIGN POLICY/HUMAN RIGHTS/IMMIGRATION/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUKES/SANCTIONS/SECRETARY OF STATE/TREASURY/TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that: The provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, including its intercontinental ballistic missile launches of July 3 and July 28, 2017, and its nuclear test of September […]
9/19/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate North Korea if the U.S. has to defend itself or its allies against the Pyongyang regime, delivering the dire warning Tuesday during his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. Mr. Trump began his speech by espousing a form of international cooperation based […]
9/18/2017
DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/UN: “The U.S. has military options available for North Korea that won’t put South Korea at grave risk of counterattack, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday [9-18-17], but he refused to spell out what those are. Mr. Mattis also said in an impromptu meeting with reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. […]
9/17/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When North Korea launched long-range missiles this summer, and again on Friday [9-15-17], demonstrating its ability to strike Guam and perhaps the United States mainland, it powered the weapons with a rare, potent rocket fuel that American intelligence agencies believe initially came from China and Russia. The United States government […]
9/17/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House on Sunday [9-17-17] reiterated its position that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un must give up his nuclear weapons, days after President Donald Trump hinted again at a military strike on the North. White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday the U.S. policy remains […]
9/14/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “North Korea fired a missile over Japan early Friday [9-15-17] local time for the second time in a month, defying rising international efforts to force it to abandon course. In a rare move, South Korea responded to the launch by immediately conducting a simulated strike of the North Korean launch site, an […]
9/13/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “North Korea has resumed work at its underground nuclear testing site, defense analysts said, as the country vowed to keep expanding its nuclear arsenal despite the latest United Nations sanctions. The defense analysts also said that the North’s Sept. 3 nuclear test, which Pyongyang said was of a hydrogen bomb, may have […]
9/12/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The last time South Korea is known to have plotted to assassinate the North Korean leadership, nothing went as planned. In the late 1960s, after North Korean commandoes tried to ransack the presidential palace in Seoul, South Korea secretly trained misfits plucked from prison or off the streets to sneak […]
9/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NIKKI HALEY/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/UN: “The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions against North Korea on Monday [9-11-17] after U.S. officials eased their demands to convince China and Russia to approve the measure. The U.S., which drafted the initial resolution while pledging the harshest possible sanctions yet, rolled back its initial insistence on […]
9/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “The Trump administration has backed away from some of the most stringent penalties it had sought to impose on North Korea, in an apparent effort to draw Russian and Chinese backing for a new raft of sanctions over the country’s nuclear weapons advances. Whether the administration will garner the […]
9/10/2017
ECONOMY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/UN: “The Trump administration is turning to economic warfare—an intensified sanctions program—to deal with an increasingly belligerent North Korean regime. But economic tools have a mixed record of success addressing geopolitical problems. Sanctions helped end apartheid in South Africa. They pushed Iran to an agreement to curtail its nuclear program, though many critics […]
9/7/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump refused to rule out military action against North Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], but he stopped short of answering a reporter’s question as to whether he would tolerate a nuclearized North Korean state if the threat were contained… Continuing several months of rhetoric between the U.S. and North […]
9/7/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump downplayed the possibility of military action against North Korea on Thursday, saying such an event is neither inevitable nor preferable. ‘Military action would certainly be an option,’ he said during a White House news conference, but added later: ‘It would be great if something else could be […]
9/6/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The United States military plans to complete the deployment of an advanced missile-defense system in South Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], days after North Korea detonated what it called a missile-delivered hydrogen bomb in an underground nuclear test, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. Despite angry protests from China, Seoul and Washington have […]
9/6/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The Trump administration on Wednesday [9-6-17] circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council that would effectively empower the United States Navy and Air Force to interdict North Korean ships at sea, inspect them to determine whether they are carrying weapons material or fuel into the country, and use ‘all necessary […]
9/5/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “What the Chinese call the Friendship Pipeline runs for 20 miles, crossing under the Yalu River and spanning the border between North Korea and China. For more than half a century, it has been both a symbol of the two nations’ alliance and a lifeline for the North’s economy. Now, […]
9/5/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “A top U.S. naval commander said Tuesday [9-5-17] that Pyongyang’s recent string of missile and nuclear tests has brought the U.S. closer to its allies in Tokyo and Seoul—rather than dividing them, as he says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had hoped. The remarks from Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the […]
9/4/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UN: “South Korea warned that North Korea appears to be preparing to test another intercontinental ballistic missile, and the U.S. told the United Nations that the regime is ‘begging for war’ after Pyongyang on Sunday [9-3-17] set off its most powerful nuclear bomb yet. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on […]
9/4/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s stern warning that the U.S. may halt trade with countries doing business with North Korea was seen as a direct shot at China, the regime’s biggest trading partner. But China is America’s largest single trading partner as well, highlighting how difficult it would be for the Trump […]
9/3/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 3, 2017 11:14am […]
9/3/2017
JAMES MATTIS/JOHN KELLY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I will be meeting General Kelly, General Mattis and other military leaders at the White House to discuss North Korea. Thank you.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 3, 2017 11:07am […]
9/3/2017
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 3, 2017 06:46am […]
9/3/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States… North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September […]
9/1/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday [9-1-17] that the standoff between North Korea and the United States was close to spilling into a large-scale conflict and said it was a mistake to try to pressure Pyongyang into halting its nuclear missile program. Putin, due to attend a summit of the […]
8/31/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “The U.S. sent four of its most advanced fighter jets and a pair of B-1B bombers over the Korean Peninsula, alongside Japanese and South Korean jets, as a show of force in direct response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan. The Air Force flyover Thursday [8-31-17], which included a bombing […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a post on Twitter on Wednesday [8-30-17], President Trump accused past administrations of paying ‘extortion money’ to North Korea and said diplomatic talks are not sufficient… It was not clear what money the president was referring to. Mr. Trump has been both open to and against talks with North […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump vowed on Wednesday [8-30-17] that he would not talk to Kim Jong-un, cooling off what has become his on-again, off-again cultivation of North Korea’s rogue dictator. But if Mr. Trump’s tweet, in which he said, ‘talking is not the answer!,’ seemed to reignite tensions with North Korea, it […]
8/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 30, 2017 07:47am […]
8/29/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The United Nations Security Council adopted a statement Tuesday [8-29-17] condemning North Korea ‘for its outrageous actions and threats against another U.N. member state’ in the aftermath of the country’s latest missile launch, which passed over Japan. The ‘presidential statement,’ which counts as the Council’s fastest form of reaction to unfolding events, […]
8/29/2017
JAPAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan Tuesday [8-29-17], the latest in a string of direct provocations that have destabilized the region and triggered global alarm. The missile—the first Pyongyang has fired over Japan’s main islands since 2009—prompted a fiery response from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe… Mr. Abe […]
8/23/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised him for exercising restraint, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared in state media visiting a missile-development factory and ordering the production of more warheads and rocket engines. Mr. Kim’s visit, the date of which wasn’t disclosed by Pyongyang in its report […]
8/22/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea threatened to turn the U.S. into ‘huge heaps of ashes’ and warned that military exercises involving American and South Korean forces this week had worsened the standoff, which could only be resolved by ‘absolute force.’ In a strongly worded commentary issued through its state media on Tuesday [8-22-17], Pyongyang attacked President […]
8/21/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA: “U.S. federal prosecutors are preparing new actions targeting Chinese firms that officials say are critical financial conduits for North Korea’s government, according to people familiar with the matter, an effort that could provide muscle to the Trump administration’s plans to rein in Pyongyang’s weapons program. The Washington U.S. attorney’s office in May […]
8/20/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “A new cycle of escalation on the Korean Peninsula looked set to begin this week as the U.S. and South Korea kicked off annual military exercises that have a history of enraging Pyongyang. The long-planned drills follow weeks of belligerent rhetoric between the U.S. and North Korea that stoked fears of […]
8/17/2017
NORTH KOREA/STEVE BANNON: “For all his fire-breathing nationalism — the demands to ban Muslims, build a wall on the Mexican border and honor statues of Confederate heroes — Stephen K. Bannon has played another improbable role in the Trump White House: resident dove… His views, delivered in a characteristically bomb-throwing style, have antagonized people across […]
8/17/2017
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “South Korea’s leader said President Donald Trump agreed to discuss options, including a U.S. military strike, with him before taking any action to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. President Moon Jae-in’s remarks Thursday came as the latest round of warlike rhetoric over North Korea’s weapons tests appeared […]
8/16/2017
CHINA/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “The Pentagon’s top general on Wednesday [8-16-17] said he discussed with his Chinese counterparts ways to coordinate with China’s military to avoid dangerous miscalculations should war break out with North Korea. Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the contingency talks after he paid a rare visit to the […]
8/16/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Trump administration plunged America’s Asian allies into new confusion Thursday over its strategy for countering North Korea’s nuclear threat, as the chief White House strategist and top general offered radically different approaches to the crisis… Stephen K. Bannon, the nationalist ideologue who is Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, said in an interview […]
8/16/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/UN: “Trucks packed with seafood were backed up, bumper to bumper, at the Chinese border with North Korea. Protesters carried red banners demanding compensation. And Chinese businessmen who have been making big money from North Korean crabs, shrimp and squid were furious. United Nations sanctions banning the import of North Korean seafood started […]
8/16/2017
NORTH KOREA: “Kim Jong Un of North Korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision. The alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 16, 2017 06:39am […]
8/15/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA: “The U.S. believes that North Korea produces its own rocket engines rather than relying on foreign imports, a U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday [8-15-17]. The comments from the intelligence community come as experts have questioned if Kim Jong Un’s regime obtained Soviet-designed rocket engines through illicit channels in Ukraine or Russia. A […]
8/15/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “By ordering his first trade action against Beijing, while amping up pressure on Chinese leaders to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear menace, U.S. President Donald Trump is bringing to a head two of the most intractable problems that bedevil U.S.-China relations. There are hints that Mr. Trump’s hard-nosed strategy could be […]
8/14/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/SOUTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States’ top general and South Korea’s president both said on Monday [8-14-17] that they hoped to avoid war with North Korea over its nuclear weapons, with the American commander stressing that the Pentagon was preparing military options only as a last resort. In a meeting with President […]
8/14/2017
JAMES MATTIS/NORTH KOREA/REX TILLERSON: “Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was wrapping up a talk a few days ago to sailors of the submarine Kentucky, which carries two dozen nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, when he sent them off with this sober message: ‘If we’ve got to turn something off in a hurry,’ he said, ‘we’re counting on […]
8/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has decided not to launch a threatened missile attack on Guam, Pyongyang’s state media reported on Tuesday, but warned that he could change his mind ‘if the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions.’ The report, published early Tuesday [8-15-17], could help dial […]
8/14/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS: “China is banning imports of North Korean coal, iron and seafood, starting Tuesday [8-15-17], in a move that could assuage U.S. demands while enforcing new United Nations sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s nuclear-weapons program. The trade halt, announced Monday by China’s Commerce Ministry and customs agency, follows a weekend phone call between Chinese President […]
8/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. must take threats from North Korea seriously, despite fresh skepticism from South Korea that Pyongyang has the ability to reliably deliver an intercontinental ballistic missile to the U.S… Gen. Dunford noted that North Korea had conducted missile and […]
8/11/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Shortly after tweeting the US military was ‘locked and loaded’ should North Korea ‘act unwisely,’ President Donald Trump returned to Twitter on Friday [8-11-17] to emphasize his point by retweeting images of US B-1 bombers currently stationed in Guam. Featuring a series of photos depicting B-1B Lancers deployed to the US […]
8/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump issued his starkest warning yet against North Korea, saying that ‘military solutions’ were ‘in place, locked and loaded’ should Pyongyang ‘act unwisely.’ From his working vacation at his golf resort in Bedminister, N.J., the president made the warning Friday [8-11-17] on Twitter just before 7:30 a.m. Eastern […]
8/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The United States has been engaging in back-channel diplomacy with North Korea for several months, the Associated Press reported on Friday [8-11-17], as President Donald Trump stepped up his warnings to Pyongyang amid rising tensions in the region. The dialogue involved Joseph Yun, the U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, […]
8/11/2017
MILITARY/NORTH KOREA: “Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 11, 2017 06:29am […]
8/10/2017
NORTH KOREA/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “White House aide Sebastian Gorka said Thursday [8-10-17] that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was out of line with remarks he made a day earlier assuring Americans that military action against North Korea is not imminent, telling BBC radio that it was ‘nonsensical’ for the nation’s chief diplomat to speak on military […]
8/10/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When North Korea has made military threats in recent times, it has usually sought an off-ramp before tensions could spill over into armed conflict. But the current standoff—U.S. President Donald Trump warning North Korea of ‘fire and fury,’ Pyongyang declaring its intention to send missiles into the waters off Guam, […]
8/10/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA: “To many Americans, China bears a huge responsibility for the North Korea crisis because of its failure to rein in its volatile ally in Pyongyang. But in Beijing, the view is different. Here, a large slice of the blame goes to Washington, because of its consistently hostile attitude toward North Korea — […]
8/9/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senior American officials sent mixed signals on North Korea on Wednesday [8-9-17] as President Trump’s ‘fire and fury’ warning rattled allies and adversaries alike, a sign of his administration’s deep divisions as the outcast state once again threatened to wage nuclear war on the United States. The president’s advisers […]
8/9/2017
NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress, one of President Trump’s evangelical advisers who preached the morning of his inauguration, has released a statement saying the president has the moral authority to ‘take out’ North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. ‘When it comes to how we should deal with evildoers, the Bible, […]
8/9/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday [8-9-17] that ‘Americans should sleep well at night,’ free from worry that North Korea’s ever-progressing nuclear program presents an ‘imminent threat’ to the United States. En route to Guam, the U.S. territory in the Pacific that North Korea has threatened to destroy with an […]
8/9/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “North Korea is reviewing plans to strike U.S. military targets in Guam with its medium-range ballistic missiles to create ‘enveloping fire,’ according to state media. The message came hours after President Trump warned North Korea that it will be ‘met with fire and fury and, frankly, power, the likes of […]
8/8/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump threatened on Tuesday [8-8-17] to unleash ‘fire and fury’ against North Korea if it endangers the United States as tensions with the isolated nuclear-armed state grow into perhaps the most serious foreign policy challenge yet in his young administration. ‘North Korea best not make any more threats to […]
8/8/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/UN: “North Korea escalated its criticism of the United States, as well as its neighboring allies, on Tuesday [8-8-17] by warning that it will mobilize all its resources to take ‘physical action’ in retaliation against the latest round of United Nations sanctions. The statement, carried by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, […]
8/8/2017
NORTH KOREA/UN: “After many years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 8, 2017 06:17am […]
8/7/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/UN: “The Trump administration has hailed the latest United Nations sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea as the most severe yet, and the North’s fury over the penalties suggested they carried some sting. In a staccato of outraged reactions on Monday to the sanctions imposed over the weekend, North Korea threatened retaliation against the […]
8/7/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/UN: “North Korea on Monday [8-7-17] threatened to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. if provoked militarily and said it would ‘under no circumstances’ negotiate on its nuclear and missile weapons programs. In a written statement handed to reporters on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Manila, North Korean Foreign […]
8/5/2017
NORTH KOREA/UN: “The United Nations Security Council on Saturday [8-5-17] unanimously adopted a resolution to impose the most punishing sanctions yet against North Korea over its repeated defiance of a ban on testing missiles and nuclear bombs. The resolution, intended to press North Korea to renounce its nuclear militarization, could reduce the isolated country’s already […]
8/5/2017
NORTH KOREA/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson will for the first time on Sunday [8-6-17] be in the same room with his North Korean counterpart, and much of the world will be watching for whether the two even acknowledge each other. Joining them in Manila will be representatives of other countries with a […]
8/5/2017
NORTH KOREA/UN: “United Nations Resolution is the single largest economic sanctions package ever on North Korea. Over one billion dollars in cost to N.K.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 5, 2017 06:14pm […]
8/5/2017
NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/UN: “The United Nations Security Council just voted 15-0 to sanction North Korea. China and Russia voted with us. Very big financial impact!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 5, 2017 05:44pm […]
8/4/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The United States is aiming for a United Nations Security Council vote on Saturday to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea over its two intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July, diplomats said on Friday [8-4-17]. The United States is set to circulate a copy of the draft resolution to all 15 […]
8/1/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “The U.S. doesn’t seek regime change in North Korea, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday [8-1-17], a statement at odds with suggestions last month from Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo that the U.S. would like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to go. Mr. Tillerson, speaking at a news […]
8/1/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, is calling on President Donald Trump to suspend the approval of all Chinese deals facing national security reviews in the U.S. until China acts more aggressively to press North Korea to curtail its nuclear and missile programs. Though Mr. Schumer and other top […]
7/31/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When folks here in Washington end a summer filled with White House hijinks and an epic but inconclusive health-care debate, they will look up and discover something unsettling: The world has become a more dangerous place while everybody has been distracted. That’s most obviously true in North Korea, where its […]
7/30/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/NORTH KOREA: “Trump administration officials urged China and other nations to band together to confront North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic-missile ambitions, with Vice President Mike Pence declaring ‘all options are on the table’ to rein in Pyongyang. ‘The continued provocations by the rogue regime in North Korea are unacceptable and the […]
7/29/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet… they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!” -Donald […]
7/25/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TREASURY/UN: “The U.S. soon will issue new sanctions against Chinese entities for violating United Nations sanctions against North Korea, a senior State Department official said Tuesday [7-25-17]. Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of the State Department’s East Asian bureau, told a Senate Foreign Affairs subcommittee the Treasury Department shortly will be targeting more […]
7/21/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “In the wake of North Korea’s ongoing nuclear tests, Hawaii will begin rolling out an educational campaign on Friday [7-21-17] hoping to teach residents and visitors what to do should a missile launch from the reclusive country reaches the island’s shores. The Hawaii Emergency Management System began working on the campaign in […]
7/21/2017
CIA/MIKE POMPEO/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday [7-21-17] evening offered some of the most aggressive comments yet from the Trump administration with regard to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Although Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has in the past said the US was against forcing Kim out of power or the […]
7/21/2017
NORTH KOREA/TRAVEL BAN: “Two of the biggest travel companies that bring Western tourists to North Korea say the U.S. government will ban its citizens from traveling to the isolated country starting next month. The travel ban would come just weeks after U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who was detained while on a tour in Pyongyang […]
7/17/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “North Korea’s rapid march to develop a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capable of striking the United States has spurred the U.S. military and Congress to ramp up efforts to counter the threat. The U.S. technological race is happening on the ground, at sea, in the air and in space. But military planners […]
7/11/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea’s recent long-range missile test didn’t show Pyongyang is able to arm the device with a warhead that can survive the intense heat and vibration of re-entering the atmosphere, South Korea’s intelligence agency said. The assessment, given to South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday [7-11-17], contradicts an assertion by North Korea and […]
7/10/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration is moving toward unilaterally tightening sanctions on North Korea, targeting Chinese companies and banks the U.S. says are funneling cash into Pyongyang’s weapons program. Sharper rhetoric from high-ranking U.S. officials since North Korea’s July 4 ballistic missile test and recently unsealed court filings offer clues that the […]
7/6/2017
DEFENSE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “The Trump administration said it would give diplomacy more time to resolve a gathering crisis over North Korea’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon that can reach U.S. shores. On Thursday [7-6-17], Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. wasn’t closer to war, in his first remarks since North Korea […]
7/6/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Thursday [7-6-17] he is considering ‘some pretty severe things’ in response to North Korea’s continued efforts to develop nuclear weapons that can reach the U.S. At a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, Mr. Trump said that North Korean leaders were ‘behaving in […]
7/6/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “China’s trade with North Korea has risen despite Beijing’s promise to enforce U.N. sanctions over the North’s nuclear program, but Chinese purchases of most North Korean exports have fallen. Customs data show total trade in the first five months of this year rose 15 percent from a year earlier, driven by […]
7/5/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA: “President Trump criticized China on Wednesday [7-5-17] for failing to do more to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program, suggesting as he prepares for a high-stakes meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, this week that he is re-evaluating the United States trade relationship with Beijing in light of the growing […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “The standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program has long been shaped by the view that the United States has no viable military option to destroy it. Any attempt to do so, many say, would provoke a brutal counterattack against South Korea too bloody and damaging to risk. That remains a major […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The top American general in South Korea said Wednesday [7-5-17] that self-restraint was all that kept the United States and South Korea from going to war with North Korea, as the South’s defense minister indicated that the North’s first intercontinental ballistic missile had the potential to reach Hawaii. The unusually […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/UN: “The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday [7-5-17] where the U.S. said it would introduce new sanctions against North Korea for launching this week an intercontinental ballistic missile. The new resolution would focus on tightening and expanding existing U.N. sanctions, diplomats said. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley also said the Trump […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/UN: “The U.S. and Russia clashed at the United Nations Security Council over how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program, a confrontation throwing into doubt U.S. hopes for an international diplomatic solution to the burgeoning crisis. The standoff between diplomats on Wednesday [7-5-17] came just two days before President Donald Trump and […]
7/5/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TRADE DEALS: “Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, July 5, 2017 06:21am […]
7/4/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “The Trump administration on Tuesday [7-4-17] confirmed North Korea’s claim that it had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, and it told Pyongyang that the United States would use ‘the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat.’ The administration followed up that warning on Wednesday morning with a […]
7/3/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/JAPAN/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea… and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!” […]
6/30/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA: “The era of strategic patience with the North Korea regime has failed. That patience is over. We are working closely with…. https://t.co/nCZ51HnIdx” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 30, 2017 03:55pm […]
6/29/2017
NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Just finished a very good meeting with the President of South Korea. Many subjects discussed including North Korea and new trade deal!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 29, 2017 08:44pm […]
6/29/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TREASURY: “The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new set of actions Thursday [6-29-17] aimed at increasing pressure on North Korea, including cutting off a Chinese bank that is accused of laundering money and providing financing to North Korea in violation of international sanctions. ‘This bank has served as a gateway to North […]
6/29/2017
CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TREASURY: “The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new set of actions Thursday [6-29-17] aimed at increasing pressure on North Korea, including cutting off a Chinese bank that is accused of laundering money and providing financing to North Korea in violation of international sanctions. ‘This bank has served as a gateway to North […]
6/28/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/TRAVEL BAN: “Congress plans to take up new legislation as soon as next month to implement a ban on travel to North Korea by US citizens following Otto Warmbier’s death after he was imprisoned by North Korea for 17 months. The House foreign affairs committee will mark up a bipartisan bill that would […]
6/23/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea lashed out at the U.S. over criticisms of its treatment of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American student who died earlier this week after his return home in a coma, in a sharply worded statement that is likely to further inflame tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. The remarks from North Korea’s […]
6/21/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea On June 26, 2008, by Executive Order 13466, the President declared a national emergency with respect to North Korea pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national […]