Politico: President Donald Trump has vowed a “very severe” response to North Korea’s escalating development of missiles and nuclear weapons. But behind closed doors, the Trump administration is pursuing a strategy that’s not all that different from Barack Obama’s. Administration officials are saying privately that a preventive military attack is “not on the table,” said… read more
The Korea Times: The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States agreed to start early negotiations on revising a bilateral missile guidelines agreement to better cope with North Korea’s missile threats, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sunday. The agreement comes after Washington accepted Seoul’s call in late July to… read more
The Washington Post: MANILA — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday that North Korea could show it is ready for negotiations by stopping missile launches, and said he told Russian diplomats that the Kremlin’s meddling in U.S. elections had created “serious mistrust” of them among Americans. North Korea, meanwhile, reacted to the U.N. Security… read more
Reuters: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States could shortly broaden talks on a push for stronger U.N. sanctions on North Korea to include all 15 Security Council members, signalling a likely deal with China on new measures, diplomats said on Thursday. Since North Korea’s July 4 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the… read more
Omaha World-Herald: Last Friday, North Korea tested another intercontinental ballistic missile. Numerous reports indicated this missile flew significantly farther than the one the regime launched July 3 and could reach major U.S. cities. This threat is a concern I hear about often when I visit with Nebraskans. Wednesday’s successful test-launch of an ICBM of our… read more
The New York Times: WASHINGTON – In the Trump administration’s first serious attempt at a diplomatic opening to North Korea, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has offered to open negotiations with Pyongyang by assuring “the security they seek” and a new chance at economic prosperity if the North surrenders its nuclear weapons. Mr. Tillerson’s… read more
The New York Times: Joined by three Western allies, the United States on Wednesday escalated pressure on Iran over its space launch last week, saying the act disregarded a United Nations Security Council resolution on the use of missiles and was “threatening and provocative.” In a letter to the Security Council and Secretary General António… read more
Defense News: BEZMER AIR BASE, Bulgaria – The United States and its allies in Europe don’t have enough missile defense capability and still have a long way to go to tie all of the varying systems together into one networked web, according to the outgoing U.S. Army Europe commander. But that doesn’t mean the Army… read more
Military Times: The Air Force wants to extend the maximum range of its Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile in response to growing threats in Eastern Europe and the western Pacific. Lockheed Martin received a $37.7 million contract from the Air Force for continued development of a wing design for the extended range JASSM, according to a… read more
The Hill: The Senate on Tuesday easily confirmed President Trump’s pick for the Pentagon’s No. 2 civilian official. Senators voted 92-7 for Patrick Shanahan to be the next deputy Defense secretary, the person who runs the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department. Only a simple majority was needed to approve his nomination. The seven votes against Shanahan came… read more