Daily Brief: Officials Warn North Korean Missile to U.S. Months Away

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. October 20, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Officials Warn North Korean Missile to U.S. Months Away Two top U.S. officials warned on Thursday that North Korea is "months away" from being able to strike the United States with a nuclear missile (VOA), saying the country is "running out of time." CIA Director Mike Pompeo said the administration of President Donald J. Trump is prepared to use military force (FT) if necessary to ensure North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doesn't have the "capacity to hold America at risk." U.S. National Security Advisor General H.R. McMaster said a policy of deterrence while accepting a nuclear Pyongyang is "unacceptable" (CNN). A senior North Korean diplomat said in Moscow on Friday that possessing nuclear weapons is a "matter of life and death" (Reuters) for the East Asian country. ANALYSIS "We see the president suggesting that it's unacceptable for them to have the capability, but we've also lived with vulnerability to enemies with nuclear weapons for decades," says CFR's Scott A. Snyder. "The recent Korean Workers' Party Central Committee meeting and Kim's emphasis on the economy, the elevation of his sister as an alternate member of the Politburo, and the promotion of his closest supporters and advisors suggest that Kim continues to plan for the long haul," Jung H. Pak writes for the Brookings Institution. "Contrary to popular perception, nuclear arms are weapons of the poor—extraordinarily cheap compared with conventional armaments," Yasheng Huang writes for Project Syndicate. PACIFIC RIM South Korea to Resume Work on Nuclear Reactors A state commission has greenlighted resuming construction (Korea Times) of two nuclear power plants in a blow to President Moon Jae-in, who vowed when elected not to allow any new reactors (NYT). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India Leads in Startling Report on Pollution Deaths One in six deaths per year, or some nine million in total, are caused by air and water pollution (FT), according to a new study published in the medical journal Lancet. India accounted for the largest number of such deaths (Hindustan Times), at roughly 2.5 million. UZBEKISTAN: Uzbek authorities have released opposition activist Muhammadali Qoraboev (RFE/RL) after serving eleven years in prison for extortion charges. He is the fourteenth political prisoner to be released since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office late last year. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Tillerson Heads to Riyadh for Iraq-Saudi Arabia Meeting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will attend on Friday the first meeting (Saudi Gazette) between the governments of Riyadh and Baghdad, which will include both Saudi King Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The two countries signed an agreement to improve relations (VOA) four months ago. SYRIA: The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which recaptured the de facto capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State this week, said the people of Raqqa will run their own affairs (Reuters) within the framework of a "decentralized, federal democratic Syria." This CFR Backgrounder looks at what's at stake in post-ISIS Iraq and Syria. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA FBI Joins Probe of U.S. Soldier Deaths in Niger The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the U.S. military's probe into the deaths of four soldiers who were ambushed by militants earlier this month (WSJ) while on patrol in Niger. Lawmakers have said they were not properly briefed on the nature of the U.S. mission in the West African country. MADAGASCAR: The number of plague cases in Madagascar has doubled in five days to top one thousand (VOA), with 67 percent of them pneumonic, according to the United Nations. Pneumonic plague is less common and considered more severe than bubonic plague.  EUROPE EU Leaders Say Won't Intervene in Catalonia European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday that there is "no room" for EU action or mediation (BBC) in the standoff between leaders in Madrid and Catalonia. European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said that Europe would not "recognize an independent Catalonia" (FT). Sebastian Balfour lays out the differences between Madrid and Catalonia in Foreign Affairs. ITALY: Lombardy and Veneto, two of Italy's wealthiest regions, will host referendums on seeking greater autonomy (Guardian) on Sunday. AMERICAS Venezuelan Judges Given Refuge in Chile Five judges named to the Supreme Court by the opposition-controlled National Assembly have been granted political asylum in Chile (LAHT) after the government of President Nicolas Maduro called their appointments illegal and threatened them with prison time (VOA). Adriana Erthal Abdenur and Robert Muggah discuss avoiding civil war in Venezuela in Foreign Affairs. UNITED STATES Haley Calls Russian Election Interference 'Warfare' U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday called a country's interference in another's elections "warfare" and responded to Russian complaints over recent sanctions, saying the United States wouldn't be "anti-Russian" (Politico) if the country did not interfere in its election. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush spoke out separately on Thursday (BBC) against the political climate in the United States. Obama denounced division and fear in the country while Bush said that "bigotry seems emboldened."          Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: October 20, 2017 at 09:58PM