Daily Brief: Tillerson Pushes for New Pressure on North Korea

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. December 15, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Tillerson Pushes for New Pressure on North Korea Editor's note: Due to technical difficulties, there are no hyperlinks in today's newsletter. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with the UN Security Council on Friday to discuss new ways to pressure North Korea to abandon development of its nuclear weapons program (VOA). The U.S. special envoy for North Korea called on Pyongyang to accept an offer made by Tillerson (AP) earlier this week to engage in talks without preconditions, though the White House later contradicted Tillerson’s proposal. Separately, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing on Thursday and agreed to collaborate (WSJ) to counter North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The move signaled a warming of ties following a standoff over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea. ANALYSIS "It’s a fantasy that they’re going to willingly give up their nuclear programs so long as [North Korean leader Kim Jong-un] is in power. He saw the fate of Saddam and Gaddafi—why would he give up his nuclear weapons?" Vipin Narang said in an interview with the Washington Post. "In seeking to increase pressure on North Korea, the United States has shifted focus from pressuring only DPRK economic activity that is clearly illicit or weapons-related to a broader clampdown on all DPRK economic activities worldwide," Sheena Chestnut Greitens writes for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "The new president in Seoul is certainly seeking to engage Pyongyang. However, he must learn from the mistakes made by the blind pursuit of engagement over a decade by his liberal predecessors," Inhan Kim writes for the Washington Quarterly. PACIFIC RIM Australia Addresses Vatican Over Sexual Abuse A royal commission looking into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has called on the Vatican to reconsider mandatory celibacy for priests (Guardian), a move the Melbourne archbishop dismissed. The commission spent five years investigating (SMH) before publishing its final report on Friday. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Sonia Gandhi Retires From India's Congress Party Gandhi, who led India's main opposition party since 1998 (TOI) following the death of her husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, retired as the Congress Party's president on Thursday. Her son, Rahul, was elected unopposed to take her post (BBC). MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Israeli Business Delegation to Visit Bahrain A group of Israeli business leaders will visit Bahrain next month as a follow-up to a trip by an Bahraini interfaith delegation to Israel (Jerusalem Post) this week. The two countries do not have diplomatic relations (Al Jazeera), but Bahraini officials have indicated openness to stronger ties. SYRIA: The Pentagon said two U.S. jets intercepted a pair of Russian aircraft (WaPo) near the Iraq-Syria border on Wednesday in airspace used by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA U.S. Suspends Aid to Somali Military The United States is suspending fuel and food aid for the majority of the Somali armed forces, citing concerns over corruption (Reuters) due to an inability to account for the use of assistance. A U.S.-Somali team sent to nine military bases found that soldiers at seven of the bases did not appear to be getting the food provided through U.S. aid. KENYA: Women, children, and men faced widespread sexual assault (DW), including gang rapes, by Kenyan police and security forces in post-election violence this year, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. EUROPE EU Gives Go-Ahead for Next Phase of Brexit Talks Twenty-seven European leaders in Brussels on Friday authorized moving forward to a second phase of Brexit negotiations (AP) with the United Kingdom to hash out a new trade deal, among other issues. Negotiators reached agreement on issues of citizens' rights, the Northern Ireland border, and Britain’s outstanding financial commitments before moving ahead. UK: Police arrested two leaders of the far-right group Britain First (NYT) on Thursday on charges of using threatening speech to incite racial hatred. The group gained prominence after U.S. President Donald J. Trump posted videos from them on Twitter purporting to show violence committed by Muslims. AMERICAS Nephews of Venezuelan First Lady Sentenced for Trafficking Two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady, who were arrested in Haiti in 2015, were given eighteen-year prison sentences (DW) in a New York court on Thursday for drug trafficking. BRAZIL: Two-year-olds in Brazil who were born with microcephaly after their mothers were infected with the Zika virus could not perform functions such as chewing or sitting up (NYT), according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UNITED STATES Iran Giving Weapons to Yemeni Rebels, Haley Says U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Thursday that the United States will build a coalition "to push back against Iran" after she accused the country of violating international agreements by supplying weapons to rebels in Yemen (NYT). The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines on Thursday to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules, opening the door for internet providers to charge customers (WaPo) for faster access to certain websites. GLOBAL Child Casualties From Landmines Reach Record High At least 1,544 children were killed or maimed by landmines in 2016, according to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. The coalition said the number is the highest since it began record-keeping in 1999 (RFE/RL). Many of the casualties were in Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine, and Yemen.         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: December 15, 2017 at 11:44PM