Kim in China | New Syrian Constitution | Honduras Rights Abuses

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. June 19, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Kim Meets Xi as U.S. Suspends Military Drills Kim Jong-un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (Korea Times) on Tuesday. It was the North Korean leader’s third visit to China, in which Kim was expected to discuss his recent summit with U.S. President Donald J. Trump over nuclear arms. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said the purpose of the meeting was to “facilitate regional peace and stability” (Yonhap). Meanwhile, a Pentagon spokeswoman announced Monday that the United States has suspended planning for joint military exercises with South Korea (DOD) that were to be held in August, a concession Trump offered Kim at the summit. Trump had called the drills expensive and “provocative” (AP). ANALYSIS “Beijing was happy with the results [of the Trump-Kim summit] because essentially the two sides agreed to what they have been promoting all along, which is this idea of a dual suspension where North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the United States suspending its military exercises,” says CFR's Patricia Kim. “[Trump's] decision advances China’s goal of weakening U.S. alliances with South Korea and Japan, which are key to Washington’s ability to project power and influence in the region. Beijing now has more fodder to push back against U.S. operations in the South China Sea and East China Sea as well,” Bonnie S. Glaser and Oriana Skylar Mastro write for Foreign Affairs. “Under the banner of 'Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' North Korea has exercised a grand strategy to fundamentally change the security structure in the region. The purpose is to realize its long-term goal of unifying Korea under North Korea’s terms, as well as the immediate objective of maintaining the Kim family regime,” Cheon Seong Whun writes for the Asian Institute for Policy Studies. PACIFIC RIM Japan Nears Casino Legalization A bill to legalize casinos backed by the government (Nikkei) was passed by Japan’s lower house on Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party hopes to extend the current session of parliament, set to close on Wednesday (Japan Times), in order to move the bill through the upper house. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Afghanistan Reports Few Casualties During Truce The health ministry said that the only casualties reported during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, during which both the government and Taliban declared a cease-fire (Tolo), were from two bombings in Nangarhar Province that killed forty-three people. INDIA/PAKISTAN: Outgoing UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said that India and Pakistan have for two years refused his requests for unconditional access (Dawn) to the Kashmir region, leaving his office to monitor rights abuses in the area remotely. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Foreign Representatives Discuss New Syrian Constitution Russian, Iranian, and Turkish envoys are meeting in Geneva alongside Syrian opposition representatives to discuss setting up a committee that would draft a new constitution (Al Jazeera). UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said he does not expect a “major breakthrough” at the meeting, held under UN auspices. ISRAEL: Former minister Gonen Segev was accused by the Shin Bet security service of spying for Iran (Haaretz). The former lawmaker, who had been living in Nigeria in recent years, is under arrest. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Ethiopia PM Calls State Acts ‘Terrorism’ New Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, when asked in parliament about detainees accused of acts of terrorism who had been released from prison, responded that “torturing, putting people in dark rooms, is our act of terrorism” (BBC), referring to the country’s security forces. He also accused government officials of “using force unconstitutionally to stay in power.” CFR's Michelle D. Gavin looks at Ethiopia's long political transition. MOZAMBIQUE: At least thirty-nine people have been killed by suspected Islamist militants in northern Cabo Delgado Province since May, according to Human Rights Watch. More than one thousand others were reported displaced by the attacks. EUROPE Macron Announces Economic Liberalization Measures French President Emmanuel Macron presented a bill to ministers that would ease regulations on smaller businesses (FT). The bill would introduce an online platform to streamline registration for new businesses (Reuters). TURKEY: The U.S. Senate passed a major defense spending bill that would block the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey (RFE/RL) if Ankara goes ahead with purchasing a missile defense system from Russia. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the move “goes against the soul of strategic partnership” (Hurriyet). AMERICAS U.S. Echoes Amnesty’s Calls for Honduras Accountability Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged President Juan Orlando Hernandez to hold Honduran security forces accountable for alleged abuses. The comments, at a Washington meeting, followed rights group Amnesty International’s release of a report on abuses after Orlando’s contested election (AP). This CFR Backgrounder looks at the role violence in Central America’s Northern Triangle plays in driving asylum seekers to the United States. UNITED STATES China Calls U.S. Tariff Threats ‘Blackmail’ President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion in goods from China (NYT), bringing the total amount on which he has threatened duties to $450 billion, almost the entire value of goods sold by China to the United States last year. China vowed that it would take "comprehensive quantitative and qualitative measures" in retaliation (Bloomberg). Aaron Friedberg discusses U.S.-China rivalry on the President's Inbox podcast. President Trump ordered the Pentagon to begin a process to establish a Space Force (CNN) as a sixth branch of the armed forces. GLOBAL UN Says 44,000 People Forced From Homes Daily The United Nations said that a record 68.5 million people have been displaced from their homes due to conflict or persecution (DW). Crises in Syria, Myanmar, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo raised the number in 2017.         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: June 19, 2018 at 10:09PM