Editor’s note: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, May 29, in observance of Memorial Day. |
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U.S., South Korea Begin Their Largest-Ever Live Fire Drills Near North Korean Border |
U.S. and South Korean forces will conduct four more rounds (AP) of the joint exercises through mid-June. Their increased cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear threat also includes a new pact with Japan (Reuters) to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches. An article published yesterday by North Korean state media called the three countries’ steps to tighten military cooperation “sinister” and warned against “cooking up the Asian version of [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)].”
The drills mark seventy years of the U.S.-South Korea military alliance. Pyongyang typically responds to the countries’ joint military operations with missile tests, though it didn’t immediately respond to these exercises. It has launched more than one hundred missiles since the start of last year. |
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“[South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol], who took office a year ago, has worked to restore joint drills with the US that had been suspended or scaled back under his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, and former President Donald Trump, as they sought a rapprochement with Pyongyang,” Bloomberg’s Katia Dmitrieva and Shinhye Kang write.
“The growing [challenges of deterring North Korea], if managed well, could bring Washington and Seoul closer together. For years the United States has sought South Korean participation in broader regional security efforts,” Dartmouth College’s Jennifer Lind and Daryl G. Press write for Foreign Affairs.
This episode of The President’s Inbox podcast discusses North Korea’s nuclear program.
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Senior U.S., Chinese Economic Officials Meet in Washington |
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, discussed concerns (FT) about their countries’ trade and investment policies and potential areas for cooperation. Wang’s visit to Washington is the first by a senior Chinese official since 2020. |
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Pakistan Authorities Place Former Premier Khan, Dozens of Party Members on No-Fly List |
Pakistani officials have arrested (Bloomberg) several leaders of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in recent weeks, as well as over ten thousand of its supporters, Khan said. Authorities cited violence at recent protests, while Khan called the efforts a political campaign against the party.
India: The country’s political opposition will boycott the inauguration (BBC) of a new parliament building this Sunday amid strained relations with the government, including over the recent sentencing of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on defamation charges.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Belgium, Iran Swap Prisoners in Oman |
A Belgian official said a Belgian aid worker was freed (AP), while Iranian state television said an Iranian diplomat convicted of planning a bomb attack was also released.
Lebanon: The World Bank approved a new $300 million loan (AP) for cash payments to poor households amid Lebanon’s economic crisis.
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South African, UN Authorities Capture Most-Wanted Suspect in Rwandan Genocide |
Fulgence Kayishema is accused of planning and executing (CBS) the killings of two thousand people in a Rwandan church in 1994.
South Africa: In a speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country will continue to pursue nonalignment (Bloomberg) and support a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine. In recent weeks, the U.S. ambassador in the country accused South Africa of shipping arms to Russia and suggested Pretoria could face economic penalties. Pretoria denied the accusation.
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Belarusian President Says Russian Nuclear Warheads Have Arrived for Storage |
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EU’s Top Diplomat Visits Cuba, Highlights Business Ties |
During his first official visit to Cuba, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles voiced Brussels’s support and willingness to collaborate on new permissions (El País) for small and medium-size private businesses on the island. He will participate in talks today on human rights.
Peru: Amnesty International found evidence of “marked racist bias” (CNN) and extrajudicial executions in Peruvian security forces’ treatment of anti-government protesters in recent months, the organization said in a new report.
This In Brief by CFR’s Will Freeman and Ariana Rios looks at how Peru’s protests could send shockwaves through the region.
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| Leader of Extremist Group Sentenced to Eighteen Years in Prison for Role in Capitol Attack |
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The World Economic Forum explores why this year’s rising emissions and El Niño weather pattern are likely to make 2023 the hottest year on record. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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