Donald Trump signs order for metals tariff plan, prompting fears of trade war

Donald Trump pushed forward with plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports on Thursday arguing the levies were necessary for national security and to stop the assault on our country . Flanked by steel and aluminium workers and key staff Trump said he had to act to stop the decimation of entire communities and insisted there would be a very fair process as the administration used the next 15 days to negotiate exemptions with allies. Canada and Mexico will be exempted. Steel is steel said Trump. Without steel you don t have a country. Trump campaigned on saving US steel and aluminium jobs which have been lost to cheap foreign imports. But the tariffs threaten to undermine decades of detente in international trade and have split the Republican party no congressional members of his own party were present for the White House announcement. Officials from China and Europe have threatened retaliation if Trump goes ahead with his plan. Trump s plan is to impose a 25% tariff on imports of steel and a 10% tariff on aluminium. The initial plan was https://my.desktopnexus.com/kkabhi/ for a global levy although Trump made clear exceptions would be made and suggested that allies military spending might be taken into account. Anyone anyone? What happened when the US last introduced tariffs Read more The announcement met with immediate opposition from senior Republicans who see the move as a tax on US manufacturers and consumers. The House speaker Paul Ryan said: I disagree with this action and fear its unintended consequences. He said while there were unquestionably bad trade practices by nations like China they were better addressed by targeted enforcement . The White House trade adviser Peter Navarro speaking on the Fox Business Network said: Look this is pretty simple in this case. We ve got an aluminum and steel industry. The president quite clearly and correctly believes we can t have a country without those two industries. Fact of the matter of it both of them are on life support the aluminum industry in particular. Navarro went on: In another year or two or three if we don t do anything that s going to be gone and we re not going to be gone and we re not going have a country. Trump promised on the campaign trail to protect US steelworkers jobs but his plan was opposed by top economic adviser Gary Cohn who with the backing of many executives in other industries argued that the impact on trade and on companies using cheap steel imports would outweigh any benefits of the tariffs. Cohn resigned this week after just 14 months on the job the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the Trump administration. This is Gary Cohn s last cabinet meeting Trump said on Thursday. He s been terrific. He may be a globalist but I still like him. I have a feeling you ll be back. More than 100 Republican House members signed a letter on Wednesday expressing deep concern about the plan. They pressed Trump to change course and avoid unintended negative consequences to the US economy and its workers . They added that tariffs are taxes that make US businesses less competitive and US consumers poorer. As Republicans lobby the president to abandon his plan Trump hasfound some support from his most reliable critics: Democrats. President Trump has identified the right opponent China much better than both the Obama and Bush administrations did Chuck Schumer the Democratic leader in the Senate said on Thursday before Trump s announcement. Democrats and Republicans have been blind to this and President Trump isn t. But Schumer urged Trump to tailor his plan so that it targets China and does not affect allies. Don t swing blindly and wildly at our foe China Schumer said. Establish a well-placed jab at China. Set them back. Let them know we mean business. At a press conference in Frankfurt Mario Draghi the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) called unilateral tariff decisions dangerous . He said: What strikes me is whatever convictions you have about trade we are convinced that disputes should be discussed and resolved in a multilateral framework. There is a certain worry or concern about the state of international relations because if you put tariffs on your allies one wonders who your enemies are. The news has also worried business leaders. On Bloomberg TV on Thursday Jamie Dimon the chairman of JP Morgan said: There are serious issues around trade. The WTO World Trade Organisation needs to get its act together and get a little more ambitious about fixing some of these problems but I think tariffs is the wrong way to go about it. Topics Donald Trump Steel industry US taxation news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content
Photo President Trump after signing an order on tariffs. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times Since announcing new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports last week the Trump administration has argued that it is protecting American industry from China which in recent years flooded the global market with cheap metals. It is impossible to take this argument seriously.For starters the tariffs will have little impact on China. That country supplies less than 5 percent of the steel and about 10 percent of the aluminum that the United States imports. Further a vast majority of metal imports from China are already subject to tariffs put into place by previous administrations according to Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.Oddly the primary victims of these tariffs which are being imposed under a law that lets the president restrict trade to protect national security will be American allies like the European Union and South Korea. Canada and Mexico will be temporarily exempted but could still be hit with tariffs later if they and the United States fail to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Before signing an executive order authorizing the tariffs on Thursday Mr. Trump suggested other countries could be exempted too but only if they treated the United States fairly including by spending more money on their own defense. Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on military are our allies as they like to call them he said at the White House flanked by steel and aluminum workers and administration officers.More important the Trump administration has repeatedly dropped the ball on efforts that might have succeeded in prompting China to curb production something that would have benefited not just the United States but also allies that are now threatening to retaliate by imposing tariffs on American goods and services. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Please verify you re not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times s products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. You are already subscribed to this email. View all New York Times newsletters. See Sample Manage Email Preferences Not you? Privacy Policy Opt out or contact us anytime Most experts agree that China is not moving fast enough to close steel mills and aluminum smelters that it no longer needs because its economy is growing more slowly as it has gotten much bigger. The country s leaders fear that moving faster could hurt its economy harm state-owned banks that have lent to the metal industries and create unrest among workers who lose their jobs. But experts like Eswar Prasad an economics professor at Cornell University say that the United States the European Union and other countries could pressure China to move faster to address this problem especially if they worked together. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Characteristically the Trump administration has displayed none of the diplomatic and economic savvy required to get China to change its policies. On Jan. 12 2017 the Obama administration filed a case with the World Trade Organization that accused China of unfairly subsidizing aluminum producers and thus driving down global prices for the metal. But Mr. Trump s trade representative Robert Lighthizer has failed to ask the W.T.O. to convene a panel of judges to hear the case effectively suspending it. Mr. Lighthizer s office declined to answer questions about the case. Continue reading the main story
Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to hold an unprecedented summit meeting to discuss the future of the embattled regime s nuclear and missile programme. North Korea open to relinquishing nuclear weapons says Seoul Read more In a stunning development following months of tension and mutual sabre-rattling senior South Korean officials appeared outside the White House to announce the news having verbally conveyed Kim s invitation to Trump. The White House confirmed that Trump was ready to meet Kim by May at a exact time and location yet to be determined. If the meeting takes place it would be the first ever between leaders of the two countries. Pyongyang has long sought a summit with the US to reflect what the regime sees as its status as a regional military power. Bill Clinton came close to agreeing to a meeting with Kim s father Kim Jong-il in 2000 but arrangements had not been made by the time he left office in January 2001. Administration officials on Thursday portrayed the invitation as a victory for Trump s policy of maximum pressure and stressed that the US would not relax its stringent sanctions regime before North Korea began disarming. Unlike previous administrations a senior official said Trump is not prepared to reward North Korea in exchange for talks . Trump himself confirmed the meeting in a tweet adding that US sanctions against North Korea would remain in place until a deal on denuclearisation was achieved. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives not just a freeze. Also no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned! March 9 2018 The development was announced by South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong who was flanked by intelligence chief Suh Hoon and Cho Yoon-je South Korea s ambassador to US. The invitation to talks Chung said was accompanied by an offer to suspend North Korean missile and nuclear tests while talks are underway the condition that US officials have laid down for the start of any substantive talks. The White House confirmed the news in a statement later saying: President Trump greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation and President Moon. He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong-un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearisation of North Korea. In the meantime all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain. The delegation of senior South Korean officials had met the North Korean leader in Pyongyang on Monday and flown to Washington to brief the White House on Thursday. Announcing the delivery of the invitation in a hastily arranged press statement outside the White House Chung praised Trump s leadership and his policy of maximum pressure . Play Video 0:41 South Korean president meets Kim Yo-jong - video I told President Trump that in our meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearisation Chung said. Kim Jong-un pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. He understands the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue. He added that the North Korean leader had expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible . President Trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearisation. White House officials said the US national security adviser HR McMaster would brief the UN security council on the new developments on Monday. Q&A Why does the North Korean regime pursue a nuclear programme? Show Hide Much of the regime s domestic legitimacy rests on portraying the country as under constant threat from the US and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. To support the claim that it is in Washington s crosshairs North Korea cites the tens of thousands of US troops lined up along the southern side of the demilitarised zone the heavily fortified border dividing the Korean peninsula. Faced with what it says are US provocations North Korea says it has as much right as any other state to develop a nuclear deterrent. North Korea s leader Kim Jong-un is also aware of the fate of other dictators who lack nuclear weapons. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. There have been no significant negotiations between the US and North Korea since 2012 when the two sides agreed a short-lived deal exchanging a moratorium on long range missiles and nuclear weapons activity in return for food aid. The agreement fell apart after Pyongyang launched a satellite with a powerful rocket that could be used in a missile. An earlier deal struck in 1994 lasted considerably longer but fell apart as a result of mutual distrust. It is far from clear that any new deal would be any more enduring. North Korean view of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula has historically entailed the dissolution of US guarantees to defend South Korea that it would defend its ally with nuclear weapons if necessary. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chung Eui-Yong South Korea s national security adviser made the announcement outside the White House on Thursday. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters Mintaro Oba a former state department official involved in North Korean policy under the Obama administration urged caution. This is a welcome step that will help us de-escalate dangerous tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the near term and hopefully lead to progress toward denuclearisation Oba said. That said we must manage our expectations given our knowledge of North Korea s interests and past behavior. There is a long and complicated road ahead. When President Trump meets with Kim Jong-un he should not allow the meeting to be purely about optics. He should bring a bold proposal for progress toward denuclearisation putting the onus on North Korea to respond in good faith. At best this meeting will lead to real progress. At worst it is an important opportunity to shed light on North Korea s real motivations and probe its flexibility. Jon Wolfsthal who was special assistant to Obama on arms control and non-proliferation said: The US must pursue this idea. Skepticism is healthy but the chance for progress is too good to pass up. But Wolfsthal added that the May deadline for the talks was almost incredible . Topics North Korea South Korea Trump administration Donald Trump Nuclear weapons Asia Pacific news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content
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Late-night hosts on Wednesday discussed Stormy Daniels lawsuit against Trump and how the NRA influences lawmakers. Stephen Colbert on Trump s loving tariff: That s what you say if you don t know what a tariff is Read more Stephen Colbert I know we re getting numb to the Trump presidency it s a natural defense mechanism but let those words sink in for a second said Stephen Colbert upon showing news coverage of porn star Stormy Daniels lawsuit against president Trump. A porn star is suing the president he repeated. We have not seen anything like this since the famous headline Dewey boinks Truman . Miss Daniels received 130 000 right before the election to keep their affair a secret the host explained. Now Daniels is suing Donald Trump over the confidentiality agreement alleging that iti s invalid because while both she and Trump s attorney signed it Trump himself never did. Colbert replied: So this is the thing Trump thought was too sketchy to put his name on? What about Trump University or Don Jr? Facebook Twitter Pinterest The host then noted that the lawsuit mentions that Daniels is in possession of confidential information including images and/or texts from Trump. He also added that the confidentiality agreement referred to Trump as David Dennison and Daniels as Peggy Peterson . Now it turns out using campaign funds to pay off your porn star mistress could be a violation of campaign finance law Colbert said before explaining that Trump s personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen set up a company called Essential Consultants LLC for the purpose of paying off Daniels. Monday we learned that Cohen s payment to Stormy Daniels was reported suspicious by a bank the host said before revealing that Cohen reportedly complained to friends that he had yet to be reimbursed by Trump. Well Mr Cohen. Maybe now you ll sympathize with Stormy Daniels because Donald Trump has screwed you both. Samantha Bee TBS s Samantha Bee compared the NRA to the church of scientology. While these amazing kids were providing the leadership on guns we sorely need our actual leaders continue to do nothing but hope that the news cycle will move on she began in reference to the students who survived the shooting in Parkland. Bee then discussed how the NRA wields its power in Washington noting that monitoring how the NRA actually influences lawmakers is a little more complicated than buy and sell . Bee went on to mention the NRA s disproportionate spending on television advertisements versus campaign contributions. It works she said. Lawmakers know they have to appeal to these faithful disciples of the NRA. Most of us know the NRA as a lobbying group for gun manufacturers but to its hardcore members it is more than that. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The host then showed footage of an NRA-sponsored video in which a member refers to the organization as a religion. Yes the NRA is like a religion Bee added. Specifically the best religion: Scientology. Bee continued: At first I thought it was ridiculous to compare these two organizations but then I did a Google image search and I thought maybe there is something here. Both of these cults are based on fanciful myths that when repeated enough their otherwise intelligent followers start to believe. The host noted that both groups despise the media and push narratives that only they can save the world . One says that 75m years ago an intergalactic warlord nuked billions of people in volcanoes Bee said. And then there s the really crazy myth that guns have nothing to do with gun violence. Trevor Noah Finally Trevor Noah addressed another chaotic day in the White House. He began: Yesterday morning the president tweeted The new Fake News narrative is that there is CHAOS in the White House. Wrong! People will always come & go and I want strong dialogue before making a final decision. I still have some people that I want to change (always seeking perfection). There is no Chaos only great Energy! I ve got to say if this whole president thing doesn t work out Trump would be dope at writing fortune cookies Noah joked. Look Trump always says things that are easily disproved. But yesterday was particularly entertaining. Because at 7.55am he tweeted no chaos and then the rest of the day was nothing but chaos. The host then explained that Kellyanne Conway was found to have violated the Hatch Act which prohibits government officials from using their position to influence political campaigns. The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) Trevor on Trump s denial of chaos in the W.H.: I don t wanna say the president is wrong but this seems like chaos. At this point http://www.fish-stores.com/profile/kkabhi I bet even chaos is like nah this is too crazy for me you need to take this up with bat-shit. Full episode: https://t.co/NHZTY51LF4 pic.twitter.com/XQT1rU0raB March 8 2018 The Hatch Act? I didn t know that was a thing Noah said. But that s what s great about the Trump administration. We re learning about all of America s laws because they keep on breaking them. Noah went on to note that that same day senior adviser Gary Cohn resigned. Maybe I m being a hater he said. One adviser caught breaking the law another adviser quit. It s a bad day but it s not exactly chaos. Then Noah showed news of Daniels lawsuit against Trump: This is amazing he quipped. How incompetent are you if you didn t sign your own NDA? Stormy Daniels: White House appears to confirm Trump contract with porn star Read more Noah concluded: To recap: in the 12 hours following the Everything s Fine tweet a senior counselor busted breaking the law a senior adviser said F this I m out and a senior citizen apparently forgot to sign the hush money contract with his porn star mistress. Topics Late-night TV roundup Trevor Noah Stephen Colbert Samantha Bee Donald Trump US television news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content
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Photo George Nader an adviser to the United Arab Emirates with ties to current and former aides to President Trump is cooperating in the special counsel investigation. Credit via C-Span WASHINGTON An adviser to the United Arab Emirates with ties to current and former aides to President Trump is cooperating with the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and gave testimony last week to a grand jury according to two people familiar with the matter.Mr. Mueller appears to be examining the influence of foreign money on Mr. Trump s political activities and has asked witnesses about the possibility that the adviser George Nader funneled money from the Emirates to the president s political efforts. It is illegal for foreign entities to contribute to campaigns or for Americans to knowingly accept foreign money for political races.Mr. Nader a Lebanese-American businessman who advises Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan the effective ruler of the Emirates also attended a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles that Mr. Mueller s investigators have examined. The meeting convened by the crown prince brought together a Russian investor close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with Erik Prince the founder of Blackwater and an informal adviser to Mr. Trump s team during the presidential transition according to three people familiar with the meeting.Mr. Nader s cooperation in the special counsel s investigation could prompt new legal risks for the Trump administration and Mr. Nader s presence at the Seychelles meeting appears to connect him to the primary focus of Mr. Mueller s investigation: examining Russian interference during the 2016 presidential campaign. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Nader represented the crown prince in the three-way conversation in the Seychelles at a hotel overlooking in the Indian Ocean in the days before Mr. Trump took office. At the meeting Emirati officials believed Mr. Prince was speaking for the Trump transition team and a Russian fund manager Kirill Dmitriev represented Mr. Putin according to several people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Nader who grew close later to several advisers in the Trump White House had once worked as a consultant to Blackwater a private security firm now known as Academi. Mr. Nader introduced his former employer to the Russian. Continue reading the main story
Photo President Trump sought information from two witnesses about matters they had discussed with the special counsel s office. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times WASHINGTON The special counsel in the Russia investigation has learned of two conversations in recent months in which President Trump asked key witnesses about matters they discussed with investigators according to three people familiar with the encounters.In one episode the president told an aide that the White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II should issue a statement denying a New York Times article in January. The article said Mr. McGahn told investigators that the president once asked him to fire the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. McGahn never released a statement and later had to remind the president that he had indeed asked Mr. McGahn to see that Mr. Mueller was dismissed the people said.In the other episode Mr. Trump asked his former chief of staff Reince Priebus how his interview had gone with the special counsel s investigators and whether they had been nice according to two people familiar with the discussion.The episodes demonstrate that even as the special counsel investigation appears to be intensifying the president has ignored his lawyers advice to avoid doing anything publicly or privately that could create the appearance of interfering with it. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The White House did not respond to several requests for comment. Mr. Priebus and Mr. McGahn declined to comment through their lawyer William A. Burck. Photo Reince Priebus Mr. Trump s first chief of staff left the White House in July 2017. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times Legal experts said Mr. Trump s contact with the men most likely did not rise to the level of witness tampering. But witnesses and lawyers who learned about the conversations viewed them as potentially a problem and shared them with Mr. Mueller. Continue reading the main story

Donald Trump to meet Kim Jong-un by May after invitation from North Korea

Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to hold an unprecedented summit meeting to discuss the future of the embattled regime s nuclear and missile programme. North Korea open to relinquishing nuclear weapons says Seoul Read more In a stunning development following months of tension and mutual sabre-rattling senior South Korean officials appeared outside the White House to announce the news having verbally conveyed Kim s invitation to Trump. The White House confirmed that Trump was ready to meet Kim by May at a exact time and location yet to be determined. If the meeting takes place it would be the first ever between leaders of the two countries. Pyongyang has long sought a summit with the US to reflect what the regime sees as its status as a regional military power. Bill Clinton came close to agreeing to a meeting with Kim s father Kim Jong-il in 2000 but arrangements had not been made by the time he left office in January 2001. Administration officials on Thursday portrayed the invitation as a http://www.bagtheweb.com/u/kkpaytm/profile victory for Trump s policy of maximum pressure and stressed that the US would not relax its stringent sanctions regime before North Korea began disarming. Unlike previous administrations a senior official said Trump is not prepared to reward North Korea in exchange for talks . Trump himself confirmed the meeting in a tweet adding that US sanctions against North Korea would remain in place until a deal on denuclearisation was achieved. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives not just a freeze. Also no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned! March 9 2018 The development was announced by South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong who was flanked by intelligence chief Suh Hoon and Cho Yoon-je South Korea s ambassador to US. The invitation to talks Chung said was accompanied by an offer to suspend North Korean missile and nuclear tests while talks are underway the condition that US officials have laid down for the start of any substantive talks. The White House confirmed the news in a statement later saying: President Trump greatly appreciates the nice words of the South Korean delegation and President Moon. He will accept the invitation to meet with Kim Jong-un at a place and time to be determined. We look forward to the denuclearisation of North Korea. In the meantime all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain. The delegation of senior South Korean officials had met the North Korean leader in Pyongyang on Monday and flown to Washington to brief the White House on Thursday. Announcing the delivery of the invitation in a hastily arranged press statement outside the White House Chung praised Trump s leadership and his policy of maximum pressure . Play Video 0:41 South Korean president meets Kim Yo-jong - video I told President Trump that in our meeting the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he is committed to denuclearisation Chung said. Kim Jong-un pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests. He understands the routine joint military exercises between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue. He added that the North Korean leader had expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible . President Trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet Kim Jong-un by May to achieve permanent denuclearisation. White House officials said the US national security adviser HR McMaster would brief the UN security council on the new developments on Monday. Q&A Why does the North Korean regime pursue a nuclear programme? Show Hide Much of the regime s domestic legitimacy rests on portraying the country as under constant threat from the US and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. To support the claim that it is in Washington s crosshairs North Korea cites the tens of thousands of US troops lined up along the southern side of the demilitarised zone the heavily fortified border dividing the Korean peninsula. Faced with what it says are US provocations North Korea says it has as much right as any other state to develop a nuclear deterrent. North Korea s leader Kim Jong-un is also aware of the fate of other dictators who lack nuclear weapons. Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. There have been no significant negotiations between the US and North Korea since 2012 when the two sides agreed a short-lived deal exchanging a moratorium on long range missiles and nuclear weapons activity in return for food aid. The agreement fell apart after Pyongyang launched a satellite with a powerful rocket that could be used in a missile. An earlier deal struck in 1994 lasted considerably longer but fell apart as a result of mutual distrust. It is far from clear that any new deal would be any more enduring. North Korean view of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula has historically entailed the dissolution of US guarantees to defend South Korea that it would defend its ally with nuclear weapons if necessary. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chung Eui-Yong South Korea s national security adviser made the announcement outside the White House on Thursday. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters Mintaro Oba a former state department official involved in North Korean policy under the Obama administration urged caution. This is a welcome step that will help us de-escalate dangerous tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the near term and hopefully lead to progress toward denuclearisation Oba said. That said we must manage our expectations given our knowledge of North Korea s interests and past behavior. There is a long and complicated road ahead. When President Trump meets with Kim Jong-un he should not allow the meeting to be purely about optics. He should bring a bold proposal for progress toward denuclearisation putting the onus on North Korea to respond in good faith. At best this meeting will lead to real progress. At worst it is an important opportunity to shed light on North Korea s real motivations and probe its flexibility. Jon Wolfsthal who was special assistant to Obama on arms control and non-proliferation said: The US must pursue this idea. Skepticism is healthy but the chance for progress is too good to pass up. But Wolfsthal added that the May deadline for the talks was almost incredible . Topics North Korea South Korea Trump administration Donald Trump Nuclear weapons Asia Pacific news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content
The Paralympics opens on Friday in Pyeongchang in what will be the largest winter Games to date with 240 medals up for grabs and North Korea making its debut part of a wider cooling of tensions. The Games will run over 10 days and 670 athletes will compete over 100 more than in Sochi four years ago across six sports: para Alpine skiing para biathlon para cross-country skiing sleigh hockey para snowboarding and wheelchair curling. All eyes will likely be on the North Korean athletes who arrived on Wednesday as part of a 24-member delegation. It will be the first time North Korea has participated in the Winter Paralympics. It sent just one athlete to the summer edition in London and two to the Games in Rio de Janeiro. Six athletes have travelled to Pyeongchang but only two will actually compete both in Nordic skiing events. However South and North Korea will not march together at the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics as they did at the Olympics last month because they cannot agree on a united flag that erases islands disputed with Japan officials said. The athletes and officials from the North said little on arrival in South Korea one senior official said only: I am pleased before they were rushed on to buses bound for Pyeongchang. North Korea s participation is part of a wider rapprochement on the Korean peninsula and comes after it sent a delegation of more than 500 people to the Olympics including cheerleaders and performers. Pyongyang has gone from issuing threats of war to saying it is willing to relinquish its nuclear weapons as part of negotiations with the US. But North Korea s presence at the Paralympics has raised eyebrows due to a history of claims of official discrimination against disabled people. People are routinely sent to prison camps because of their disability according to a UN report and North Koreans who have fled the country have described harassment by the authorities. But adversity has led to some inspiring stories among the competitors. There are a wide range of disabilities including amputated limbs blindness learning disabilities and spinal injuries. Athletes in the same sport compete in different categories based on their disability to ensure an even playing field. Choi Kwang-hyouk fled North Korea shortly after his left foot was amputated without anaesthesia and will represent South Korea in para ice hockey. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Niels de Langen of the Netherlands starts the men s downhill training run. Photograph: Simon Bruty/AP Brenna Huckaby became the first Paralympian photographed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and will compete in the two snowboard events. She lost her leg when she had cancer as a child and hopes the publicity will raise awareness of the Paralympics and encourage more people to participate. We work just as hard as the Olympians she said in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune. Two of the UK s athletes lost limbs while serving with the military in Afghanistan with Scott Meenagh s appearance in Nordic skiing the first for a British athlete in two decades. Owen Pick will be one of Team GB s first Paralympic snowboarders. The Paralympics organisers have said 275 000 tickets have been sold about 89% of those made available so far. It s a huge rise from a number that barely registered in October 2017. But many South Koreans are unaware of the Games and just days before the opening ceremony a poll showed only about a third of people knew when the Paralympics would begin. They ll think I m a traitor : North Korean defector makes Winter Paralympics debut Read more Attracting an audience has been one of the main goals of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and internet streaming services mean more people can watch events than in previous years. What is greatly encouraging is that not only do we have more broadcasters but many of them are also dedicating more airtime across all platforms than previous Games editions Alexis Schaefer the IPC s commercial and marketing director said in a statement. We have more broadcasters than ever before set to cover the Winter Paralympics which shows the growing global interest in para sport. As in the Olympics Russian athletes will not compete under the Russian flag but instead as individuals and grouped under the term neutral Paralympic athlete . Russia s Olympic and Paralympic committees were banned following revelations of a state-sponsored doping programme. The Paralympics have not been without controversy and in recent years organisers have struggled with questions about how athletes are grouped according to their disability. Bethany Woodward a British sprinter with cerebral palsy quit competing and handed back a medal after saying more able-bodied athletes were allowed to race against her. Topics Paralympics Disability sport South Korea North Korea Asia Pacific news Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Google Share on WhatsApp Share on Messenger Reuse this content
North Korea has offered to discuss denuclearisation with the United States and consider abandoning its weapons programmes in exchange for security guarantees according to Seoul the latest chapter in a rapid Olympics-driven rapprochement on the Korean peninsula. Decades of Western attempts to persuade Pyongyang to abandon nuclear weapons have failed. The 1994 Agreed Framework offered the North civilian nuclear reactors and other assistance in exchange for denuclearisation. It fell apart after the US accused the isolated state of covertly restarting its weapons programme and aid delays angered Pyongyang which eventually stormed out. In 2003 the Beijing-led Six Party Talks began bringing together the US both Koreas Russia Japan and China in a tortuous process. North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear programmes in 2005 but carried out its first atomic blast the following year. It walked out three years later detonating its second device soon afterwards. Pyongyang has since continued its weapons drive accelerating it after Kim inherited power in 2011 from his father Kim Jong Il. Last year it carried out its sixth nuclear blast and launched missiles it said were capable of reaching the US mainland. Two top ranking South Korean officials will travel to Washington on Thursday to brief officials on details of their Pyongyang trip. National security advisor Chung Eui-yong and spy chief Suh Hoon will meet with President Donald Trump according to Yonhap news agency. We can t reveal everything to the press but we have a separate message from North Korea for the US Chung told reporters. More cross-border exchanges are expected between the two Koreas as they prepare for a summit between the North s Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in next month. The two leaders will meet on the southern side of the fortified border village of Panmunjom for what would be only the third inter-Korean summit since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea has yet to confirm the concessions Seoul says Pyongyang has offered so its motives are open to interpretation. What it means by security guarantees and the elimination of military threats against it -- which it says it needs to consider giving up nuclear weapons -- will be crucial. Previously it has demanded the withdrawal of US troops based in the South and the end of the security alliance between Seoul and Washington pointed out Go Myong-Hyun of the Asan Institute of Policy Studies. If North Koreans again brought this up as a condition for denuclearisation it s just the same way as saying that North Korea is not willing to give up their nuclear weapons he said. Pyongyang and Washington may also have diverging views on denuclearisation. The North could seek a dialogue for peaceful coexistence with the US said Koh Yu-hwan a professor at Dongguk University. That s far from the complete verifiable irreversible denuclearisation that the US expects Koh added. Both Seoul and Washington say they will press ahead with joint war games after the the Paralympics end on March 18 -- which means they could coincide with the inter-Korean summit. The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises -- which usually begin in late Feburary or early March -- were postponed as part of Seoul s efforts to draw the North to attend the Winter Games in the South. Military tensions often run high during the exercises with the North carrying out its own counter-drills against what it condemns as rehearsals for a war. But according to a senior official at the South s presidential office Kim said during Monday s meeting he would understand if Seoul goes ahead with the delayed exercises. Kim has made atomic weapons a core part of North Korea s political identity. In his New Year s address -- which began the diplomatic dance -- he declared the development of the state nuclear force complete . The North s media made no mention of its new position on Wednesday but analysts dismissed the possibility of any internal conflict over Kim s offer to put its treasured sword up for negotiation. It is something only the Dear Leader can say said Professor Koo Kab-woo of the University of North Korean Studies adding that it was a typical example of Kim s autonomy https://slides.com/kkflipkart. In his meeting with the South s delegation Kim referred to denuclearisation as the dying wish of the previous North Korean leaders -- his grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il -- according to Seoul officials. By referring to the wishes of the forefathers all internal conflict has been eliminated Koo said adding: That s the best card Kim Jong Un can use.
(Want to get this briefing by email? Here s the sign-up.)Good morning. Trade retaliation murmurs of dissent in China and overlooked obituaries. Here s what you need to know: Photo Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times President Trump signed off on tough tariffs on steel and aluminum promising to be very flexible after facing a global outcry.The tariffs have raised fears of retaliation. Choosing a trade war is a mistaken prescription China s foreign minister said. (Our senior economics correspondent calls it more of a skirmish. )Mr. Trump suggested some allies including Canada Mexico and Australia might be spared. But some nations aren t taking any chances. A group of 11 including Australia New Zealand and Japan signed a broad free trade deal in a direct challenge to Mr. Trump s protectionist agenda.And our news podcast The Daily examines Mr. Trump s claims about tariffs and trade deficits. The Daily Listen to The Daily : Trump s Tariffs President Trump said that protections on steel and aluminum imports were in the interest of national security. But could the threat be the tariffs themselves? Audio Follow The Daily: Apple Podcasts Google Play Music Radio Public RSS Feed _____ Photo Credit Bryan Denton for The New York Times China is all but certain this weekend to throw out a 1982 rule that has restricted the country s presidents to two five-year terms. The beneficiary President Xi Jinping could be in power for life. Advertisement Continue reading the main story To position himself for this moment our correspondent writes Mr. Xi deployed speed secrecy and intimidation to smother potential opposition inside and outside the party. Here s a look at Mr. Xi s rise to power. Continue reading the main story