President Donald Trump speaks about American missile defense doctrine, Thursday, Jan 17, 2019, at the Pentagon. (Associated Press/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON — In two years as president, Donald Trump built a foreign policy strategy on applying as much pressure as possible on enemies — and even some allies — to make them bend to America's will.
Venezuela, North Korea and Iran have all been targets of the administration's "maximum pressure" approach. Under Trump, U.S. sanctions were deployed to notable effect: Venezuela's battered economy is more isolated than ever, Iran has seen oil sales plummet and North Korea has struggled as fuel and electricity shortages crimp output and food shortages loom.
Yet no adversary has buckled. So, short of war, what does the U.S. do now?
North Korean military conducts a "strike drill" for multiple launchers and tactical guided weapon into the East Sea during a military drill in North Korea, in this May 4, 2019 photo supplied by the Korean Central News Agency (Reuters/KCNA)
WASHINGTON — A newly tested North Korean short-range ballistic missile appears to be a copy of an advanced Russian design that could greatly improve Pyongyang's ability to evade U.S. missile defense systems, according to U.S. officials.
President Donald Trump, who has sought unsuccessfully for the last year to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons, has dismissed the new missile as "very standard stuff." But military and national security officials see a potential threat to U.S. forces and allies in northeast Asia.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a game between former NBA players and North Korean players with Dennis Rodman at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in an undated photo release on January 9, 2014 (KCNA/Reuters)
Kim Jong Un reportedly brought his love of basketball into nuclear negotiations with Washington, demanding that access to "famous" basketball players be part of any nuclear deal, ABC News reported, citing U.S. officials.
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly called President Donald Trump's former national security adviser an "unstable asshole" during a 2017 conference call following a North Korean missile test, the Washington Examiner reported on Friday.
President Donald Trump named then-Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his national security advisor in February 2017. At the time, McMaster was viewed as a possible stabilizing force in the White House, coming after his predecessor retired Army Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn imploded after only 24 days on the job.
But an unnamed former White House official told the Examiner that McMaster favored attacking Iran and intervening in Syria, putting him at odds with Mattis.
An undated image provided in a U.S. Department of Justice complaint for forfeiture released May 9, 2019 shows the North Korean vessel Wise Honest. Department of Justice/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) - The United States has for the first time seized a North Korean cargo ship it accused of illicit coal shipments in violation of U.S. and United Nations sanctions, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday.
An aerial view of the Pentagon building in Washington, June 15, 2005. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the Guantanamo prison against critics who want it closed by saying U.S. taxpayers have a big financial stake in it and no other facility could replace it at a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday. (Reuters/Jason Reed JIR/CN)
SEOUL (Reuters) - It was one of the most concrete agreements to come out of the first U.S.-North Korea summit last year, but now the Pentagon says it has given up hope of recovering any more remains of U.S. troops killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War in the near future.
