TOP NEWS U.N. Appeals for Aid to North Korea as Donations Drop Wall Street Journal No Reward for North Korea Without Irreversible Denuclearization: Pompeo US News Mike Pompeo hearing: Key takeaways on Russia, North Korea, Iran USA Today EAST ASIA President holds rare talks with main opposition leader over N. Korea summit Yonhap News4/13/18 President Moon Jae-in held a rare meeting Friday with the head of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) for what his aides called discussions on ways to successfully hold the upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. U.N. Appeals for Aid to North Korea as Donations Drop Wall Street Journal4/13/18 International donors shy away in response to concerns about country’s spending on its nuclear-weapons program No Reward for North Korea Without Irreversible Denuclearization: Pompeo US News4/12/18 North Korea should not expect rewards from talks with the United States until it takes irreversible steps to give up its nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, said on Thursday. China Stages Its Biggest Parade of Navy Vessels and Aircraft Wall Street Journal4/12/18 The formation of 48 vessels—including nuclear missile submarines—marked a show of force in the disputed South China Sea Construction is booming in North Korea, but who’s paying? Washington Post4/12/18 North Korea is racing forward with major development projects some experts believe are aimed at expanding a market for rented or privately owned real estate to help fortify the finances of Kim Jong Un’s regime against the bite of sanctions over its nuclear program. MIDDLE EAST Iran tells France not to be influenced by Saudi prince on nuclear deal Reuters4/12/18 Iran urged France on Thursday not to be influenced by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY Mike Pompeo hearing: Key takeaways on Russia, North Korea, Iran USA Today4/12/18 If confirmed, Mike Pompeo will serve as the next secretary of State for the United States as dangerous crises loom with Russia, North Korea and Iran. Radioactive sludge barrel ruptures at Idaho nuclear site WTOP4/12/18 A barrel containing radioactive sludge ruptured at an Idaho nuclear facility, federal officials said Thursday, resulting in no injuries and no risk to the public but possibly slowing progress in shipping waste out of the state. Pompeo says he could imagine a ground invasion of North Korea Axios4/12/18 CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday that he could imagine a scenario when the U.S. may need to launch a ground invasion in North Korea to reach a solution that “moved past diplomacy.” OPINION AND ANALYSIS A bold and risky gambit: The Trump play on North Korea The HillElizabeth Sherwood-Randall 4/13/18 President Trump needs to be fully cognizant of past North Korean perfidy and steer clear of any rushed agreements with negative future consequences. We need to go big in Syria. North Korea is watching. Washington PostMarc A. Thiessen With a high-stakes summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un coming up, Trump needs to keep in mind how his next move in Syria will be seen not just in Damascus, Tehran and Moscow but also in Pyongyang. North Korea has a big tuberculosis problem. It’s about to get worse. Washington PostJeremy Youde From 2010 to 2017, the Global Fund provided more than $69 million for tuberculosis and nearly $34 million for malaria treatment in North Korea. So what’s going on North Korea now? Lessons Of The North Korea ‘Leap Day Deal’ NPR4/13/18 We look at the lessons of a 2012 deal that would have frozen North Korea’s nuclear development and let in inspectors to its plutonium reactor. Just weeks later, it fell apart.