Top News Pause in Military Drills, Ordered by Trump, Leaves South Koreans Uneasy New York Times Iran rejects French call for further negotiations Reuters Russia and China are preparing for a nuclear war with their biggest ever war games Business Insider East Asia North Korea Missile Shield Fuels Japan’s Biggest Defense Increase Since 2014 Bloomberg8/31/2018 Japan’s Defense Ministry is requesting its biggest budget increase in five years, driven in part by a U.S.-made missile shield to counter a “grave and imminent” threat from North Korea. Trump Says He Has ‘Patience’ for North Korea’s Kim to Make Deal Bloomberg8/30/2018 Donald Trump said he can be patient with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who has yet to take appreciable steps to give up his county’s nuclear weapons following a summit with the U.S. president in June. Pause in Military Drills, Ordered by Trump, Leaves South Koreans Uneasy New York Times8/30/2018 For six decades, joint exercises held by the militaries of South Korea and the United States have been the most visible and celebrated display of the alliance. Each year, their Marines storm South Korean beaches together, their tanks spew orange-red flames and their warplanes run mock bombing raids on imaginary North Korean nuclear targets. Such scenes, broadcast on prime-time television, have been a frequent reminder for South Koreans of how much the country depends on the alliance for its security. US extends ban on Americans traveling to North Korea CNN8/30/2018 The US State Department is extending the ban on US citizens traveling to North Korea for another year, according to a State Department official. China’s State Media: Trump Tweets Come From an ‘Alternative Universe’ New York Times8/31/2018 To the long list of reproachful replies to President Trump’s social media commentary, add an editorial from a Chinese state media outlet, which called his recent tweets on China “messages from some alternative universe.” Middle East Iran Continues to Comply With Nuclear Deal, U.N. Atomic Agency Says Wall Street Journal8/30/2018 Iran continues to fulfil the key requirements of the 2015 nuclear deal, the United Nations atomic agency said Thursday, despite the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement. Honoring the 2015 nuclear deal is not Iran’s only option: foreign minister Reuters8/30/2018 Honoring the 2015 nuclear deal is not Iran’s only option, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday in a Twitter post. Iran rejects French call for further negotiations Reuters8/31/2018 Iran’s foreign ministry on Friday dismissed a French call for more negotiations with Tehran over the international nuclear accord and said some of France’s partners are “bullying and excessive,” a seeming reference to the United States. Russia/FSU/Europe Russia and China are preparing for a nuclear war with their biggest ever war games Business Insider8/30/2018 Russia and China, the two key threats to the US named in official Pentagon documents, will carry out their biggest-ever military drill to reportedly include simulations for nuclear warfare. Opinion and Analysis Under siege: Safety in the nuclear weapons complex Bulletin of Atomic ScientistsRobert Alvarez 8/30/2018 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board—which oversees and reports on safety practices in the US nuclear weapons complex—is under siege.