TOP NEWS Kim Jong-un’s Image Shift: From Nuclear Madman to Skillful Leader New York Times Rival powers scramble for influence ahead of Trump-Kim summit in Singapore Washington Post With nuclear deal under threat, Iran shows off centrifuges Washington Post Europe Asks U.S. for an Exemption From Sanctions on Iran New York Times EAST ASIA Kim Jong-un’s Image Shift: From Nuclear Madman to Skillful Leader New York Times6/6/18 In recent months, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has achieved one of the most striking transformations in modern diplomacy. Location nailed down for Trump-Kim Jong Un summit CBS News6/6/18 President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will use a luxury resort for their nuclear summit in Singapore next week. North Korea Razing Key Missile Test Stand 38 North6/6/18 New commercial satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is razing the missile test stand at the Iha-ri Driver Training and Test Facility north of the city of Kusong in the wake of Kim Jong Un’s April statement announcing a unilateral suspension of ballistic missile and nuclear tests. Bolton takes back seat, but remains looming North Korea summit presence Reuters6/6/18 Just weeks after John Bolton’s hardline rhetoric infuriated North Korea and nearly derailed a planned summit between Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, the U.S. national security adviser appears to have taken a back seat to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the historic meeting. What to Know About Sanctions Before Trump-Kim Meeting: QuickTake Washington Post6/7/18 Economic sanctions will be a key issue in negotiations between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Rival powers scramble for influence ahead of Trump-Kim summit in Singapore Washington Post6/6/18 The leaders of China, South Korea, Japan and Russia are determined to make their presence felt at the Singapore summit Tuesday, lining up their own meetings with Trump and Kim and pushing agendas that are, in many cases, at odds with one another. Abe is back to talk to Trump — with a list of Japan’s concerns about North Korea Washington Post6/6/18 Abe’s hastily arranged Washington trip suggests that Japanese leaders have deep concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to North Korea, as well as trade and U.S.-China relations. US Deploys F-22 Stealth Fighters to Japan Ahead of Trump-Kim Summit The Diplomat6/6/18 The U.S. has deployed over a dozen F-22 fighter jets to Okinawa for the first time in more than three years. Young(er) blood in North Korean military ahead of summit Asia Times6/71/8 As a news media armada sets sail for Singapore, the site of next Tuesday’s Trump-Kim meeting, Pyongyang watchers were incentivized to seize upon any clue as to where all this is going. MIDDLE EAST Iran opens new nuclear facility for centrifuge production Washington Post6/6/18 Iran’s nuclear chief on Wednesday inaugurated the Islamic Republic’s new nuclear enrichment facility that is geared toward producing centrifuges which will operate within the limits of the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers. With nuclear deal under threat, Iran shows off centrifuges Washington Post6/7/18 The star of a live television interview in Iran’s new nuclear workshop wasn’t the head of the country’s atomic agency, but three centrifuges labeled in English in the background, advanced devices Tehran is prohibited from using by the nuclear deal with world powers. RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE Europe Asks U.S. for an Exemption From Sanctions on Iran New York Times6/6/18 In a letter to senior Trump administration officials, European foreign and finance leaders this week tacitly acknowledged that their efforts to preserve the West’s nuclear deal with Iran were failing. Vladimir Putin says Russia will make sure Donald Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un goes well Newsweek 6/6/18 Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged that his country will make sure that President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a success. U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY Partisan battle for new tactical nuke looms in Senate Defense News6/6/18 Democrats want to take their fight against the Trump administration’s planned a new low-yield tactical nuclear weapon to the Senate‘s annual defense policy bill. OPINION AND ANALYSIS First Ignore, Then Disparage: Reporting Trump’s Nuclear Diplomacy 38 NorthLeon Sigal 6/6/18 You’ve been misled by coverage of U.S. diplomacy with North Korea in the news media. Democrats Childishly Resist Trump’s North Korea Efforts New York TimesNicholas Kristof 6/6/18 Shock! Horror! President Trump is actually doing something right. North Korea’s Illegal Weapons Trade Foreign AffairsBruce E. Bechtol, Jr. 6/6/18 The Proliferation Threat From Pyongyang When it comes to Iran, America is still running the show The HillLawrence Haas 6/6/18 A month on from Trump’s announcement, however, there are growing signs that side-stepping America is easier said than done. Trump still holds Jimmy Carter’s view on withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea Washington PostJosh Rogin 6/7/18 Less publicly, but still privately, Trump continues to say he doesn’t agree with the argument that U.S. troops in South Korea are strategically necessary, and he thinks the United States gets nothing back from paying to keep them there, according to administration officials and people who have spoken to Trump directly about the issue. Promises on North Korea are easy to make but hard to keep. Here’s why. Washington PostAndrew Kydd 6/7/18 The June 12 summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore seems back on the calendar. But it’s not likely to result in the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.