TOP NEWS North and South Korea Set a Date for Summit Meeting at Border New York Times Kim Jong-un’s China Visit Strengthens His Hand in Nuclear Talks New York Times European powers press for Iran sanctions to buttress nuclear deal Reuters EAST ASIA North and South Korea Set a Date for Summit Meeting at Border New York Times3/29/18 North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea will meet for the first time on April 27, officials said on Thursday, setting a date for talks meant to continue the recent détente on the Korean Peninsula and pave the way for discussions between Mr. Kim and President Trump. Koreas to hold high-level talks to prepare for summit Yonhap News Agency3/29/18 South Korea and North Korea are set to hold high-level talks Thursday to discuss details about preparations for an inter-Korean summit slated for late April. North and South Korea Set Summit, but Nuclear Omission Casts a Shadow Wall Street Journal3/29/18 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to meet his South Korean counterpart on April 27, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff continued despite persistent doubts about Pyongyang’s willingness to give up its weapons. Trump administration ‘cautiously optimistic’ summit with N. Korea will take place Washington Post3/28/18 The White House on Wednesday declared itself “cautiously optimistic” that the planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place sometime in May, even as key details such as where Kim will meet with President Trump, and the parameters of their talks, remain undetermined. Kim Jong-un’s China Visit Strengthens His Hand in Nuclear Talks New York Times3/28/18 With a dose of mystery and the flair of a showman, North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, used his debut as an international statesman on Wednesday to present himself as confident, reasonable — and willing to bargain. MIDDLE EAST European powers press for Iran sanctions to buttress nuclear deal Reuters3/28/18 France, Britain and Germany sought on Wednesday to persuade their EU partners to back new sanctions on Iran to preserve a nuclear deal with Tehran that U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of in May, diplomats said. OPINION AND ANALYSIS John Bolton to Kim Jong Un: Give Up Your Nukes Like Gaddafi Did—Before We Killed Him Daily BeastJeffrey Lewis 3/29/18 Trump’s incoming national security adviser is sending the exact wrong message to Pyongyang. Maybe because deep down he really wants to bomb it. Scrapping the Iran nuclear deal will harm America The Economist3/28/18 No tougher agreement will follow it; America will be in the wrong and at odds with its friends in Europe Why Donald Trump is unlikely to start a catastrophic conflict The Economist3/31/18 Is it credible that someone so shocked and tremulous after launching a strike that mangled a few planes and killed fewer than a dozen people could start a war in North Korea or Iran that might claim hundreds of thousands of lives? Why Did Kim Jong Un Just Visit China? The AtlanticAnkit Panda 3/28/18 His surprise visit to Beijing underscores China’s influence. Walls and ladders: the latest UN panel of experts report on North Korea sanctions War on the Rocks3/28/18 In a recent conversation about the state of implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea, one Southeast Asian official lamented, “We are a year’s worth of UN resolutions behind.” A US-Russia nuclear arms race? Where? Defense NewsMatthew Costlow 3/29/18 As the United States moves to finally replace its aging nuclear deterrent, everyone should rest easy knowing that U.S. modernization will not spark a new arms race with Russia.