Top News North Korea Nuclear Deal Could Take ‘Years,’ Trump Suggests New York Times Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to travel to North Korea next month to prepare for second Trump-Kim summit USA Today India’s government has not told refiners to halt Iranian oil imports: source Reuters East Asia North Korea Nuclear Deal Could Take ‘Years,’ Trump Suggests New York Times9/26/18 President Trump said Wednesday that he has years to reach an agreement with North Korea to rid the country of nuclear weapons, reversing the position he took a year ago that Pyongyang had to disarm rapidly. “I don’t want to get into the time game,” he said at a news conference late in the day, after serving as chairman of a United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear proliferation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to travel to North Korea next month to prepare for second Trump-Kim summit USA Today9/26/18 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to North Korea next month, his fourth trip aimed at persuading the Kim Jong Un regime to give up its nuclear arsenal. This time, Pompeo will also lay the groundwork for a second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump. Trump Praises North Korea’s Kim but Says Sanctions Must Stay for Now Reuters9/26/18 U.S. President Donald Trump praised North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday for his courage in taking steps to disarm, but said much work still had to be done and sanctions must remain in place on North Korea until it denuclearizes. “The missiles and rockets are no longer flying in every direction, nuclear testing has stopped, some military facilities are already being dismantled,” Trump said in his speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly. Japan PM Abe open to summit with North Korea’s Kim Japan Times9/26/18 In his address at the United Nations, Abe also expressed his determination to meet face to face with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to end years of bilateral distrust and make a “new start.” In a change from his address to the assembly a year ago, he did not mention the need to apply pressure on Pyongyang. Middle East India’s government has not told refiners to halt Iranian oil imports: source Reuters9/26/18 India’s government has not told the country’s oil refiners to halt their imports of Iranian crude, a government source said on Wednesday, even as most Indian refiners have cut down their imports ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran. “We have good relations with Iran and the U.S. and our decision is not hinged on energy,” said the government source. U.S. Makes Shortlist for Saudi Nuclear-Plant Deal Wall Street Journal9/26/18 Saudi Arabia has put the U.S. on its shortlist of potential partners competing to build nuclear-power plants in the kingdom, while the two countries negotiate how to do a deal without spreading nuclear weapons, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said. The kingdom has been hearing offers from several countries, including Russia, South Korea and China, for what could be the biggest new market for nuclear power. U.S. Nuclear Policy Trump seeks UN backing for Iran nuclear sanctions BBC9/26/18 US President Donald Trump has urged other members of the UN Security Council to work with America to ensure Iran never acquires a nuclear bomb. Chairing a council meeting, he said anyone who failed to comply with US sanctions would “face severe consequences”. Trump claims (without evidence) Obama nearly launched war with North Korea CNN9/26/18 During a free-wheeling solo press conference that lasted more than an hour Wednesday, President Donald Trump again claimed that former President Barack Obama was close to starting a catastrophic conflict with North Korea, telling reporters that if he “wasn’t elected, there would have been a war” as his predecessor was close to “pressing the trigger.” But those who worked in the previous administration say Trump’s assertion is simply untrue. Opinion and Analysis Moon’s Praise-and-Pressure Plan to Get Trump to Help End Korean War Defense OneUri Friedman 9/26/18 “You are, indeed, the only person who can solve this problem,” Moon said of Trump—just before he amped up the pressure. In Strong Support of Ambassador Biegun 38 NorthJoel Wit 9/25/18 Yes, this is a tough job for a variety of reasons. But Mr. Ambassador, you have enormous advantages that many if not all of your predecessors—all capable, even extraordinary diplomats—didn’t have.