Top News South Korea’s Moon, Trump to discuss North Korea at U.N.: Blue House Reuters Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Send a Close Ally in His Stead to North Korea’s Military Parade Time Iran rejects Reuters report that Tehran has moved missiles to Iraq Reuters East Asia South Korean Envoy Visits North Korea to Help Revive Nuclear Talks New York Times9/5/2018 President Moon Jae-in of South Korea sent a special envoy to North Korea on Wednesday, hoping to help break the deadlock in the talks between the North and the United States over dismantling the North’s nuclear weapons program. South Korea’s Moon, Trump to discuss North Korea at U.N.: Blue House Reuters9/4/2018 South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump plan to discuss North Korea during the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month, Moon’s office and the White House said on Tuesday, amid lackluster progress on the North’s nuclear issues. A Top Chinese Official (Not Xi Jinping) Will Visit North Korea New York Times9/4/2018 President Xi Jinping of China will send a top official to North Korea this weekend to attend major national celebrations there, state-controlled media in both countries reported on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping Will Send a Close Ally in His Stead to North Korea’s Military Parade Time9/5/2018 China’s Communist Party has snuffed out rumors President Xi Jinping will attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding, which satellite images show could be the largest celebrations of their kind since North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un came to power in 2011. Middle East Exclusive: Iran moves missiles to Iraq in warning to enemies Reuters8/31/2018 Iran has given ballistic missiles to Shi’ite proxies in Iraq and is developing the capacity to build more there to deter attacks on its interests in the Middle East and to give it the means to hit regional foes, Iranian, Iraqi and Western sources said. Iran rejects Reuters report that Tehran has moved missiles to Iraq Reuters9/1/2018 Iran on Saturday rejected a Reuters report that Tehran has moved missiles to Iraq, saying it aimed to hurt Iran’s ties with neighbors, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. Europe’s demand for more talks does not help Iran nuclear deal: cleric Reuters9/4/2018 Europe is not helping preserve an accord on Iran’s nuclear program by asking for additional talks on issues like missiles, powerful anti-Western cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said on Tuesday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Opinion and Analysis Don’t Give Up on North Korea BloombergEditorial Board 9/4/2018 President Trump’s purported breakthrough in relations with North Korea seems to have failed. Far from dismantling his country’s nuclear program, Kim Jong Un is still expanding his arsenal. He’s aiming to undermine international unity over sanctions, planning summits this month with leaders from China and South Korea. And the U.S. recently canceled a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying the trip would be a waste of time. Special Interest U.S.–North Korea Summit Deal on Denuclearization Faltering Heritage FoundationBruce Klingner 9/4/2018 Report – Claims by President Trump that “there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea” and that “total denuclearization [is] already starting to take place” have run into the reality of North Korean intransigence. Pyongyang has resorted to its usual negotiating tactics of the past two decades—dragging out negotiations and demanding benefits even for incremental progress on peripheral matters while holding back progress on the real issues. Negotiators should emphasize that North Korea must demonstrate progress toward denuclearization and reject Pyongyang’s demands for U.S. action to reduce regime security concerns.