NORTH KOREA
South and North Korea Pave Way for Direct Talks
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times — June 7, 2013
South and North Korea restored a cross-border hot line on Friday, with the South proposing that logistical talks be held on the border on Sunday to arrange the two Koreas’ first cabinet minister-level meeting in six years.
North Korea Puts Nuclear Threats on Hold in Favor of Business, Skiing and Mushrooms
Mark Thompson, Time — June 6, 2013
Proving once again that the North Korean government is like New England’s weather — if you don’t like it, wait a few minutes, allegedly uttered by Mark Twain — Pyongyang is now saying it is reconsidering its April order to South Korea to abandon the Kaesong industrial park.
China Builds Up Its Links to North Korea
Jeremy Page, The Wall Street Journal — June 6, 2013
Beijing has signaled some distancing from Pyongyang, but railways, roads, and a power cable tell a different story.
Opinion: North Korea is China’s problem now
Paul Haenle, CNN — June 6, 2013
Beijing has long seen itself as the arbitrator between Pyongyang and Washington in addressing North Korean nuclear proliferation. China’s priorities have been peace and stability, denuclearization, and nonproliferation, in that order. So China pushed to preserve the status quo on the Korean Peninsula.
But this is changing – North Korea is now China’s problem. This means that President Obama should take full advantage of his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping in California to offer help in finding a way to compel Pyongyang to alter its behavior.
IRAN
Skepticism Over U.S. Involvement in Foreign Conflicts
Mark Landler and Allison Kopicki, The New York Times — June 6, 2013
Americans are increasingly skeptical about whether the United States should thrust itself into conflicts overseas, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll, but that reluctance does not extend to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Rouhani: The man to revive Iran’s reformist movement?
Reza Sayah, CNN — June 7, 2013
He is still a long-shot to win — but centrist candidate Hassan Rouhani has suddenly injected fresh intrigue in Iran’s upcoming presidential elections.
Iran’s presidential election: You never know
The Economist — June 7, 2013
As eight carefully vetted candidates jockey for the presidency under the severe eye of the ruling clergy, it is by no means certain who will win
Iran’s Presidential Candidates Courting Female Vote
Jeff Seldin and Shepol Ebnabbasi, Voice of America — June 7, 2013
Iran is a country of more than 70 million people – almost half of them women, some of whom play political roles but are barred from running for president.What role will women play in deciding Iran’s next president in this month’s election?
MISSILE DEFENSE
Russian Official: New Missile Will Beat U.S. Defenses
Radio Free Europe/Radio LIberty — June 7, 2013
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin says a planned U.S. missile-defense shield will not be able to stop Russia’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
