Trump, Putin to meet and discuss North Korea

President Donald Trump will seek to enlist his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week on a mission to confront an increasingly truculent North Korea during their second face-to-face meeting.
Trump said aboard Air Force One as he winged toward Japan on Sunday that he expected the sit-down to occur on the sidelines of a summit for Asia-Pacific leaders in Vietnam, which is due to begin Thursday.The talks will come as the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia's 2016 election meddling heats up back home. Before Trump departed for Asia, three of his campaign aides were ensnared in the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. During their first meeting in July, Trump did raise the issue of Russia's interference, though since then he's called the notion that Russia worked to sway the vote in his favor a hoax.
Trump and his aides had hoped this week's grueling itinerary through five countries would help distract from the Russia matter, though Trump himself appeared preoccupied by the issue as he departed the White House on Friday, unleashing a stream of tweets as Air Force One headed toward Hawaii.
While the timing of a meeting with Putin may force the Russia issue back to the forefront, Trump's aides determined face-to-face talks were essential while the two men were in the same city.
Putin will be just one of the world leaders Trump hopes to pull toward a more aggressive posture against Pyongyang during a marathon 13-day tour of Asia that began Sunday.
"We want Putin's help on North Korea, and we'll be meeting with a lot of different leaders," Trump said midway through the eight-hour flight to Tokyo from Honolulu, where he'd spent the night.
 
Before Trump faces Putin in the Vietnamese seaside city of Da Nang, he will have visited three Asian capitals on his North Korea diplomacy mission. After talks here with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump will head to Seoul and Beijing for state visits that are also set to include discussions of trade and security.
The United States will determine "very soon" whether to designate North Korea a state sponsor of terror, a senior administration official said on Sunday.
"The administration and Secretary (of State Rex) Tillerson and others in the administration are looking very closely right now whether to designate North Korea a state sponsor of terror," the official said. "I would expect an answer very quickly."
When asked whether that meant an announcement would come during Trump's trip to Asia, the official only said: "Stay tuned."
Trump's diplomatic efforts have so far been focused on North Korea's neighbors China, South Korea and Japan. He's ruled out direct talks with Pyongyang.
He has not focused as intently on persuading Putin to join his efforts, though the two men have discussed the matter before.
A senior White House official told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea will be a "primary subject" of conversation when Trump and Putin meet.
"Russia borders North Korea," the official said. "They are also very concerned I think with ... the direction that North Korea is leading the region toward into this crisis and naturally Russia should have a role in that future."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deqa Dahir shot dead in Mogadishu: Somali troops detained

Image
Four soldiers have been arrested in Somalia after a nine-year-old schoolgirl was shot dead in the capital, Mogadishu, police say. Deqa Dahir died and another girl was wounded when bullets hit their school bus while it was stuck in a traffic jam, Amnesty International said. Soldiers opened fire in an apparent attempt to clear the road for their vehicle, the rights group added. Somalia's president met Dahir's family as public anger over the shooting grew. 'Crying and shouting' The nine-year-old was buried on Thursday, two days after she was killed. She was a first-year school pupil, and was returning home happily, eating ice cream, when she was killed by what appeared to be a stray bullet, reports the BBC's Ahmed Adan from Mogadishu. She was shot in the head and died instantly. Her father has demanded justice from the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. "It was shocking to see the dead body of my daughter. I am helpless and n...
Read more

Apple rushes to fix FaceTime 'eavesdropping' bug

Image
Apple placed this billboard at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Apple has acknowledged a flaw in its FaceTime software that allowed for brief eavesdropping - even if the recipient did not pick up. In some cases the target iPhone would send video, probably without the receiver's knowledge. The company said it had developed a fix and an update would be rolled out this week. In the meantime, Apple appears to have disabled the ability for users to make group calls on FaceTime. The flaw, first revealed by the 9to5Mac blog, appears to occur when both users are running version 12.1 of Apple's mobile operating system, or newer. The technique involves using the software's group chat function, apparently confusing the software into activating the target's microphone, even if the call had not been accepted. The eavesdropping ends when the call is cut after too many rings. 'National Privacy Day' In...
Read more

Alvaro Morata 'not lucky' in front of goal, says Antonio Conte

Image
Antonio Conte refused to criticise Alvaro Morata for missing several key chances to score in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, insisting that the striker has simply not been "lucky" in front of goal in recent games. Morata found himself behind the Arsenal defence with only Petr Cech to beat three times at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, twice missing the target and hitting the third attempt straight at the goalkeeper as Chelsea threatened to score a dramatic winning goal in the final seconds. Conte was visibly frustrated at his team's wastefulness on the touchline, but insisted after the match that Morata will soon rediscover his confidence in front of goal as long as he continues to get himself into scoring positions. "He's not lucky in this period, but he has to continue to work and to improve," Conte told Sky Sports. "For the striker it's very important to score. In this case it's a pity because he had many chanc...
Read more