Displaying items by tag: Donald Trump

The Situation in the North

In the weeks following the Hanoi Summit, the issue of North Korean denuclearization has been in the news a lot.  As evidence mounts that the North is rebuilding a major missile launching site that it had been dismantling, Trump has been warning against just that. The commander of U.S. forces in South Korea states that North Korea's activities are "insconsistent" with denuclearization.  While the U.S. also believes that North Korea wants to continue denuclearization talks, the North has threatened to discontinue them. In the meantime, the U.S. has been reaching out to China to help with the situation.  To be honest, I don't thing anyone really knows what will happen; however, the website, 38 North, has a number of very thoughtful articles on the whole denuclearization process.  I recommend taking a look.  There are some hopeful developments in Trump cancelling additional sanctions and the UN lowering sanction barriers for humnitarian work, specifically by the Mennonite Central Committee.  Pray for things to open up for other humanitarian organizations as well.

A few brief items.  Here's a story on how Russian technicians keep the North Korean leaders' bodies looking fresh.  North Koreans are managing to get outside media through new smartphone aps and as workers overseas.  Pray that they learn about the things that are really important and don't spend all their time on dramas...

Remembering Our Brothers in Prison 

We continue to pray for six South Koreans held in the North as well as Daily NK journalist, Choi Song Min (alias). Here's information on the pastors and others who have been detained and released.  Please remember them in your prayers.

Buckingham Palace has announced that US president Donald Trump will make a three-day state visit to the UK from 3 to 5 June. Mrs May said that the visit was an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationships in trade, investment, security and defence, and discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead. But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said that on the very day Trump threatens to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Mrs May is planning to honour him with a state visit. His last visit saw tens of thousands of protesters fill central London's streets to tell him what they thought of his visit. Instead of a red carpet, there was a sea of people, in two large marches led by Women's March London and the Stop Trump Coalition.

Emmanuel Macron is launching a bid to block EU/US trade talks because of Donald Trump’s refusal to sign up to the Paris climate agreement. Trump enraged Brussels when he described the EU as ‘brutal trading partners’ in a tweet offering support to Britain after the Brexit summit, which also stated, ‘Things are about to change’. Brussels wants to keep new trade deals simple, but is unsure of unpredictable Trump. The US ambassador to the EU warned that Washington would fight ‘unfair barriers’ against American companies. An official said that France is opposed to the initiation of any trade negotiations with countries outside the Paris climate agreement. This stance is at odds with Germany’s position, and could lead to more friction between Paris and Berlin.

The US president called Brussels ‘a brutal trading partner’ and criticised the EU's tough treatment of Britain after it gave the UK a further extension at the special Brexit summit. He finished his critique on a philosophical note, ‘Sometimes in life you have to let people breathe before it all comes back to bite you!’ Brexit talks remain locked, and Brussels has put more pressure on the UK to shift its position. Before the deadlock, former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC that allowing a delay weakens the UK’s hand in the talks. Meanwhile many economists believe that as the EU has suffered monetary stagnation and enormous waves of migration, Brussels does not want to lose the UK, its second largest economy and financial centre.

Donald Trump is prepared to prolong the current government shutdown because the ‘humanitarian and national security crisis on the southern border’ necessitates funding a wall. This plan is popular with his fanbase, but most Americans oppose it by a 10-to-20 point margin. Trump has Republican support, but Democrats feel they have public support; so the standoff about the shutdown continues. Also, before signing an anti-human trafficking measure on 9 January, Trump said, ‘Israel put up a wall to protect them, and they don’t have a problem any more’. He seems to equate Hezbollah terrorists, Hamas, IS, and the Palestinian ‘second intifada’ attacks with a few thousand migrant families at the Mexican border. See

In a New Year speech, Kim Jong Un has said that he is prepared to meet Donald Trump at any time, while warning he would pursue an alternative course if Washington kept up sanctions on Pyongyang. He wanted an outcome that would be ‘welcomed by the international community’, but warned the US not to ‘misjudge our patience by unilaterally demanding certain things and pushing ahead with sanctions and pressure’. Kim also said the US should continue its halt to joint military exercises with South Korea and not deploy strategic military assets there. He also called for stronger inter-Korean cooperation, stating that he is ready to resume operations at a jointly-run factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and to restart South Korean tours to the North's Diamond Mountain resort. Neither is possible unless sanctions are removed.

On 19 December, a week after his special coalition envoy to defeat IS said that US troops would be in Syria for the foreseeable future, Donald Trump has ordered a complete, rapid withdrawal of 2,000 military personnel. He tweeted, ‘We have defeated IS in Syria, my only reason for being there.’ Earlier this year he said, ‘I want to get out. I want to bring our troops home and start rebuilding our nation’. He has always said the money spent on the struggle would be better spent at home. Britain has distanced itself from Trump’s perception of the situation, which has also led to the resignation of his defence secretary James Mattis (see). US allies and Kurdish militias feel abandoned, as this decision hands Iran and Russia more leverage across the country. A group of Kurdish and Arab units raised by Washington specifically to fight IS said that the move would have ‘dangerous implications for international stability’. See

Politicians are challenging Donald Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. Senator Elizabeth Warren said that the president has refused to halt weapons sales because he is more interested in appeasing US defence contractors than in holding the Saudis accountable for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder or for thousands of Yemeni civilians killed by those weapons. Senator Bernie Sanders is equally critical of Trump’s relationship with the Saudis, citing it as an example of his liking of foreign dictators. The Senate voted 63-37 to run with Sanders’ resolution to force Trump to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. That same day, it emerged that Riyadh had confirmed a $15 billion deal with defence contractor Lockheed Martin for a missile defence system. One observer said Trump’s determination to preserve Saudi arms sales was an example of the ‘stranglehold of defence contractors on our military policy’.

President Trump publicly doubted Theresa May's Brexit plan: ‘I think we have to take a look seriously whether or not the UK is allowed to trade with us’. The British parliament will vote on the withdrawal agreement on 11 December. Jean-Claude Juncker warned MPs planning to send May back to Brussels by voting down her Brexit deal that it would take the EU just ‘seconds’ to crush their hopes. President Macron said that the UK will be trapped in a customs union after Brexit, unless Downing Street offers European fishermen full access to British waters during the trade negotiations. However, Iceland’s foreign minister said, ‘The British could learn from Iceland when it comes to creating a new fisheries policy after Brexit’ (see). We can pray for God to ignite political wisdom and accurate insights in all politicians and media commentators. Pray also for inspired visions and purposes to be birthed in captains of commerce and industry.

The Democrats took control of the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections on 6 November, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump. A Democratic majority will restrict his ability to steer his programme through Congress. However, the Republicans strengthened their grip on the Senate. The elections were seen as a referendum on a polarising president, even though he is not up for re-election till 2020. The Democrats could now launch investigations into Mr Trump's administration and business affairs; they could also block his legislative plans, notably his signature promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico. On 7 November, Trump fired his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, with whom he has been at loggerheads for over a year over the inquiry into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The move was not unexpected, but nevertheless drew heavy criticism. See