A major rift has opened up between Trump's hardline trade adviser, Peter Navarro, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to five sources familiar with their encounters.
What we're hearing: On the Trump delegation's trip to China two weeks ago, Navarro exchanged sharp words with Mnuchin over his decision to participate in one-on-one talks with his Chinese counterpart Liu He. Navarro — a hardliner against China — cursed at Mnuchin and fumed about being shut out of the talks, the sources said. "It stems from his belief that Mnuchin is steering them down the wrong path, policy-wise, with China," said a source familiar with their interactions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha last night, a State Department official tells Axios.
Why it matters: This comes after the North Koreans threatened to upend the Trump-Kim summit, scheduled for June 12th, over joint U.S.-South Korea military drills. The administration has said they'll continue to prepare for the summit.
President Trump responded for the first time Wednesday to North Korea's threat to cancel next month's summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, stating that "we'll have to see what happens."
Why it matters: With less than one month until the summit, scheduled for June 12th in Singapore, North Korea's changing tone toward the White House's "maximum pressure" stance appears to be testing the Trump administration's boundaries.
"No, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un isn’t killing his summit with President Trump. Or at least, he’s highly unlikely to," AP's Kim Tong-Hyung writes from Seoul:
Why it matters: The threat "is seen as a move by Kim to gain leverage and establish that he’s entering the crucial nuclear negotiations from a position of strength."
North Korea will pull out the June 12 summit with President Trump if it is "based on 'one-sided' demands to give up nuclear weapons," the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: This comes after reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened to pull out of the summit with Trump in Singapore over U.S.-South Korean military drills. Reuters reported Tuesday night that North Korea said it would "never engage in economic trade with the U.S. in exchange for giving up its nuclear program."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to recall the head of the PLO office in Washington in protest over the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
Why it matters: This move further deepens the crisis between the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority. Since President Trump's December 6th announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Palestinian leadership has boycotted the White House and suspended almost all contacts with the Trump administration.
North Korea has cancelled talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday, and threatened to cancel next month's summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Why it matters: This is a dramatic change in tone from North Korea, which recently released three U.S. prisoners and began dismantling a nuclear test site as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for talks with Trump. North Korea has long viewed joint drills as rehearsals for invasion, but had remained uncharacteristically silent about exercises last month. Tuesday's objections were over an air force drill that began last week.
At least two Palestinians have been killed today by Israeli forces near the Gaza border, the AP reports, citing health officials. Today's protests follow the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014, when almost 60 Palestinians were killed.
The backdrop: Yesterday's events have caused a major international dispute, with the U.S. supporting Israel's claim that deadly force was needed to defend its borders, and opposing an investigation into the deaths despite calls for one from allies like the U.K. and Germany.
The U.S. stance: UN ambassador Nikki Haley said, "No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," and echoed the White House response from yesterday, that Hamas bears all responsibility for the bloodshed. That comes as countries around the region and wider world have condemned the use of force on the protesters, and allies like the U.K. and France have implored Israel to show more restraint.
Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab is moving its data processing and storage for many customers, as well as its software assembly, to Zurich "to address the growing challenges of industry fragmentation and a breakdown of trust."
Why it matters: The beleaguered security company, still a major international player in security research, has come under fire in the United States over the past year for possible links to the Russian government.
