"I believe that Chairman Kim has a great and beautiful vision for his country, and only the United States, with me as President, can make that vision come true. He will do the right thing because he is far too smart not to, and he does not want to disappoint his friend, President Trump!"
Why it matters: The president has repeatedly downplayed North Korea's ongoing missile tests since his third meeting with Kim, which took place at the Korean DMZ in June. Trump claimed stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington would resume after the DMZ meeting and trumpeted progress between the two countries.
The U.S. officially pulled out of the Cold War-era Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement with Russia on Friday, saying "Russia is solely responsible for the treaty's demise."
Why it matters: Some are worried the failure of the treaty could lead to a renewed arms race between the two countries. Both the Obama and Trump administrations have accused Russia of repeatedly violating the terms of the treaty, and neither country was able to ratchet down tensions during the six-month period after the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw.
Speaking to reporters before departing for his rally on Thursday, President Trump said he did not bring up the topic of Russian interference in his phone call with President Vladimir Putin, again casting aspersion on the warnings of the U.S. intelligence community.
The Trump administration's decision to put Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s mellifluous foreign minister, on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list makes clear that the means of pressure and sanctions have increasingly become the end goal of the U.S.' Iran policy.
The big picture: When President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last May, he insisted he could negotiate a much better agreement. More than a year later, however, the U.S. is no closer to such talks, dangers across the Middle East have escalated and the man who would have led Iran's negotiations has been sidelined — at least from the Trump administration's point of view.
President Trump is expected to decide by the end of August whether to release the political part of his Middle East peace plan before Israel's elections on Sept. 17, sources briefed on the matter tell me.
Why it matters: There's a lot of skepticism in Washington and the Middle East about the plan's likelihood of success — but the release of its political elements could have significant influence on the Israeli elections and the formation of a governing coalition.
President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Wednesday to discuss wildfires in Siberia and trade between the U.S. and Russia, the White House said, according to Reuters.
The big picture: The statement by White House spokesperson Hogan Gidleycomes hours after the Kremlin said on its website that Putin expressed "sincere gratitude" to Trump for offering help with the wildfires, saying he may accept the offer if the situation demands it, per Radio Free Europe.
North Korean state news agency KCNA says leader Kim Jong-un "expressed satisfaction" after overseeing the test-fire of a newly developed large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system.
The big picture: KCNA's report on Thursday morning local time contradicts South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff's assessment that Pyongyang had fired 2 short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast in the incident early Wednesday.
