| | | | |  | | By Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil | |  The Biden administration has left its door open to meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and engaging at high levels with Pyongyang. But there hasn’t been much diplomacy beyond that. | Pool photo by Artem Geodakyan | With help from Maggie Miller and Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Matt | Email Eric Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are rising and North Korea is growing stronger, according to former U.S. officials, who don’t believe White House policy to engage or deter Pyongyang is working. Today, South Korea officially suspended its peace agreement with North Korea, a deal which had essentially been dead anyways. But the move still underscores how relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have degraded even further: In the past week alone, North Korea tried (and failed) to launch a spy satellite, sent balloons carrying feces to its southern neighbor, conducted ballistic missile tests and jammed GPS signals that could lead fishing ships into dangerous waters. South Korea has had enough, resuming all military activities near the demarcation line separating the countries. “This is arguably the worst situation we’ve seen on the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War,” FRANK AUM, a former senior advisor on North Korea in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration, told NatSec Daily. “The risk for inadvertent conflict on the peninsula is high.” President JOE BIDEN disagrees. In an interview published today, Time’s MASSIMO CALABRESI asked whether the situation with North Korea is “getting more threatening.” Biden’s analysis was clear. “No, I don't. I think it's equally as threatening as it was before,” he said in the interview, conducted on May 28. The Biden administration has left its door open to meeting with the North Korean leader KIM JONG UN and engaging at high levels with Pyongyang. But there hasn’t been much diplomacy beyond that, and Biden hasn’t exactly expressed a deep desire to meet with Kim. White House policy toward North Korea has been to strengthen the Japan-South Korea relationship, heavily sanction Pyongyang and warn against use of nuclear weapons (denuclearization is a long shot). The National Security Council didn't respond to a request for comment. Stymying North Korea’s revenue sources through sanctions are the best way to deter North Korea in the short term, said ANTHONY RUGGIERO, who worked on North Korea in DONALD TRUMP’s National Security Council. But the Biden administration’s efforts have been “half-hearted,” he added. “They're usually targeting North Korean representatives overseas in Russia and China, but they're not targeting the rest of that network,” Ruggerio told NatSec Daily, noting that more individuals, companies or banks could be sanctioned. “Until we get to that point where we're comprehensively going after North Korea's revenue, we're always going to be playing catch up.” Israel’s war in Gaza and Russia’s war in Ukraine, among numerous other conflicts raging around the world, have been a blessing for North Korea, the officials said. The White House has had less capacity to crack down on Kim’s regime, and Moscow now heavily relies on Pyongyang to assist in its war efforts. And there doesn't seem to be much the White House can do. “The administration is doing what they can, which is to consolidate the allies,” VICTOR CHA, a former NSC official in the Bush administration who serves as an adviser on the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board, told NatSec Daily. “That's a good thing, but they just don't have any tools in the toolbox to try to disrupt this relationship.”
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The F-35 is vital to 21st Century Security®. The most advanced, survivable, and connected fighter in the world is helping those we serve stay ahead of ready. Learn more. | | | | | BIBI’S LONG GAME: There is “every reason” for people in Israel to conclude Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU is prolonging the war against Hamas to stay in power, Biden told Time. Biden also said that Israel made the “mistake” of conducting a Gaza campaign in destructively similar ways to the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq: “It led to endless wars,” Biden told the magazine. “Don’t make the mistakes we made. And they’re making that mistake.” Those are among the harshest comments Biden has leveled at Netanyahu since Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The interview with Biden, conducted days before he called on Israel and Hamas to broker a cease-fire, confirms the president no longer reserves his broadsides for private phone calls. They are now out in the open, potentially further straining a relationship that has suffered over eight months of war. Asked about Biden’s comment, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told reporters today, "I think the president was very clear in his answer on that." The president’s comment about Netanyahu sparked a lot of vitriol from conservatives on social media. Biden also said he’s “uncertain” whether Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. Scroll down to Election 2024 for another tidbit from the interview. HUNGER IN GAZA: World Central Kitchen is ramping up food and aid deliveries into Gaza through a recently reopened border crossing that’s been plagued by ongoing fighting and diplomatic disputes, our own MEREDITH LEE HILL writes in. One hundred trucks recently made it through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing carrying desperately needed food and other supplies, JOHN TORPEY, WCK’s Middle East activation manager, told reporters today. It’s a positive development, as some U.N. officials have questioned how effective the reopening will be given ongoing security concerns for aid convoys amid heavy conflict in the region. Even with heavy fighting in the area, Torpey noted that Kerem Shalom is still the “main gate” into Gaza from the south and a critical access point for food and other supplies amid growing famine conditions. After Israel’s deadly strike on WCK workers in April, Israel’s military is giving WCK “as much information as possible … to make sure that this can never happen again,” Torpey said. Despite the recent pause in its operations in Rafah, WCK announced today that it has served more than 50 million meals in Gaza. GAZA WAR DEATH COUNT: Israel estimates that more than a third of the Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 are dead, our own SEB STARCEVIC reports. Hamas fighters took about 250 Israelis and other nationals to Gaza in its surprise attack that killed 1,200 people. About 80 hostages held in Gaza are believed to be still alive, according to the Israeli government. As the U.S. pushes a deal to end the war, the United Nations’ human rights office today called on Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers to stop the “unnecessary and disproportionate force” in the occupied West Bank, which has killed more than 500 Palestinians since the war began, Reuters’ EMMA FARGE reports. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since October, according to the Gaza health ministry. The count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, though women and children mark up a significant number of those killed. IRANIAN GENERAL KILLED: Israeli airstrikes targeted and killed another Iranian general in Syria, according to the New York Times’ FARNAZ FASSIHI. Iranian state media announced that an airstrike near the Syrian city of Aleppo killed Gen. SAEED ABYAR, who Iran claims was deployed to the country as a military adviser. It is the first killing of an Iranian general by Israel since an Israeli strike killed two top Revolutionary Guard commanders in April, prompting the countries to trade volleys of missiles and drone attacks. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at mberg@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow us on X at @mattberg33 and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @alexbward, @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1.
| | | | POLITICO is gearing up to deliver experiences that help you navigate the NATO Summit. What issues should our reporting and events spotlight? Click here to let us know. | | | | | | | | | CHINESE MEDDLING: In the Time interview, Biden confirmed that China is already meddling in the November election, suggesting that it’s in Trump’s favor. Asked if there’s proof that Beijing is already interfering, Biden said “there is evidence that meddling is going on. I'm not going to get into, I don't think I should from an intelligence standpoint.” It’s hardly a surprise that China is already causing trouble. But the president’s remark goes a bit further than Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN’s comment in April that the U.S. has seen evidence of Chinese attempts to influence the election. Pushed on the topic, the president added that China would “have an interest in meddling. Everybody, all the bad guys are rooting for Trump, man. Not a joke. Think about it. Think about it.” Read: An American’s guide to the EU election by our own NICHOLAS VINOCUR
| | APPROPRIATORS’ CYBER TROUBLES: House appropriators passed a funding bill out of committee this morning that will provide less funding for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency than requested by the White House, our own JENNIFER SCHOLTES reports (for Pros!). Our colleagues at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) previewed this morning that the cyber-related funding bills, unveiled yesterday, will fund CISA slightly under the $3 billion the Biden administration requested in its annual budget. As our own MAGGIE MILLER writes, the bill includes provisions that “remove officials from CISA if the agency tries to label any online posts from Americans as misinformation, an addition likely put in due to Republican allegations that CISA’s work to counter election-related disinformation went too far in past elections.” The State Department appropriations bill, meanwhile, doesn’t specify how much the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy could get in federal funds next year, though it does authorize an unspecified amount of funding for the bureau’s new cyber and digital connectivity program. Scroll down to On the Hill for more on natsec appropriations.
| | | | POLITICO is gearing up to deliver experiences that help you navigate the NATO Summit. What issues should our reporting and events spotlight? Click here to let us know. | | | | | | | | TARGET ON EVERYONE’S BACK: Striking NATO trainers who could soon be sent to Ukraine isn’t off the table, Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV said today, as our own VICTOR GOURY-LAFFONT reports. “No instructor involved in training the Ukrainian military has immunity,” Peskov told reporters, per French newswire AFP. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re French or not,” Peskov added. Last week, Ukraine’s top commander OLEKSANDR SYRSKYI said French trainers would come to Ukraine “soon,” a statement which was downplayed at the time both in Paris and Kyiv. French President EMMANUEL MACRON may soon announce a small coalition of countries willing to send trainers on the ground in Ukraine, Le Monde reported. Read: In message to Putin and NATO allies, France flexes navy muscles by our own LAURA KAYALI
| | MORE APPROPS ACRIMONY: There is a lot of daylight between Republicans’ first draft defense spending bill and the NDAA text currently working its way through Congress, our own CONNOR O’BRIEN reports (for Pros!) While the draft of the defense appropriations bill conforms with existing defense spending caps, House Republicans are looking to boost funding for the troubled F-35 fighter program. They’re also not adding a second attack submarine and cutting annual security assistance for Ukraine. The bill also contains some key culture war provisions, including restrictions on Pentagon policies for abortion access, diversity and equity and transgender medical services. Meanwhile, leading committee Democrats are not happy with the first draft of the proposed fiscal year 2025 funding bill for the State Department, as Maggie writes. Full committee Chair Rep. ROSA DeLAURO (D-Conn.) criticized the proposed bill during a markup, accusing House Republicans of crafting legislation that “abdicates U.S. leadership at the United Nations,” and of overall bringing back “the doomed isolationism of the early 20th century.” DeLauro’s concerns focused on the proposed legislation cutting U.S. funding for the UN’s regular budget, along with prohibiting funds for U.N. Women, UNICEF and for several major climate-related agreements. “The majority is yet again diminishing the global standing of the United States, and what we stand for, and what our values are,” DeLauro said. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. TOM COLE (R-Okla.) said the proposed legislation prioritizes “robust oversight and accountability of taxpayer dollars,” and described the climate programs as “wasteful” for taxpayer funds due to claims that they “harm energy security and economic development.”
| | | |   | | | | | RAHM RAILING CHINA: U.S. Ambassador to Japan RAHM EMANUEL made the argument that China’s aggression toward its neighbors in the South China Sea is driving countries in East Asia into Washington’s column. In an interview with Bloomberg TV’s SHERY AHN, the pugilistic politico-cum-diplomat and former White House Chief of Staff said that Beijing wouldn’t win “the good neighbor award” and argued “there's no country in the South China Sea that borders it that China does not have a conflict with.” He added that Washington’s growing ties to China’s neighbors is borne out of their worries about China’s military provocations. “Countries from Japan to South Korea to Australia to Singapore to the Philippines, even Vietnam, want America's presence because they don't want an unmoored, untethered China that disregards their own sovereignty,” the ambassador said. “Countries prefer their sovereignty versus being told what they can and can't have.” TBILISI’S LGBTQ TAKEDOWN: Georgia’s ruling party is launching a Russian-style crackdown on LGBTQ rights, in the latest example of the government in Tbilisi growing closer to Moscow, our own GABRIEL GAVIN reports. The law, similar to one passed in Russia a decade ago, would not only outlaw gender-affirming care and prevent same-sex couples from marrying or adopting children, but also erase references to LGBTQ people from public life. Schools will no longer be able to provide information about LGBTQ identities and broadcasters, advertisers and movie theaters will be required to censor any content that features same-sex relationships.
| | | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — ANNELLE SHELINE is rejoining the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft as a fellow in the Middle East program after resigning from her position in the State Department as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in protest of Biden's Gaza policy in March. Sheline's work focuses on U.S. security assistance to the Middle East. –– POLITICO's national security team is getting an intern again! MILES HERSZENHORN, a rising senior at Harvard who previously wrote for USA Today and POLITICO Europe, is joining the NatSec crew this summer and, among other tasks, will help us write your favorite newsletter. Welcome to the fam, Miles! –– BRANDON POSSIN left the State Department last week after almost 17 years spent as a diplomat in the foreign service with postings in Japan, Venezuela, Indonesia, Pakistan and Peru. Possin, who wrote a POLITICO Magazine story last year titled “U.S. Diplomat to Washington: You’re Becoming Obsolete in One Big Area of Tech Policy,” is (not surprisingly) founding a startup in Japan: a science marketplace using NFTs.
| | — STEPHEN WALT, Foreign Policy: Biden’s foreign policy problem is incompetence — JIM TALENT, National Review: The Biden administration’s coddling of Iran helps no one except the mullahs — PRAVEEN DONTHI, Foreign Affairs: India’s perilous border standoff with China
| | — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 9 a.m.: Decoding the 2024 Indian general elections — Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: Streamlining the federal cybersecurity regulatory process: The path to harmonization — Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, 10 a.m.: A meeting to consider the situation in Haiti and continue preparations for the 54th regular session of the General Assembly — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 10 a.m.: Cross-Atlantic currents: 2024 elections and the future of transatlantic security — Hudson Institute, 11 a.m.: The crisis in Georgia and Its implications for the Black Sea region — Atlantic Council. 12 p.m.: What is to be done? The impact of war on Putin's Russia — Center for American Progress, 12:30 p.m.: The forgotten war: Sudan in crisis Thanks to our editor, Ben Fox, who is somehow even more threatening than Heidi and Rosie Thanks to our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who will sanction Ben into oblivion.
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