Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Pompeo failure to get face time with Kim Jong-un casts pall over nuke talks
Did Kim Jong-un snub Mike Pompeo? Or was the North Korean leader too busy planning a trip to Moscow and meeting with local officials to host the U.S. secretary of state? Published July 10, 2018
Donald Trump’s Asia shifts raise strategy questions
With Secretary of State Mike Pompeo scrambling to keep a North Korea deal alive with a third visit to Pyongyang over the weekend, U.S. foreign policy appears as focused as ever on the Pacific. Still, a nagging anxiety is coursing through the region that Washington lacks a coherent long-term strategy for countering what many in Asia fear is an era of increasing Chinese economic dominance and military expansionism. Published July 8, 2018
Donald Trump may have gifted ‘Rocket Man’ CD to Kim Jong-un: Report
President Trump sent a copy of Elton John's album with the song "Rocket Man" to North Korea as a gift for leader Kim Jong-un, according to a report from South Korean Chosun Media. Published July 6, 2018
Mike Pompeo pressured to iron out North Korea deal details
President Trump's denuclearization deal with Kim Jong-un, struck just three weeks ago, will face its first major test Friday, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Pyongyang to meet with the North Korean leader to nail down details and a timeline for Pyongyang to dismantle and abandon its nuclear programs. Published July 5, 2018
U.S. and China battle it out through travel warnings
Washington and Beijing are making global headlines with threats over the prospect of a trade war, but they're also hurling indirect criticisms at each other on a more subtle front: Official travel warnings cautioning their respective citizens about the dangers associated with traveling from China to the U.S. -- or vice-versa. Published July 3, 2018
China says it’s ‘fully prepared’ for trade war with U.S.
China won't hesitate to retaliate against U.S. tariffs and escalate a trade war with Washington if tensions over economic negotiations with the Trump administration continue to rise, the foreign ministry in Beijing said Tuesday. Published July 3, 2018
Journalists in Asia watch in fear as Donald Trump battles ‘fake news’
A top U.S. State Department official here defended President Trump's oft-stated characterization of certain American media outlets as "fake news" on Monday, despite objections from regional journalists who say Mr. Trump's contentious posturing has emboldened Asian governments to crack down on free press in their own countries. Published June 25, 2018
Sara Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, indicted on fraud charges
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife was charged Thursday with fraud and accused of spending public funds on some $96,000 worth of catered meals from celebrity chefs. Published June 21, 2018
North Korea missile site shows no signs of being dismantled post summit
President Trump's national security team is closely monitoring North Korea's Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, which North Korea leader Kim Jong-un promised to dismantle during the Singapore summit, a White House official said Wednesday. Published June 20, 2018
Donald Trump’s China tariffs threaten North Korea denuclearization push
China expressed its strongest support so far Tuesday for the denuclearization deal between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, although concerns are mounting that Mr. Trump's aggressive tariffs on Chinese goods could lead Beijing to be less cooperative in the U.S.-led push to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons arsenal. Published June 19, 2018
‘Where’s the beef?’ South Korea says it’s coming ‘soon’ on deal with Kim Jong-un
A top South Korean diplomat pushed back Monday against critics of the summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, asserting that the top-down approach is unprecedented and those asking "where's the beef" should realize that the joint statement in Singapore is just "the bone on which flesh should be added." Published June 18, 2018
Mike Pompeo says Donald Trump ‘unambiguous’ with Kim Jong-un on conditions for freezing drills
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered the first snapshot of a timeline for North Korean denuclearization Wednesday, telling reporters on a trip to Seoul that he is "hopeful" Pyongyang will show clear evidence of a "major disarmament" before President Trump's term in office ends in January 2021. Published June 13, 2018
Trump-Kim nuclear summit praised, but big questions loom
NEWS ANALYSIS: The Singapore summit of President Trump and Kim Jong-un projected potent images of peace and diplomacy between two leaders who traded nuclear war threats just a year ago, but the output generated a large wave of initial skepticism that the U.S. side got any tangible or permanent concession from the North Korean dictator on Tuesday. Published June 12, 2018
Bipartisan support raised for Congressional role in nuclear talks with North Korea
Capitol Hill lawmakers are scrambling to prepare for the prospect that the historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un will set in motion a much longer diplomatic process fraught with tense follow-on negotiations and potentially delicate nuclear inspections. Published June 11, 2018
U.S. ready for North Korea nuclear crisis if talks fail
All signs may point to a successful and historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, but the stakes are so high that the U.S. national security community is braced for the possibility of a rapid spiral toward nuclear brinkmanship if the talks between the two men turn sour. Published June 10, 2018
Nukes part of N. Korea’s ‘national identity,’ former CIA official warns
A former high-level CIA official focused on North Korea offered a dim assessment Friday of the likelihood Kim Jong-un is serious about abandoning his nuclear program -- asserting that Washington must remain sober in its analysis of the North Korean leader's motives as President Trump heads into a major summit with him next week. Published June 8, 2018
China steps up business with Iran after Trump exits nuclear deal
China's adeptness at doing business with Iran through state-owned companies not exposed to the American financial systems could make Beijing the big beneficiary of President Trump's move to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on foreign companies doing business with Tehran. Published June 7, 2018
Obama officials lament GOP report on Iran nuclear deal
Republicans lauded a new Senate investigative report Wednesday that revealed how the Obama administration secretly sought to connect Iran with American banks despite repeatedly assuring Congress that Tehran would not be given access to the U.S. financial system under the 2015 nuclear deal. But for their part, Obama administration alumni said the claims were "wildly overblown." Published June 6, 2018
Obama hid efforts to aid Iran’s windfall
The Obama administration -- despite repeatedly assuring Congress that Iran would remain barred from the U.S. financial system -- secretly mobilized to give Tehran access to American banks to convert the windfall of cash it received from sanctions relief under the 2015 nuclear deal into dollars, an investigative report by the Senate has revealed. Published June 6, 2018
Mike Pompeo calls on OAS to kick out Venezuela
The U.S. and Venezuela traded barbs at the annual Organization of American States summit in Washington on Monday, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the hemispheric body to suspend Caracas' membership and support increased economic sanctions against socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Published June 4, 2018