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A rocket goes off with fire underneath it.

The leftovers: What happens to foreign policy in power transitions? Part I

Critical State

This week, Critical State, our weekly foreign policy newsletter, takes a deep dive into new research on what to expect as norms about foreign policy continuity in the US continue to erode.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is shown wearing a traditional white turban while sitting behind a microphone.

Iran starts 20% uranium enrichment, seizes tanker in strait

Conflict & Justice
A white man speaks behind a podium in front of a backdrop of US symbology

Will New START nuclear treaty survive ‘hostile’ US-Russia relations?

Nuclear
A man in Seoul, South Korea, watches a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un speaking during a New Year's Day speech.

North Korean leader says he’s ‘open to dialogue’ with South Korea, will only use nukes if threatened

Conflict
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with military officials in an unknown location in an undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on August 15, 2017.

North Korea says it’s holding off on a Guam missile plan

Conflict
People work on boats at the port near the North Korean town of Sinuiju.

China says it will ban imports of North Korean iron, seafood imports

Economics

China will halt iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea starting Tuesday, following through on new UN sanctions after US pressure for Beijing to strongarm Pyongyang over its ally’s nuclear program.

A boy plays behind a sign of shelter at an entrance of a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, August 11, 2017.

The military option with North Korea is ‘locked and loaded,’ Trump says

Conflict

US President Donald Trump on Friday said a military option against North Korea was “locked and loaded,” his latest salvo in an escalating war of words with Pyongyang’s nuclear-armed regime.

A passerby walks past a street monitor showing news of North Korea's fresh threat in Tokyo, Japan.

North Korea says it will have a Guam missile strike plan ready in within days

Conflict

North Korea said Thursday it would complete a plan within days to launch a salvo of four intermediate-range missiles toward Guam, the US island territory in the western Pacific.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stands at a table in the middle of several military members .

The US is not seeking to topple the North Korea regime, Tillerson says

Global Politics

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has promised that the United States is not trying to topple Kim Jong-Un’s North Korean regime, but warned it must halt its nuclear missile program.

Kim Jong-un

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: ‘We will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea’

Conflict

Tuesday’s launch — acknowledged as an ICBM by Washington — marked a milestone in Pyongyang’s decadeslong drive for the capability to threaten the US mainland with a nuclear strike, and poses a stark foreign policy challenge for Donald Trump.

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