Supreme leader credited with creating conditions for peace as South Korea and Japan voice security concerns

North Korea has hailed Tuesday's summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un as marking the end to hostile relations with the US, with state media depicting the meeting as a diplomatic victory for its leader.

Trump offered his own assessment as he landed back on US soil, tweeting that Pyongyang no longer posed a nuclear threat.

In arguing for a sunset clause to the Nafta trade agreement, this odious man is exposing the corruption of liberal democracy

He gets almost everything wrong. But last weekend Donald Trump got something right. To the horror of the other leaders of the rich world, he defended democracy against its detractors. Perhaps predictably, he has been universally condemned for it.

His crime was to insist that the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) should have a sunset clause. In other words, it should not remain valid indefinitely, but expire after five years, allowing its members either to renegotiate it or to walk away. To howls of execration from the world's media, his insistence has torpedoed efforts to update the treaty.

In Rights of Man, published in 1791, Thomas Paine argued that: "Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies." This is widely accepted - in theory if not in practice - as a basic democratic principle.

Even if the people of the US, Canada and Mexico had explicitly consented to Nafta in 1994, the idea that a decision made then should bind everyone in North America for all time is repulsive. So is the notion, championed by the Canadian and Mexican governments, that any slightly modified version of the deal agreed now should bind all future governments.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have reportedly exchanged mutual state visit invitations during a historic Singapore summit, where the North Korean leader emphasized the need to halt hostile and irritating actions against each other.

"Kim Jong Un invited Trump to visit Pyongyang at a convenient time and Trump invited Kim Jong Un to visit the US," the state KCNA news agency said. "The two top leaders gladly accepted each other's invitation, convinced that it would serve as another important occasion for improved DPRK-US relations."


Both leaders seemed to be pleased with the outcome of their negotiations in Singapore on Tuesday, which resulted in a four-point declaration aimed at achieving long-lasting peace and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. "Got along great with Kim Jong-un who wants to see wonderful things for his country," Trump tweeted. "As I said earlier today: Anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace!"

A recently declassified document again shows the United States' complicity in the rise of ISIS.

In October 2014, Vice President Joe Biden publicly criticized US allies for backing ISIS. The previous month, General Dempsey had told the Senate Armed Services Committee that America's "Arab allies" were funding the group.

US officials were trying to distance themselves from the ISIS-supporting actions of their allies without harshly condemning them. Biden suggested that their arming of ISIS was unintentional and quickly apologized to them. (Responding to Dempsey, Senator Lindsey Graham actually defended them: "They were trying to beat Assad. I believe they realize the folly of their ways.")

This mild criticism of allies came amid the effort of American officials to sell the decision to start bombing ISIS. By this time, the group was already entrenched in eastern Syria and western Iraq. But there's no evidence that in the months and years prior, the Obama administration had made any attempt to prevent its client states from helping ISIS become a regional power.

The United States itself continued to send arms into Syria despite the certainty that some would end up in the hands of ISIS. "We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA," said ISIS leader Abu Atheer in 2013, referring to the US-backed Free Syrian Army. He said ISIS bought anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank weapons from the FSA.

A stunning video by investigative journalist Jason Goodman of Crowdsource the Truth reveals that Pakistani IT worker Imran Awan is reportedly answering phones at the office of his attorney, Chris Gowen.

Gowen notably worked for both Bill and Hillary Clinton in various capacities.

Gowen is a founding partner of Gowen, Rhoades, Winograd and Silva law firm, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, Penn.

His official bio on the firm's web site notes that he "left the Public Defender's office to work for former President William Jefferson Clinton and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. Chris was a fact checker for President Clinton's memoir, 'My Life.'"

"He also served as a traveling aid for President Clinton's national and international trips. Chris finished his tenure with the Clintons by directing the advance operations for then-Senator Hillary Clinton during her 2008 presidential campaign."

Conservative Review - which first reported Gowen's extensive Clinton connections Wednesday - said they also include work for the Clinton Foundation and its Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. -Daily Caller

In the video, Goodman can be seen visiting the law offices of Awan's attorney, where he asks to speak with the former House IT staffer. After his request was denied, Goodman asks: "Is Imran here?", to which the employee replies "Uh, he is, why?"

Goodman responds "'Cause it sounds like he's answering your phones," which drew the retort "What's your point?"

"Is he working for you?" asks Goodman, to which the employee whispers back "Go away."

So Rocket Man and The Dotard have met. After last year's epic mud-slinging, US President Donald Trump now says he and Chairman Kim Jong-un of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have a "special bond". The 'optics' of the summit reflect well on both leaders, who were cordial and without any of the hysterics and tantrums that had 'analysts' forecasting nuclear conflagration just last year.

But that's all ancient history now. The signed document - a declaration, not a 'deal', 'roadmap' or anything more - is brief:

Convinced that the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

1. The United States and the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] commit to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.
2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

The United States will halt military drills with South Korea while negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang continue, Donald Trump told the press after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Describing the exercises as "war games," Trump said that the drills were "very expensive" and required US bombers to "fly in from Guam" - a practice that he described as "provocative." Speaking about the large US military contingent based in South Korea, the president said that he would ideally "like to bring them home, but that's not part of the equation right now. But we will be stopping the war games."

The US president made the announcement after wrapping up a historic summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore. Trump thanked Kim after their five-hour meeting "for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will quit the multilateral nuclear agreement Tehran signed with major world powers in 2015 if it does not benefit from the deal after the US pullout.

Rouhani made the remarks during a Tuesday phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, a month after the United States' unilateral move to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"If Iran cannot enjoy the agreement's benefits, it will be practically impossible to stay in it," Rouhani said.

The Iranian president commended the statements of the European countries, including France, to salvage the JCPOA. However, he emphasized that such declarations must be accompanied by practical and tangible measures and solutions to help Iran benefit from the agreement.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed "unwavering commitment" to complete denuclearization, US President Trump said after their first face-to face talks. However, sanctions against Pyongyang to stay in place, he added.

During the first press conference after his historic meeting with the North Korean leader, Trump said US war games in the region would be "provocative" amid talks with Pyongyang and promised to suspend them. He also noted that the drills are quite expensive and the move will save a considerable amount of money for the US budget.

Despite Kim's pledges for denuclearization and the optimism for further talks, the easing of restrictive measures on Pyongyang will not be coming in the near future, according to Trump. The sanctions will remain in force until full denuclearization, the US president said, noting that he is "looking forward" to it.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on Friday that the US will stay in northern Syria, even after IS is defeated.

"As you know, a little over 100 hours ago, our partner forces kicked off in an offensive against one of the last remaining enclaves of the physical caliphate. So we are still engaged, ladies and gentlemen, in a fight against the -- the ISIS-Daesh caliphate," he said about an ongoing offensive of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ar Zour.

"It is not over yet and that continues. So obviously we are going to continue the U.N. mandate, being that Daesh is -- is a threat, then we are going to continue to go after them," he added.


Furthermore, he added that the US is going to stay in northern Syria to support local councils.