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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Lawrence Ukenye | | 
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, watches what it says is a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, with a young woman who appears to look like his daughter, in Pyongyang, North Korea on March 16, 2023. | Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP | With help from Erin Banco and Connor O'Brien Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt The Biden administration admits its North Korea policy isn’t working but believes there are no better policy avenues to pursue, two senior administration officials tell NatSec Daily. “We are deeply frustrated” with North Korea as it proceeds to advance its weapons programs, one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity imposed by President JOE BIDEN’s team. Despite the invitation to Pyongyang to discuss any matter, any time without preconditions, the regime has responded with silence while launching intercontinental ballistic missiles and possibly preparing for a seventh nuclear test. “They clearly don't like our overall policy.” At least, the official said, an effort to improve ties between the U.S., South Korea and Japan has worked. As for North Korea, “we're sanguine about the idea that there's no magic bullet…Over the last 25 years, almost everybody's pet approach has been tried and what they all have in common is they haven't worked.” Another senior administration official, unauthorized to speak to the press, confirmed this was the general attitude within the team: “The administration has played a very, very bad hand about as well as possible. That doesn’t mean where we are is satisfying, but sometimes you play a hand correctly and in a way that optimizes your chance of success and still don’t get to where you want to go.” The North Korea problem is extremely hard to solve. The intelligence community has long assessed that the regime won’t dismantle its nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang has broken off diplomatic agreements with the United States and its allies. It has made technological advancements under immense sanctions pressure. And face-to-face meetings between an American president and a North Korean leader didn’t lead to progress. But the administration hasn’t tried everything to change its fortunes with North Korea, experts argue. "North Korea is as obstinate as ever, but you can't separate that from the fact that Biden's guys have gone out of their way to not even try do something meaningful anyway," said VAN JACKSON, a former Obama administration official now at the Victoria University of Wellington. “We don’t have a real strategy for getting North Korea back to the table, and expecting them to simply stop when the rest of the region is arming up is not realistic,” added JENNY TOWN, director of the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center. The increased pace of U.S.-South Korean military exercises, including the largest field drill in five years, “appear to be bordering on excessive and exacerbating the situation.” North Korea’s regime, which sees those exercises as a rehearsal for invasion, confirmed it recently launched an ICBM and missiles from a submarine as a direct response. Experts also say the administration is hesitant to inflict greater economic pain to drive the regime to the negotiating table. The Heritage Foundation’s BRUCE KLINGNER said Biden should sanction the 300 entities former President DONALD TRUMP refused to target because of his personal diplomacy with KIM JONG UN. And ANTHONY RUGGIERO, who worked on North Korea in Trump’s NSC, suggested the U.S. target incoming revenue from thousands of North Korea’s overseas workers and stop China from buying Pyongyang’s coal. The first senior official replied that trying to strike a deal while improving relations in East Asia are not “mutually exclusive” and “North Korea’s Covid restrictions have done far more damage to their economy than anything any expert who works on this believes could reasonably be done through any ‘maximum pressure’ campaign.”
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | ‘LIFT’ FOR AUMF IN HOUSE: If the congressional bid to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force is to fail, it’ll likely be because it dies in the House, Sen. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) said. “We do have a lift over there,” the senator told NatSec Daily after Alex moderated a Cato Institute session with him Thursday afternoon. Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY would oppose the measure if he voted on it, but “he’ll be open to having this conversation.” Kaine said he hasn’t spoken with McCarthy personally but his colleague on the repeal effort, Sen. TODD YOUNG (R-Ind.), has. “If we could have gotten this done in time for it to be taken up when the Democrats ran the House, it would just be smooth sailing at this point,” Kaine said. Kaine said he expects strong support for the measure in the Senate, suggesting it may receive around 70 votes in favor unless amendments shrink support a little bit. But it will pass, Kaine said, which would then send the repeals to an uncertain fate in the House. Kaine says the bill will also make it through the lower chamber and onto the president’s desk, “but when” is the question. ABOUT THAT CHINA-RUSSIA DATA: Yesterday, our own ERIN BANCO and SARAH ANNE AARUP published a story based off of customs and trade data that showed China’s state-backed NORINCO provided a Russian distributor, Tekhkrim, with 1,000 assault rifles in June 2022. Asked about the report in a press conference Friday, NSC spokesperson JOHN KIRBY described the NORINCO-Tekhrim connection as a “long-standing business relationship.” But a deeper analysis of the data shows Tekhrim has only imported semiautomatic rifles one other time in recent years — in 2018. And it only imported two of them The data also shows Tekhkrim, the Russian distributor, has a long-standing history of doing business with Russia’s National Guard, supplying goods such as rubber bullets and pepper spray. Its website says that it is “the only manufacturer of aerosol dispensers” for “paramilitary organizations.” Kirby told reporters Friday the U.S. had no evidence the rifles are being used on the battlefield in Ukraine but discouraged other countries from helping support President VLADIMIR PUTIN’s war efforts. “We don't want anyone to do anything that will help them kill more Ukrainians, period,” Kirby said. PUTIN WANTED: The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin “for the war crime of unlawful deportation” of children. The allegation comes as the court says he bears responsibility for coordinating the deportations with others and “for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts.” MARIA LVOVA-BELOVA, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, is also wanted by the court. In February, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity, adding to the previous U.S. finding that Russia was responsible for war crimes. TURKEY TO APPROVE FINLAND: Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN announced that he will send Finland’s NATO accession to Parliament for ratification and Hungary will follow suit, our own LILI BAYER reports. Sweden’s bid won’t go forward, at least for now, and the move splits what was supposed to be a package deal. “Finnish NATO membership is not complete without Sweden,” tweeted MIKKO HAUTALA, Finland’s ambassador to the U.S. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN in a Friday statement said “the United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible.” SLOVAKIA SENDING JETS: Slovakia’s prime minister pledged to send several MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, becoming the second ally to send Ukraine the weapons its military has sought for months. Eleven of Slovakia's jets were retired last summer, and most are not operational, Reuters’ ROBERT MULLER and ANNA WLODARCZAK-SEMCZUK report. The country will send those that are operational to Kyiv and the others for spare parts, as well as part of a Kub air defense system, Prime Minister EDUARD HEGER said. This follows Poland’s decision to deliver 12 MiGs in the days and months ahead. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of the global national security and foreign policy scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we’re featuring BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. When he’s not devising ways to turn the screws on Iran, he’s enjoying an extra dirty vodka martini. And where does he prefer to drink it? At the “Off the Record” bar at the Hay-Adams hotel in D.C. Cheers, Behnam! IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: 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 award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.
| | | |   | | | | | | RUSSIA NOT A THREAT: Trump poured fuel on the brewing GOP presidential foreign policy debate by claiming the greatest threat to Western civilization is not Russia, but internal U.S. politics. "It's the abolition of our national borders, it's the failure to police our own cities, it's the destruction of the rule of law within," Trump said in a video released on Truth Social. He called for the intelligence community, State Department and other agencies to be “completely overhauled” by firing the “deep staters.” And Trump said that he would reevaluate NATO’s “purpose” and “mission” if he were back in power. The comments were the most radical yet from Republican presidential hopefuls looking to stamp out their position on foreign policy, specifically on the war in Ukraine. Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS has received backlash from other potential candidates, including former Vice President MIKE PENCE, for calling the conflict a “territorial dispute.”
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | TIKTOK PROBE: The Justice Department is investigating TikTok’s parent company over the surveillance of American citizens, the New York Times’ GLENN THRUSH and SAPNA MAHESHWARI report. The probe began last year after ByteDance confirmed it had obtained the data of American TikTok users, including two reporters. The DOJ, FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia are leading the investigation. The Biden administration has already asked ByteDance to sell the app or face a possible nationwide ban. The social media company will flood D.C.’s power centers with influencers next week to stave off that possibility.
| | | START YOUR ENGINES: The Pentagon dealt a blow to advocates of a fresh engine competition for the F-35 fighter jet — opting in its budget to upgrade the existing engine instead. But the turf war on Capitol Hill between Pratt & Whitney, the current engine builder, and General Electric Aerospace, which wants a fresh competition, is far from over. Our colleagues LEE HUDSON and CONNOR O'BRIEN report in Morning Defense (for Pros!) that GE met with lawmakers this week to discuss why the new engine, dubbed the Adaptive Engine Transition Program, is the preferred choice for the F-35. Advocates on Capitol Hill, drawing heavily from Ohio where GE maintains facilities, are also continuing to argue the program needs funding. They've got fresh fodder from Air Force Secretary FRANK KENDALL, who said this week that the service didn't want to make the multi-year financial commitment for a new engine, but also said the new technology offers greater range and better fuel efficiency compared with upgrading the current engine.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | NUCLEAR CRACKDOWN: Three top House Republicans want the administration to crack down on Russia and China for their nuclear cooperation, per a letter they sent to national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN on Thursday. “We call on the administration to view this cooperation for what it is, a direct threat to U.S. security and more evidence that Russia and China are working in tandem against the United States. The administration should use all tools at its disposal to stop Rosatom and the PRC’s dangerous cooperation,” wrote Reps. MIKE ROGERS of Alabama, MICHAEL McCAUL of Texas and MICHAEL TURNER of Ohio, who respectively chair the armed services, foreign affairs and intelligence committees. The lawmakers also noted that they sent “classified correspondence” on the issue to the administration earlier this year. The Mikes point to reports, confirmed by the Defense Department, that Russia is supplying China with enriched uranium for fast-breed reactors. "It's very troubling to see Russia and China cooperating on this," JOHN PLUMB, the assistant secretary of defense for space policy, told HASC last week. NEW PROBE: The House Judiciary Committee is launching an investigation into several unauthorized record disclosures the Air Force made last year, our own OLIVIA BEAVERS reported Thursday night. A Republican-led subpanel announced the probe after the Air Force acknowledged that an internal investigation found 11 people, including several GOP candidates, had been affected by improper disclosures. In a letter to Air Force Secretary FRANK KENDALL, Rep. CHRIS STEWART (R-Utah) and Judiciary Committee Chair JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) sought additional information on the matter, including all records and communications related to the improper disclosures. Among those notified by the Air Force were at least two sitting House Republicans, Reps. DON BACON (R-Neb.) and ZACH NUNN (R-Iowa). Several former candidates were told that the Due Diligence Group, a research firm with Democratic ties, had “inappropriately” requested and successfully obtained their records.
| | | ‘ASKING FOR A FRIEND’: Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) has a lot of thoughts on the U.S. military presence in Japan that he laid bare in a Twitter thread typed out within five minutes Thursday night. “Does it make sense for the U.S. to have 55,000 military personnel stationed in Japan?” Lee begins, referencing the United States' increased focus on deterrence efforts in the Indo-Pacific amid rising tensions with China. If you support 55,000 troops, why shouldn’t there be double the number, he asks. And why stop there? “I’m asking for a friend,” Lee writes, before saying he would like to have Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA FUMIO weigh in on the matter. Because of Japan’s detention of U.S. Navy Lt. RIDGE ALKONIS, who’s serving a sentence for a deadly traffic accident, Kishida “seems to be suggesting that number should be zero.” XI TO MOSCOW: Chinese President XI JINPING will pay a three-day visit to his Russian counterpart VLADIMIR PUTIN beginning Monday, our own NICOLAS CAMUT reports. “Strategic cooperation” will be on the agenda, as “a number of important bilateral documents will be signed,” according to a Kremlin statement. The strengthening ties come shortly after it was revealed that Chinese companies shipped more than 1,000 assault rifles, drone parts and body armor to Russian entities between June and December of last year.
| | | — JOHN COOPER is headed to the House Homeland Security Committee to be a senior adviser supporting Chair Rep. MARK GREEN (R-Tenn.) He spent the last six years at the Heritage Foundation.
| | | — LIAM COLLINS, Modern War Institute: Reaper Down: Three Takeaways From Russia’s Intercept of a U.S. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — FAREED ZAKARIA, The Washington Post: America’s foreign policy has lost all flexibility — MARCELA GARCÍA, The Boston Globe: Keep your hands off my TikTok
| | | –– The Atlantic Council, 10 a.m.: Trajectories of Iraqi youth two decades after the 2003 invasion: Between aspirations and reality — The Government Executive Media Group, 1 p.m.: Critical Infrastructure: Evolving to Stay Ahead of Cyber Threats — The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 2 p.m.: Evergreen Lessons of the Iraq War Twenty Years Later — The Wilson Center, 4 p.m.: The Ends of Modernization: Nicaragua and the United States in the Cold War Era Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who is always “deeply frustrated” with us. We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who knows how to solve the North Korea problem, but says we don’t pay him enough to give us the answer.
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