North Korea executes U.S. nuclear envoy after failed Trump summit: report - USA TODAY

Kim Hjelmgaard USA TODAY

Published 3:49 AM EDT May 31, 2019

North Korea executed its special nuclear envoy to the United States as part of a purge of senior officials over the failed summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper claimed Friday. 

Kim Hyok Chol was executed by firing squad in March along with four other foreign ministry officials, the paper reported, citing an unidentified North Korean source.

North Korea neither confirmed nor denied the report. South Korea's government was not able to confirm the claim. Previous media reports about the fate of North Korean officials who have fallen afoul of Pyongyang's leader have proven to be false.  

Trump's North Korea diplomacy: It looks troubled. It may not mean war

Chosun Ilbo reported Kim Hyok Chol and the other senior officials were shot after being accused of spying for the United States. The paper reported Kim Jong Un ordered the purge amid mounting dissatisfaction with the summit in Hanoi – the second time Kim and Trump met for face-to-face talks. In Vietnam, they failed to reach a deal because of conflicts over the White House's call for complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.

Since then, amid a diplomatic standoff between Pyongyang and Washington, North Korea has resumed testing short-range ballistic missiles, ending a pause in launches that began in late 2017. The tests are viewed as a way for Kim to pressure Trump to ease sanctions without actually causing negotiations to collapse.

There was no immediate reaction to Chosun Ilbo's report from the White House.

"North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me," Trump tweeted during a recent trip to Japan. 

Diplomacy?: Bolton says latest North Korea missile test violates U.N. resolution

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2019-05-31 07:37:00Z
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John Negroponte: Trump's new tariff on Mexico is 'bad politically and bad economically' - CNBC

A widely followed former American diplomat questioned on Friday whether President Donald Trump was adopting the right strategy by threatening Mexico with a new tariff because of immigration issues.

Trump announced Thursday that his country plans to impose a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from June 10. In a statement, he attributed that unexpected move to a "border crisis" that has resulted in America being "invaded by hundreds of thousands of people." He even suggested that he could raise the tariff on Mexico's goods to 25% by Oct. 1 this year if the country did not sufficiently halt the flow of migrants into the U.S.

Speaking with CNBC's "Street Signs" on Thursday evening U.S. time, John Negroponte questioned whether Trump's move would have the desired effect.

"I think it's both bad politically and bad economically and I don't think it's really going to help solve the immigration problem, either, which is what Mr. Trump said he's trying to attack," said Negroponte, current vice chairman of consultancy McLarty Associates and formerly U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq.

Mexico, for its part, has said it would not respond well to economic threats.

In a letter addressed to Trump, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he did not want confrontation, and that leaders have a responsibility to seek peaceful solutions to controversies.

John Negroponte on July 17, 2018 in Bogota, Colombia.

Gabriel Aponte | Getty Images

"President Trump: Social problems cannot be resolved with taxes or coercive measures," the Mexican leader wrote.

Negroponte told CNBC he agreed with that sentiment. Still, he said, perhaps now is the time that Washington and Mexico City can come together on the issue. 

In fact, in his letter to Trump, López Obrador requested that U.S. and Mexican officials begin meeting on Friday to discuss how to "reach an agreement for the benefit of both nations."

Even from a domestic politics standpoint, Trump may have overplayed his hand with the new tariff threat.

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican who represents Iowa, slammed the move. He called it a "misuse of presidential tariff authority."

"Trade policy and border security are separate issues," Grassley said in a statement following the Trump's announcement. "Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA, a central campaign pledge of President Trump's and what could be a big victory for the country," he warned.

The USMCA refers to the new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, which lawmakers had yet to approve. Several experts suggested that the deal, an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, could now face real difficulties getting passed.

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2019-05-31 05:28:23Z
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Here's why China's trade war threat to restrict rare earth minerals is so serious - CNBC

Miners are seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China July 16, 2011.

Stringer | Reuters

Rare earth minerals are a suite of 17 elements mineable in the earth's crust, with names such as cerium, europium and lutetium. They are commonly used in everything from car motors and electronics to oil refining and clean diesel to many major weapons systems the U.S. relies on for national security, including lasers and radar.

About 35% of rare earth global reserves are in China, the most in the world, and the country is a mining machine, producing 120,000 metric tons or 70% of total rare earths in 2018, according to the United States Geological Survey. The U.S. pales in comparison as it mined 15,000 metric tons of rare earths in 2018 and has a total of 1.4 million metric tons of reserves, versus China's 44 million.

U.S. consumption of rare earth compounds and metals relies heavily on imports, which rose to $160 million in 2018, according to USGS. Eighty percent were from China. To make it worse, although other countries supply to the U.S. including Estonia (6%), France (3%) and Japan (3%), much of their materials were derived from mineral concentrates and chemical substances produced in China, according to Hui Shan, commodities analyst at Goldman Sachs.

"The U.S.' reliance on Chinese supply may be higher than the import breakdown data suggest on the surface," Shan said in a note on Wednesday.

Given U.S. dependence on Chinese supply, the threat of a restriction could hurt many industries including high-tech devices, automotives, clean energy and defense. An example is the element lanthanum.

"The glass industry is the largest consumer of rare earths. For example, lanthanum makes up as much as 50% of digital camera lenses, including cell phone cameras. Hybrid electric cars use significant amounts of lanthanum in its batteries – 10-15 kilograms per vehicle," said Michael Widmer, metals strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a note.

"Dangerous interaction"

Rare earth materials are also crucial to the U.S. defense systems because of their usage in lasers, radar, sonar, night vision systems, missile guidance, jet engines, and even alloys for armored vehicles, all of which the U.S. relies upon for national security.

The Pentagon on Wednesday presented a report to Congress on rare earth minerals in an effort to reduce reliance on China. The move came after the Chinese newspaper People's Daily warned it would cut off the rare earth supply, saying "don't say we didn't warn you. "

In a 2018 report by the Department of Defense, China's domination of rare earth elements was highlighted as it shows "the potentially dangerous interaction between Chinese economic aggression guided by its strategic industrial policies and vulnerabilities and gaps in America's manufacturing and defense industrial base."

"China has strategically flooded the global market with rare earths at subsidized prices, driven out competitors, and deterred new market entrants," the report said.

Non-Chinese suppliers

While China remains a dominant player in the rare earth market, production outside of the country is also growing, which could provide the U.S. with some alternatives, according to Credit Suisse.

Non-Chinese production has grown to about 29% of the global production from just 3% in 2009, said Manish Nigam, Credit Suisse's equity analyst said in a note on Thursday.

"A U.S. facility is under a revival plan since last year, and the fully operational Australian/ Malaysian venture (Lynas) has a production capacity that is more than the entire demand of the U.S., though processing of some oxides still gets done in China," Nigam said.

The impact of an export ban would be somewhat diffused across different U.S. sectors and countries, Nigam said, noting that electric vehicles and clean energy would be impacted the most.

Still, any escalation at this point poses a threat to the market as stocks continue to suffer amid the tit-for-tat strategies in the trade war. The S&P 500 is down 5.4% in May, on track to post its first negative month of the year.

"The effect of China restricting its rare earth exports to the US could have a much larger impact on the broader market this time around because of the ongoing US-China trade war," said Goldman's Shan. "Investors probably would expect further retaliations from the US and risk assets such as copper could face even more headwinds than it is currently under."

— CNBC's John Schoen and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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2019-05-30 17:37:35Z
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Here's why China's trade war threat to restrict rare earth minerals is so serious - CNBC

Miners are seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China July 16, 2011.

Stringer | Reuters

Rare earth minerals are a suite of 17 elements mineable in the earth's crust, with names such as cerium, europium and lutetium. They are commonly used in everything from car motors and electronics to oil refining and clean diesel to many major weapons systems the U.S. relies on for national security, including lasers and radar.

About 35% of rare earth global reserves are in China, the most in the world, and the country is a mining machine, producing 120,000 metric tons or 70% of total rare earths in 2018, according to the United States Geological Survey. The U.S. pales in comparison as it mined 15,000 metric tons of rare earths in 2018 and has a total of 1.4 million metric tons of reserves, versus China's 44 million.

U.S. consumption of rare earth compounds and metals relies heavily on imports, which rose to $160 million in 2018, according to USGS. Eighty percent were from China. To make it worse, although other countries supply to the U.S. including Estonia (6%), France (3%) and Japan (3%), much of their materials were derived from mineral concentrates and chemical substances produced in China, according to Hui Shan, commodities analyst at Goldman Sachs.

"The U.S.' reliance on Chinese supply may be higher than the import breakdown data suggest on the surface," Shan said in a note on Wednesday.

Given U.S. dependence on Chinese supply, the threat of a restriction could hurt many industries including high-tech devices, automotives, clean energy and defense. An example is the element lanthanum.

"The glass industry is the largest consumer of rare earths. For example, lanthanum makes up as much as 50% of digital camera lenses, including cell phone cameras. Hybrid electric cars use significant amounts of lanthanum in its batteries – 10-15 kilograms per vehicle," said Michael Widmer, metals strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in a note.

"Dangerous interaction"

Rare earth materials are also crucial to the U.S. defense systems because of their usage in lasers, radar, sonar, night vision systems, missile guidance, jet engines, and even alloys for armored vehicles, all of which the U.S. relies upon for national security.

The Pentagon on Wednesday presented a report to Congress on rare earth minerals in an effort to reduce reliance on China. The move came after the Chinese newspaper People's Daily warned it would cut off the rare earth supply, saying "don't say we didn't warn you. "

In a 2018 report by the Department of Defense, China's domination of rare earth elements was highlighted as it shows "the potentially dangerous interaction between Chinese economic aggression guided by its strategic industrial policies and vulnerabilities and gaps in America's manufacturing and defense industrial base."

"China has strategically flooded the global market with rare earths at subsidized prices, driven out competitors, and deterred new market entrants," the report said.

Non-Chinese suppliers

While China remains a dominant player in the rare earth market, production outside of the country is also growing, which could provide the U.S. with some alternatives, according to Credit Suisse.

Non-Chinese production has grown to about 29% of the global production from just 3% in 2009, said Manish Nigam, Credit Suisse's equity analyst said in a note on Thursday.

"A U.S. facility is under a revival plan since last year, and the fully operational Australian/ Malaysian venture (Lynas) has a production capacity that is more than the entire demand of the U.S., though processing of some oxides still gets done in China," Nigam said.

The impact of an export ban would be somewhat diffused across different U.S. sectors and countries, Nigam said, noting that electric vehicles and clean energy would be impacted the most.

Still, any escalation at this point poses a threat to the market as stocks continue to suffer amid the tit-for-tat strategies in the trade war. The S&P 500 is down 5.4% in May, on track to post its first negative month of the year.

"The effect of China restricting its rare earth exports to the US could have a much larger impact on the broader market this time around because of the ongoing US-China trade war," said Goldman's Shan. "Investors probably would expect further retaliations from the US and risk assets such as copper could face even more headwinds than it is currently under."

— CNBC's John Schoen and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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2019-05-30 17:36:31Z
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Julian Assange Misses Court Session Because Of Health Concerns - NPR

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, shown here earlier this month, is reportedly suffering from poor health. Jack Taylor/Getty Images hide caption

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Jack Taylor/Getty Images

A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a U.K. court Thursday that he was too ill to appear via video link at an extradition hearing about possible transfer to the United States.

Lawyer Gareth Peirce told Westminster Magistrates' Court in London that Assange was "not very well." The United States is pursuing a range of criminal charges against Assange, including a violation of the Espionage Act.

WikiLeaks said in a statement that it has "grave concerns" about the state of Assange's health.

"Mr Assange's health had already significantly deteriorated after seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy, under conditions that are incompatible with basic human rights," the group said.

"During the seven weeks in Belmarsh [prison] his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight," the statement reads. "The decision of prison authorities to move him to the health ward speaks for itself." The group quotes a defense lawyer saying that "it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him" on May 24.

The judge, Emma Arbuthnot, has said that the next extradition hearing will take place on June 12. The Associated Press reports that she said it "may be moved to a court next to Belmarsh prison for convenience." The Westminster court and the prison are more than 11 miles apart.

Assange currently is serving a 50-week sentence in U.K. prison for skipping bail. He was arrested April 11 after he was pushed out of the Ecuadorian Embassy. Assange had lived there for seven years to avoid possible extradition to the U.S. or Sweden, where he is being investigated over rape accusations.

As NPR's Sasha Ingber has noted, Assange's defense team has concerns about whether he could receive a fair trial in the U.S. Assange previously had been indicted over an alleged conspiracy in which the WikiLeaks founder helped former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning obtain classified government documents. A new indictment, released earlier this month, introduced 17 criminal counts.

Sweden recently announced it is reopening an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Assange. He has repeatedly denied the claim.

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2019-05-30 15:56:00Z
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If we can't challenge China, no one can, warns operator of only US mine for rare earth metals - CNBC

The only rare earth metals-producing mine in the U.S. is facing short-term refining challenges as the nation to looks to reduce its reliance on China for the materials due to the trade war.

China dominates the refining and mining of rare earth minerals, which are key to the making of everything from iPhones to rechargeable batteries to military weapons.

"We're it," James Litinsky, co-chairman of MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine, said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box. " "If we can't be economic, there's no hope for the U.S. industry."

Mountain Pass, located in California, ships nearly 50,000 tons of rare earth concentrate to China each year for processing, according to a Reuters report.

"There's no refining capacity in the world outside of China," said Litinsky.

China has imposed a 25% tariff on rare earth imports during the trade war, making the operator of the Mountain Pass mine the only U.S. company affected by this specific retaliation.

Meanwhile, China threatened this week to cut off rare earth mineral sales to the U.S., after President Donald Trump blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Speculation about payback first surfaced when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited rare earth mining and processing facilities during a domestic tour last week.

The Pentagon, according to Reuters, recently presented a report to Congress on the rare earths market and how to find alternative sources from China.

A move by Beijing to follow through on its threat would be a "major escalation" of the trade war, Ray Dalio, co-founder of the world's largest hedge fund, wrote in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates' Dalio also called the materials a "critical import that American companies don't produce and need to get from China."

Litinsky estimated that Mountain Pass should be self-sufficient from China by next year and produce its own separated rare earth products.

But for now, Litinsky said, China is it when it comes to processing. "We're talking to the [U.S.] government and hoping they'll help us, but we're not counting on it."

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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2019-05-30 14:57:28Z
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If we can't challenge China, no one can, warns operator of only US mine for rare earth metals - CNBC

The only rare earth metals-producing mine in the U.S. is facing short-term refining challenges as the nation to looks to reduce its reliance on China for the materials due to the trade war.

China dominates the refining and mining of rare earth minerals, which are key to the making of everything from iPhones to rechargeable batteries to military weapons.

"We're it," James Litinsky, co-chairman of MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine, said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box. " "If we can't be economic, there's no hope for the U.S. industry."

Mountain Pass, located in California, ships nearly 50,000 tons of rare earth concentrate to China each year for processing, according to a Reuters report.

"There's no refining capacity in the world outside of China," said Litinsky.

China has imposed a 25% tariff on rare earth imports during the trade war, making the operator of the Mountain Pass mine the only U.S. company affected by this specific retaliation.

Meanwhile, China threatened this week to cut off rare earth mineral sales to the U.S., after President Donald Trump blacklisted Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Speculation about payback first surfaced when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited rare earth mining and processing facilities during a domestic tour last week.

The Pentagon, according to Reuters, recently presented a report to Congress on the rare earths market and how to find alternative sources from China.

A move by Beijing to follow through on its threat would be a "major escalation" of the trade war, Ray Dalio, co-founder of the world's largest hedge fund, wrote in a LinkedIn post Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates' Dalio also called the materials a "critical import that American companies don't produce and need to get from China."

Litinsky estimated that Mountain Pass should be self-sufficient from China by next year and produce its own separated rare earth products.

But for now, Litinsky said, China is it when it comes to processing. "We're talking to the [U.S.] government and hoping they'll help us, but we're not counting on it."

— Reuters contributed to this report.

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2019-05-30 14:56:56Z
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