Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms 
Trump Allegedly Sought Airport, Penn Station Renaming in Exchange for Hudson River Tunnel Funding 
Netanyahu to Meet Trump in Washington as Iran Nuclear Talks Intensify 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Jack Lang Resigns as Head of Arab World Institute Amid Epstein Controversy 
U.S. Announces Additional $6 Million in Humanitarian Aid to Cuba Amid Oil Sanctions and Fuel Shortages 
TrumpRx Website Launches to Offer Discounted Prescription Drugs for Cash-Paying Americans 
Trump Signs “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” to Prioritize U.S. Weapons Sales 
Nighttime Shelling Causes Serious Damage in Russia’s Belgorod Region Near Ukraine Border 
TrumpRx.gov Highlights GLP-1 Drug Discounts but Offers Limited Savings for Most Americans 
Pentagon Ends Military Education Programs With Harvard University 
U.S. Lawmakers to Review Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein DOJ Files Starting Monday 
Trump Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected New England Waters 
Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links 
U.S.-India Trade Framework Signals Major Shift in Tariffs, Energy, and Supply Chains 
South Korea and the United States agreed to find new ways to be able to show the strength of the alliance. The pledge comes amidst a time when North Korea has been firing multiple missiles and artillery shells in a sign of flared tensions in the peninsula.
South Korean defense minister Lee Jong-sup visited Washington Thursday to meet with US defense secretary Lloyd Austin, and a joint statement shared after the meeting said both agreed to find new measures to show the alliance’s strength amidst Pyongyang’s provocations. Austin said that they agreed on extending their joint military air drills, also known as Vigilant Storm, which has also drawn the ire of North Korea.
“I’ve consulted with Minister Lee and we’ve decided to extend Vigilant Storm, which is our long-scheduled, combined training exercise to further bolster our readiness interoperability. We’ll continue to work closely together to develop options to protect the United States and our allies in the region,” said Austin.
“For nearly seven decades, this alliance has been an anchor of peace and security in the Korean Peninsula and across the broader Indo-Pacific.”
With North Korea on the agenda of their meeting, Austin stressed the “ironclad” commitment of Washington to South Korea. Austin said that the US deterrence included the country’s full range of nuclear and conventional and missile defense capabilities, referring to the fifth-generation fighters and the visit of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier to the peninsula this year.
Regarding Pyongyang, Lee said that they both condemned Pyongyang’s latest missile launch and that the result of the response of the alliance would be the downfall of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime.
The South Korean military previously fired missiles in response to Pyongyang’s launch on Wednesday, saying that three surface-to-air missiles were fired toward the north of its maritime border with North Korea. The response came hours after North Korea fired around 10 of its missiles into the sea, one of which landed less than 60 kilometers off the coast of South Korea.
Wednesday’s launch was the first time a North Korean missile landed in South Korean waters.
