U.S. and South Korea Agree to Cooperate on Nuclear Weapons

The United States will give South Korea a central role for the first time in strategic planning for the use of nuclear weapons in any conflict with North Korea, in return for an agreement that Seoul will not pursue its own nuclear weapons arsenal, as the NYT reports.

Xi Calls Zelensky

Chinese leader Xi Jinping called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, their first conversation since the Russian invasion more than a year ago, as Beijing attempts to portray itself as a potential peacemaker in the conflict, as the WSJ reports.

Sudan in Crisis

Residents of Sudan’s besieged capital, Khartoum, said Wednesday that they are facing mounting hunger, sickness and continued airstrikes, despite a declared cease-fire between the country’s two most powerful generals, who began fighting 12 days ago, as The Washington Post reports.

Executive Education

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Video Shorts

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In That Number

40

President Joe Biden and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled a new plan Wednesday to counter North Korea’s nuclear threat. The new nuclear deterrence effort calls for periodically docking U.S. nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years.

Source: AP

Critical Quote

“The fundamental thrust of the Washington Declaration is to set forth a series of concrete ways in which the United States is reinforcing and enhancing its extended deterrence commitment to the Republic of Korea...And the Republic of Korea is reaffirming its enduring commitment to its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.”

—Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser

iDeas Lab

Earlier this month, the CSIS International Security Program hosted the 2023 Global Security Forum, focusing on issues such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, challenges in European defense, and opportunities for transatlantic defense cooperation. Watch the ReCap here.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.) U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shake hands during a joint press conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington, DC.

This Town Tomorrow

At 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Renewing American Innovation celebrates World Intellectual Property Day 2023 and hosts a conversation on this year's theme, “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity.”

Earlier, at 9:00 a.m., the Wilson Center examines how the U.S.-Pakistan relationship can and should be realistically crafted.

Later, at 2:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council discusses how the U.S. can work with its allies to achieve common security, commercial, and exploration objectives in outer space.

Video

Last week, the CSIS China Power Project hosted a discussion on China’s recent military exercises near Taiwan and how they compare to the exercises launched after then-Speaker Pelosi’s visit in August 2022. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

CSIS's Andrew Schwartz and Cameron Hudson discuss the outbreak of civil violence in Sudan and its causes.

Listen on S potify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

As I mentioned yesterday, Eric Clapton said, "Delaney [Bramlett] taught me everything I know about singing." Here’s a great example.

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The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Claire Smrt.