After warnings yesterday, and on the heels of a "very good call" with President Trump, China has escalated its threats to North Korea over its nuclear tests. In another Global Times op-ed, China warns "if the North makes another provocative move this month, the Chinese society will be willing to adopt severe restrictive measures that have never been seen before..."
As tensions over North Korea's nuclear program mount, the United States Air Force has deployed a WC-135 (a.k.a. the "Nuclear Sniffer"), an aircraft that specializes in detecting radioactive debris after the detonation of a nuclear device, to Okinawa, Japan to assist with monitoring for potential nuclear tests in the region. The aircraft was deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, as confirmed by the Nikkei media outlet reported based on talks with a senior Japan Self Defense Forces official.
With the Carl Vinson carrier group steaming toward the Korean Penninsula (it is expected to arrive some time over the weekend), in an unexpected overnight development less than a week after his first meeting with China's president, Donald Trump called President Xi on the phone to discuss trade and the developing North Korean situation. According to China's state television, Xi stuck with his objective of "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, and called for a peaceful resolution of rising tension.
S&P futures are unchanged and Asian stocks closed mixed, however European stocks rebounded for first time this week, led by auto stocks after Daimler’s quarterly profit, as a break in alarming political news prompted traders to "swoop" - as Reuters puts it - on equities, cooling a safe-haven rally that saw the yen and gold at five-month highs and global government bond yields to drop their lowest this year.
Via Disobedient Media