WMAL Interview - JAMES CARAFANO - 03.27.18

INTERVIEW - JAMES CARAFANO - a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, is The Heritage Foundation's vice president for foreign and defense policy studies @JJCarafano – discussed news that the Trump Administration expelled 60 Russian diplomats in the wake of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in the U.K, news that North Korean dictator visited China, and the appointment of John Bolton to National Security Advisor

•    North Korea leader Kim Jong Un visits China: Bloomberg. BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has visited China, Bloomberg reported on Monday citing three unnamed sources, in what would be his first known overseas trip since taking power in 2011 and ahead of a potential summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Details of his visit including its purpose and itinerary were not yet known, Bloomberg said. Japanese media reported earlier on Monday that a high-ranking Pyongyang official appeared to have arrived by train in Beijing. Kyodo, citing sources close to the matter, said the visit of the official was intended to improve ties between Beijing and Pyongyang that have been frayed by North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and China’s backing of tough sanctions against North Korea at the United Nations Security Council.
•    John Bolton's plan to be Trump's "enforcer" (Axios) -- ohn Bolton knows he's being portrayed as a warmonger as he becomes national security adviser, but he's trying to build internal credibility with a more studied, lower-decibel approach, according to people familiar with his thinking. Bolton's forest of op-eds trumpet his hawkish views. But my sources say that at least at the outset, Bolton plans to rein those in — aiming to be seen more as an honest broker for the war cabinet, and less as blatant advocate. His plan: "When the president makes a decision, obviously the principals on the National Security Council are supposed to carry it out," one source familiar with Bolton's thinking told me. "But it's the job of the national security adviser to be the enforcer and to make sure that it happens."