1. a) What announcement did President Trump make on Thursday while meeting with the president of South Korea and Prime Minister of Japan during UN week? Be specific.
b) Why is this good news?

2. a) What are sanctions?
b) What new U.S. sanctions did President Trump implement in an executive order prior to the move by China’s bank?
c) What did President Trump say would be the result of his executive order?

3. a) What other industries will the Treasury Department target with sanctions, according to President Trump?
b) What is the goal of the new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration?

4. a) What did US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin say about banks doing business with North Korea?
b) What is the objective of these sanctions, according to Secretary Mnuchin?

5. In 1994, then-President Bill Clinton made a nuclear deal with North Korea. (Watch the video under “Resources” below.) President Clinton said it was a good deal that would prevent North Korea from obtaining nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, it did not work out as hoped. Through the two terms of President George W. Bush and then two terms of President Barack Obama the U.S. tried negotiating with North Korea through various types of diplomacy, agreements and sanctions. Yet North Korea’s nuclear program progressed.

Watch President Trump’s statements to the UN about North Korea under "Resources" below. He talks in a much more direct manner than previous presidents and has succeeded in getting China to order their banks to stop doing business with North Korea.
a) Do you think President Trump will succeed in stopping North Korea before they are able to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. or our allies? Explain your answer.
b) Ask a parent or a grandparent the same question. (Remember, they have lived through this recent history and will be able to offer you a perspective you don’t have.) Discuss your answers.

6. In February 2016, CNN reported: “According to multiple experts, North Korea has at least a dozen and perhaps as many as 100 nuclear weapons, though at present it lacks sophisticated delivery mechanisms.” In a September 2016 Reuters article, 'Maniacal recklessness', the reporters characterize the U.S., South Korea, Japan, the UN… as “powerless to contain” North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. They quote a Japanese professor as saying the sanctions aimed to put pressure on North Korea “have reached their limits.” Ask a parent:
Do you think the U.S. and the UN are powerless to contain North Korea’s nuclear program? Can the Trump administration succeed where previous presidents have failed - or is he naive and should just either leave it up to the UN or resign the world to the prospect of a nuclear North Korea? Please explain your answers.