February 12, Tuesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

  1. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan has lodged a strong protest with South Korea over remarks made by its National Assembly speaker on the issue of those referred to as comfort women.
  2. Vietnam’s foreign minister will visit North Korea ahead of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for later this month in Hanoi.
  3. U.S. President Donald Trump has blasted Iran for what he called “40 years of failure” on the anniversary of its1979 Islamic revolution.