LIGNET Update: North Korea Missile Launch, Syria Stalemate, China Trade War
Lignet - The Morning Brief
North Korea: Missile Launch Shows Continued Regime Belligerence
North Korea’s announcement last week that it will use a long-range rocket to place a satellite into orbit surprised some Western observers since it came so soon after Pyongyang’s February 29 agreement to freeze missile testing and some nuclear activity in exchange for 240,000 tons of food aid from the United States. Most Western observers believe this launch is actually a North Korean test of an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear payload as far as the western United States. While the missile launch is consistent with North Korea’s frequent past failures to honor such agreements, it could also reflect internal dynamics as the Kim Jong Un government establishes itself.
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Syria: Violent Stalemate Could Worsen in the Short Term 
The most recent flare-up in violence in Syria combined with President Bashar Assad’s sustained crackdown against the opposition serve as reminders that the Syrian crisis is blazing rather than cooling despite regional and international efforts to halt the violence.
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EU/China: Trade War with China Looming Over Carbon Tax
While over two dozen countries have formally opposed a new EU carbon tax on civilian airliners, Beijing has upped the ante by blocking airliner purchases from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus (EADSY) and forbidding Chinese airlines from signing agreements with the European Union. British Airways (BA) and other European airlines and aerospace firms are warning EU leaders of dire economic consequences if they do not change course on the tax. In this analysis, LIGNET looks at this fracas and its potential implications.
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