North Korea: Escalation of the threat – Deutsche Bank

Markets are guided by the geopolitical uncertainty following the confirmation that North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile yesterday – the first such missile launch of its kind by North Korea.

Key Quotes

“US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the move a “new escalation of the threat” last night and that “global action is required to stop a global threat”. Tillerson also said that “any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime”.”

“Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi also condemned the move at a meeting in Moscow. The UN Security Council have announced that they will hold an emergency closed session on Wednesday to discuss the latest act while overnight we’ve learned that both the US and South Korea have conducted joint test missile launches of their own. One would have to imagine that this subject will dominate Friday and Saturday’s G20 summit agenda. As a reminder both President Trump and China’s Xi will be attending and it’s not gone unnoticed that tensions between the two leaders has been climbing in past couple of weeks.”