The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 18th, 2024: North Korea's Ballistic Provocations & Hezbollah Terrorist Nabbed By US Border Agents

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     Kim Jong Un is once again inflaming tensions on the Korean peninsula, conducting multiple ballistic missile tests as world leaders convene in South Korea for a summit. In the latest example of the dangers posed by our porous U.S. border, federal agents say they have captured a purported member of Hezbollah who told officials he was planning to make a bomb inside the United States. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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You talking to me? Kayak, got that right. This podcast is sponsored by Blackout Coffee. Start your day off with a delicious cup of American-made Blackout Coffee. It's family-owned, premium coffee, fresh-roasted and get this, shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to Blackout Coffee.com promo code PDB for 20% off your first purchase. It's Monday, 18 March. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin.

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, North Korea's Kim Jong-un is once again inflaming tensions on the Korean Peninsula, conducting multiple ballistic missile tests as world leaders convene in South Korea for a summit. Seems like a perfect time to be firing off some ballistic missiles. Also, in the latest example of the dangers posed by the porous U.S. border, federal agents say they've captured an alleged member of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, who told officials he was planning to make a bomb.

inside the United States. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Kim Jong-un is once again engaging in provocations on the Korean Peninsula as the regime continues to ratchet up tensions with their neighbors in the South. Now, to be fair, ratcheting uptensions is Kim's middle name. It's his signature move, is raison d'etre. Everybody needs a hobby, and Kim's just happens to be ratcheting up tensions. Officials with the South Korean military said on Monday that for the first time in two months, North Korea test fired a number of short-range ballistic missiles, launching them into the sea off their east coast. The demonstration came as senior officials from several nations, including U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, traveled to Seoul,

South Korea for the summit for a democracy conference. Condemnations were swift, of course, from the international community, with the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, calling the tests a, quote, clear provocation that violates multiple U.N. security Council resolutions. But as listeners of the PDB will have learned by now, there's not a single UN Security Council resolution that Kim isn't willing to violate. Officials in Japan said they detected a total of three missile launches during the North's demonstration. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, quote, North Korea's series of actions threatened the peace and security of our region and the international community and are absolutely unacceptable, end quote.

Now, Kim Jong-un has turned flouting UN Security Council resolutions into, well, something of a sport, whether it's through weapons technology transfers or ICBM test launches. The latest action was at least the seventh missile launch by North Korea this year, which includes their testing of a solid fuel intermediate range missile on January 14th, which was outfitted with a hypersonic warhead. South Green officials have also been warning that the Kim regime is preparing to test fire a more power. intercontinental ballistic missile within the month. North Korea has been aggressively escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula ever since launching a spy satellite last November aboard an ICBM. Since then, we've seen the collapse of a 2018 inter-Korean pact, renewed military activity along the DMZ, and several provocative ballistic and cruise missile launches by the Kim regime. In January, North Korea effectively cut off diplomatic ties with South Korea and ended their decades-long commitment to reunification.

Kim Jong-un also continues to use aggressive rhetoric, threatening to annihilate South Korea with nuclear weapons if provoked, which, I believe, as statements go, does qualify as aggressive rhetoric. Monday's launch came amid reports that North Korea has been testing a new type of short-range missile in recent weeks that intel officials think are meant for Russia to use in Ukraine. As we've discussed previously, Russia is increasingly relying on weapons from the North Korean regime to sustain their military operations in Ukraine. South Korea says their latest intelligence indicates that the Kim regime has thus far sent some 7,000 containers carrying more than 1.5 million rounds of ammunition to aid the Putin regime.

That's, in addition to the ballistic missiles North Korea has been passing to Russia. In response to North Korea's ongoing belligerents, the U.S. has stepped up military drills with South Korea. On Thursday, the militaries of South Korea and the U.S. concluded a 10-day large-scale joint military drill. South Korea also ran drills on Sunday involving Marines, attack helicopters, and amphibious assault vehicles to simulate reinforcing western islands near their sea border with North Korea. in the event of a conflict. Now, despite this show of force by the U.S. and South Korea,

it is very likely that Kim Jong-un will continue to test the patience and resolve of the international community with more missile launches and military provocations, particularly due to the technical support that the regime is receiving from Russia. With Russia's continued technical assistance, North Korea reportedly plans to launch another reconnaissance satellite into orbit, potentially by the end of this month. Coming up after the break, federal border agents say they've captured a purported member of Hezbollah who told officials he was planning to make a bomb inside the United States. I'll be right back. Olivia Rodriguez, the unraveled cross North America with special guests. Get tickets Thursday, May 7th at Olivia Rodriguez.com.

Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. I wanted to bring your attention to an alarming story from America's southern border. According to an internal Border Patrol document obtained by the New York Post, U.S. Border Patrol agents captured a Lebanese national at the U.S.-Mexco border who told agents he was a member of Hezbollah and was planning to make a bomb inside the United States. Now, you can just imagine that conversation and how that went. So, young man, what brings you to the U.S.? Agents arrested Basilabad on March 9th while he was crossing the border near El Paso, Texas.

The 22-year-old did not possess any documents upon his entry into the U.S., claiming that they'd been stolen from him during his travels through Costa Rica. He also admitted to using a fake date of birth and name while traveling through Sweden, Ecuador, and Panama this year, before ultimately making his way into the U.S. The documents said that two days after he was arrested, medical staff were evaluating him and asked what he was doing in the U.S., to which he responded, I'm going to try to make a bomb. Oh, well, thank you for that information. He went on to tell agents from the CBP's tactical terrorism response team that he had trained with Hezbollah for seven years and has been an active member of the group for four years, most recently tasked with guarding the Iranian-backed terror group's weapons location. He told agents that his training focused on jihad and killing people who were not Muslim. He was planning on making his way to New York City before traveling across the country. According to the Post, a body remains in U.S. custody, well, that's good, and is marked for deportation.

That's also good, although it's not clear to which country he would be returned. This isn't the first time in recent days that someone on the terror watch list has been apprehended at the border. Back in February, a 40-year-old Colombian man on the Terror Watch List was caught crossing into the Eagle Pass area. In total, Border Patrol was caught at least 60-60 individuals on the Terror Watch List, crossing between ports of entry since October. Last year, CBP acknowledged that they're encountering a growing number of individuals on the FBI's Terror Watch List trying to enter the country via the southern border. According to government data, agents stopped 100.

and 669 people whose names matched those on the watch list in fiscal year 2023, compared with just 98 in 2022 and 15 in 2021. Not to mention that in 2020, the number was only 10. Those are only the known encounters, those individuals who actually made contact with law enforcement on their attempts to cross over. According to conservative estimates, some 2 million known godaways also crossed the border during the course of the past three years or so. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday, 18 March.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And be sure to check out our new premium membership at PDB premium.com. It's your way of getting the president's daily brief, ad-free, along with exclusive member content. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill.

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