On August 14, 2013, officals from North Korea and from South Korea met to discuss the reopening of Gaeseong (or Kaesŏng) Industrial Complex, which employed workers from both countries.

Secretary of State John Kerry gave these remarks on August 26, 2013, regarding U.S. response to evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released two statements on August 21, 2013, after reports of chemical weapons being used in Syria. Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval of Argentina, UN Security Council President for August, spoke at the same press conference.

President Barack Obama gave this statement on August 15, 2013, regarding the violent clashes in Egypt between protestors that support Mohammed Morsi and the security forces that replaced him.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu met in Washington, D.C. on August 9, 2013, to discuss trade, nuclear threat reduction, and strategies to address crises in Syria and Egypt.

President Barack Obama held a press conference on August 9, 2013, to discuss oversight and transparency of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs.

The NSA released this document on August 9, 2013, after Edward Snowden leaked classified documents related to the U.S. government's telephone and internet data collection and surveillance programs. This document details the history and mission of the NSA, the authority and process under which it operates, and the estimated size of its data operations.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released this report on August 6, 2013, which showed that between June 2012 and June 2013, "exports were up $6.0 billion, or 3.2 percent, and imports were down $2.3 billion, or 1.0 percent." The International Trade Administration's corresponding fact sheet highlights data on trade relationships with Trans-Pacific Partnership countries for the same time period.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper authorized the declassification and public release of documents submitetd by the National Security Agency to Congress, requesting reauthorization to collect telephone metadata, as permitted in Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act.

The Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) prepared this mid-year report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Afghanistan, which covers the period of January 1 to June 30, 2013, and is mandated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2096 (2013), which "recognizes the importance of ongoing monitoring and reporting to the United Nations Security Council on the situation of civilians in Afghanistan's armed conflict and in particular on civilian casualties."

On July 30, 2013, Judge Denise Lind, an army colonel, ruled in the United States v. Private First Class Bradley Manning trial that Manning is not guilty of aiding the enemy, but guilty on other counts of violating the espionage act. Manning released secret diplomatic cables and classified military reports from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to Wikileaks.

On July 31, 2013, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel provides an overview of the Department of Defense's Strategic Choices Management Review, which analyzed how the department will operate and what it must cut after sequestration.

President Barack Obama gives a series of speeches on his vision for the economy, which he calls "A Better Bargain for the Middle Class."

Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, requested that General Martin Dempsey provide an "unclassified assessment of options for the potential use of U.S. military force in the Syrian conflict" and General Dempsey responded on July 19, 2013.

New York Times Chief Washington Correspondant David Sanger interviewed Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, on July 18, 2013. They discussed military strategy transitioning from two wars, cybersecurity forces, sequestration, nuclear weapons, and intelligence leaks.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence General Counsel Robert Litt delivered remarks titled, "Privacy, Technology, and National Security: An Overview of Intelligence Collection," at the Brookings Institution on July 18, 2013.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke at George Washington University's Center for American Progress on July 18, 2013, to discuss the Obama administration's continued "elevated engagement in the Asia-Pacific," which is also often referred to as the U.S. pivot, or rebalance, to Asia.

The UN Security Council's Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea submitted this report on July 12, 2013, pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea and in accordance with paragraph 13 (m) of Security Council resolution 2060 (2012). These resolutions address how the UN Security Council will monitor peace and security efforts in the region and report on violations such as trading arms and charcoal or funding terrorist organizations.

On July 10, 2013, President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the Council of Economic Advisers released a report on the "range of benefits to the U.S. economy that would be realized from passage of commonsense immigration reform, and the high costs of inaction."