The World Next Week: North Korea’s Satellite Launch, the Summit of the Americas, and the IMF and World Bank Meetings

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed North Korea’s satellite launch; the Summit of the Americas in Colombia; and the International Monetary Fund’s and World Bank’s spring meetings.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/editorial/2012/20120411_T…]

The highlights:

Here are some suggestions for further reading on:

North Korea’s Satellite Launch. North Korea wants to go ahead with the launch despite criticism from the United States. North Korea may be doing this to garner some attention. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expects “additional provocations” after the satellite launch takes place. Three theories are offered for why North Korea is willing to launch the satellite. South Korea’s parliamentary elections on Wednesday have implications for the country’s relationship with North Korea.

The Summit of the Americas. The official website of the summit is available. President Obama faces “skepticism and disappointment” from Latin American leaders at the summit. Colombia is making sure security is tight for the gathering. Is Cartagena, the summit’s host city, a “Davos-by-the-Caribbean?” Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez will be in attendance. The summit may become a “turning point in the war on drugs.” The last summit, which took place in 2009, was “productive” according to President Obama.

The IMF and World Bank’s Spring Meetings. The IMF provided a schedule for its meetings. World Bank presidential candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala listed eleven frustrating issues of the institution. Another World Bank presidential candidate, Jose Antonio Ocampo, says the institution’s leadership race is a “test for industrial nations.” IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says “emerging market nations will get more power in the IMF.”