SUMMIT DIPLOMACY RESUMES: In less than 24 hours, South Korean President Moon Jae-in will fly from Seoul to Pyongyang for his third face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Moon is banking that better relations between the two Koreas will lower tensions and help set the stage for serious discussions between the U.S. and North Korea on denuclearization. The two leaders are scheduled to have talks Tuesday and Wednesday before Moon returns to Seoul Thursday.

HAPPENING TODAY, AFA CONFERENCE: It is the opening day of the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference at National Harbor. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson is set to deliver her address “The Air Force We Need” at 10:30 a.m. The conference continues through Wednesday with other appearances by Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, and others.

DEFENSE BILL VOTE: The Senate is expected to take a final vote this week on the Pentagon’s $674 billion annual funding bill. The House must also pass the appropriations legislation next week when it comes back before it can be sent to Trump and head off another stopgap Pentagon budget at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The F-35 joint strike fighter and the Navy’s littoral combat ship programs are set to get boosts. The bill also nixed an earlier proposal to force the Air Force into a $623 million capitalization of its Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, or JSTARS.

“For nine years, Congress has failed in its basic duty to fund the troops on time and give them the certainty they need. That decade of continuing resolutions and thoughtless cuts has sapped our strength and emboldened our enemies. This agreement breaks that cycle, shows Congress doing its job, and keeps faith with the men and women in uniform,” Rep. Mac Thornberry, the House Armed Services chairman, said in a statement.

HOLD ON F-35s CONTINUES: The defense bill underscores Congress’ disapproval of Turkey’s imprisoning U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson by continuing a temporary ban on transfers of F-35 joint strike fighters to the NATO ally. It backs a prohibition originally signed last month by Trump in the National Defense Authorization Act that freezes deliveries until Mattis gives lawmakers a report on U.S.-Turkey relations. The 90-day deadline on the report is in November.

TURKEY’S S-400: Brunson is being detained on terrorism charges that members of Congress call bogus, further straining deteriorating relations between Ankara and Washington. But lawmakers are also upset about Turkey’s purchase of an S-400 anti-missile system from Russia. Sen. Chris Van Hollen criticized the defense bill’s “fuzzy language” that strips a provision making deliveries of F-35s a condition of Ankara giving up the system, which would not be compatible with NATO.

“While President Trump has taken action to attempt to gain the release of Americans unjustly imprisoned by the Turkish government, he has not told President Erdogan that Turkey’s purchase of Russian defense systems will undermine NATO’s security. That is why Congress must not equivocate on this issue,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

NATO IN THE MIDDLE: On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that while “decisions on acquisition of military capabilities is a national decision,” it is important that NATO members buy weapons systems that are compatible with those used by the alliance. In remarks at the Heritage Foundation, Stoltenberg expressed concern about the growing rift between U.S. and Turkey. “I have discussed this many times in Ankara, also discussed it in Washington, and I hope that it’s possible to find a solution, because what we see now is a challenge for all of us,” he said during a q-and-a session.

“Turkey is a very important ally for NATO for many reasons, but not least because of its geographic location,” Stoltenberg said. “If you look at the map you see how big Turkey is, but also how Turkey is bordering Iraq, Syria, and you will understand why Turkey has been so important in the fight against ISIS/Daesh. Infrastructure bases, air bases have been extremely important in the success we have had in degrading and fighting ISIS.”

NO McCAIN NATO HQ: A minor campaign was underway to lobby NATO to name its new billion-dollar Brussels headquarters after the late Sen. John McCain. Despite a resolution in favor of the naming that is supported by two dozen members of Congress, Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance would find another way to honor the senator for being a staunch NATO advocate.

“NATO doesn’t have a tradition of naming buildings after politicians. You know, we are 29 allies with a lot of presidents, kings, heads of state and government, so we haven’t introduced that tradition,” Stoltenberg said. “I’m certain that we will be able to honor John McCain, but not necessarily through naming a building. And actually, we honor John McCain every day through the fact that we stand together in NATO and deliver a strong trans-Atlantic deterrence and defense.”

POMPEO CASTIGATES KERRY: Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s revelation that he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif three or four times since leaving office has drawn a sharp rebuke from his successor.

“What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented. This is a former secretary of state engaged with the world’s largest state sponsor of terror,” Pompeo said in an appearance in the State Department briefing room. “He was talking to them. He was telling them to wait out this administration. You can’t find precedent for this in U.S. history and Secretary Kerry ought not engage in that kind of behavior. It’s inconsistent with what foreign policy of the United States is, as directed by this president and it is beyond inappropriate for him to be engaged.”

Trump weighed in on Twitter calling Kerry’s meetings with “the very hostile” Iranian regime “illegal,” and saying they “only serve to undercut our great work.”

“He told them to wait out the Trump Administration! Was he registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act? BAD!” Trump wrote.

Kerry, who insists it’s not uncommon for former secretaries of state to continue to talk to world leaders, answered on Twitter later in the day. “Mr. President, you should be more worried about Paul Manafort meeting with Robert Mueller than me meeting with Iran’s FM. But if you want to learn something about the nuclear agreement that made the world safer, buy my new book, Every Day Is Extra,” Kerry said, referring to his just-published memoir.

THE WILMINGTON AIRLIFT: The city of Wilmington, N.C., has been cut off from the rest of the state by floodwaters from Florence, prompting a massive effort to airlift food and water to the city’s nearly 120,000 residents.

The military remains in a supporting role, with more than 13,000 active-duty, guard and reserve troops deployed to the disaster zone, along with more than 100 helicopters and 3,000 Army High Water Vehicles.

Although Florence has been downgraded to a tropical depression, it has still been dumping water over six states, and North and South Carolina are getting the worst of it. “It’s turning into a flood event,” said FEMA Administrator Brock Long on CBS. “People fail to heed warnings and get out, or they get into the floodwaters trying to escape their home, and that’s where you start to see death escalate. So, even though hurricanes are categorized by wind, it’s the water that really causes the most loss of life.”

More than 1,000 people have had to be rescued from rising waters, including 230 in eastern North Carolina alone, according to the National Guard. Among the rescued are more than 75 pets.

THE RUNDOWN

Defense News: Modernization or death: Heed history’s lessons on the F-35

Politico: Russia’s military dalliance with China

Task and Purpose: Marines, Coast Guard Rescue Dozens Of Civilians From Hurricane Florence Devastation

Bloomberg: Lockheed Wins GPS Satellite Contract Worth Up to $7.2 Billion

Breaking Defense: Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

Air Force Times: T-6 hypoxia problem solved, Air Force announces

BuzzFeed: A Coast Guard Member Was Removed From Hurricane Duty For Making An “Offensive” Hand Gesture On TV

Air Force Times: Air Force chief: Light attack is about more than hardware, it’s a boon for intelligence networks

Defense One: On the Campaign Trail for NATO, With Secretary General Stoltenberg

USNI News: Navy Pauses Operations of MQ-4C Triton Squadron After Crash-Landing This Week

Defense News: US, Russia Remain At ‘Impasse’ Over Open Skies Treaty Flights