North Korea Unveils First Tactical, Nuclear-Armed Submarine
Josh Smith and Soo-Hyang Choi | Reuters
North Korea has launched its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday…Analysts said the vessel appears to be a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine, which North Korea acquired from China in the 1970s and began producing domestically. Its design, with 10 launch tube hatches, showed it was most likely armed with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, analysts said. But such weapons won't add much value to the North's more robust land-based nuclear forces, because the aging submarines used as the core of the new design are relatively noisy, slow and have limited range, meaning they may not survive as long during a war, said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project in Washington.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Arrives in Russia Before an Expected Meeting with Putin
KIM TONG-HYUNG | Associated Press
Joined by his top military officials handling his nuclear-capable weapons and munitions factories, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia on Tuesday, where he is expected to hold a rare meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. North Korea has possibly tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could potentially give a huge boost to the Russian army, analysts say. In exchange, Kim could seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, including those related to intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines and military reconnaissance satellites, analysts say. There are concerns that potential Russian technology transfers would increase the threat posed by Kim’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles that are designed to target the U.S., South Korea, and Japan
UN Atomic Watchdog Warns of Threat to Nuclear Safety as Fighting Spikes Near a Plant in Ukraine
SAMYA KULLAB | Associated Press
The United Nations atomic watchdog warned of a potential threat to nuclear safety from a spike in fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, whose forces continued pressing their counteroffensive on Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts deployed at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week, in a possible indication of increased military activity in the region. There was no damage to the plant.
Saudi Nuclear Ambitions Worry Israeli Defense Officials, but Netanyahu’s Happy to Look the Other Way
Yossi Melman | Haaretz
But it seems Netanyahu is so determined to get a deal with Riyadh and snag a substantial diplomatic accomplishment that he’s prepared to refrain from criticizing this part of the deal. In recent remarks by Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Dermer, the two downplayed the gravity of the potential threat. Defense Minister Gallant hasn’t spoken out on the subject of a Saudi nuclear program, but he’s undoubtedly more attentive to the opinion of the heads of the defense establishment than Netanyahu and Dermer are
U.N. Nuclear Agency Reports with "Regret" No Progress in Monitoring Iran's Growing Enrichment Program
PAMELA FALK | CBS News
“No progress." That's the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency's latest assessment of international efforts to monitor and verify Iran's nuclear program. The global body's work, stemming from the now-defunct 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), related to "verification and monitoring has been seriously affected by Iran's decision to stop implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA" one of the two reports dated September 4 said. The still-unpublished quarterly reports, obtained by CBS News, on Iran's nuclear advancement said the "situation was exacerbated by Iran's subsequent decision to remove all of the Agency's JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment."
Weapons, Prestige, and Sticking It to the West: Why Putin and Kim Jong Un Are Meeting
Robbie Gramer and Amy Mackinnon | Foreign Policy
While Russia has always been uneasy with the prospect of a nuclear North Korea, its setbacks in Ukraine have forced the country to rethink its priorities, experts said. Russia is seeking to completely reorient its foreign policy away from the West, a significant shift from Putin’s initial foreign-policy outlook when he took power over two decades ago. Expanding ties with China, countries in the so-called global south, and even isolated Western rivals such as North Korea fits into this broad strategy. “Putin has been trying to develop a post-Western Russian foreign policy. This is a very serious enterprise for Moscow and one that North Korea could be a part of in new ways,” Kimmage said.