A Freeze for Freeze Redux on the Korean Peninsula
Toby Dalton | Korea on Point
Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula is stalled again. U.S. offers to meet “anytime, anywhere without precondition” have garnered no North Korean response, nor have appeals by the South Korean government to pick up the threads of the moribund inter-Korean peace process. North Korean leaders remain inwardly focused, and in any case, in the judgment of some analysts, “Pyongyang has no interest in answering the calls for engagement from what it perceives as the lame-duck government of South Korean President Moon Jae-in.” Meanwhile, military exercises resumed, followed by a spate of new missile testing by both Koreas. Against this dim backdrop, is there any way to forge a new diplomatic path and, if so, what might an initial deal look like? The chances for near-term progress seem low, yet the evolving conditions demand more novel thinking to break the stasis. One formula worth exploring is a trilateral cessation of missile testing and military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, essentially a “freeze for freeze” redux.
US-Russia Set 2nd Round of Strategic Talks Under Biden Admin
Matthew Lee | Associated Press
The United States and Russia will hold their second round of strategic talks later this week as the two sides attempt to resolve myriad differences ranging from nuclear weapons to cyberspace, the State Department said Monday. The department said the Biden administration’s second-ranking diplomat would lead the U.S. delegation to the talks with Russia in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will head an interagency delegation to the gathering, which follows an initial meeting in July at which little progress was made.
North Korea Tests Missile Hours Before South Korea Launches New Submarine
Yoonjung Seo | CNN
North Korea has fired a projectile presumed to be a short-range missile into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to statements from South Korean officials—just hours before Seoul launched a new submarine. The missile was fired around 6:40 a.m. local time Tuesday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, adding the South Korean military is “maintaining a readiness posture” for potential “additional launches.”
Rebuking Biden, Iran’s Chief Diplomat Demands More Sanctions Relief
David E. Sanger, Michael Crowley, and Rick Gladstone | New York Times
Accusing President Biden of continuing “the thick file of the Trump sanctions against Iran,’’ the new, hard-line Iranian foreign minister said on Friday that in return for agreeing to limits on its nuclear program, his country would demand far more sanctions relief than it received under the 2015 nuclear deal. In two lengthy interviews with journalists during the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, his first as Iran’s top diplomat, Hossain Amirabdollahian said that Iran would return “very soon” to negotiations in Vienna. But Tehran, he said, had received “contradictory messages” from Washington about restoring the agreement jettisoned by Donald J. Trump more than three years ago.
Nuclear Submarine for Japan? Kono Says Yes, Kishida Says No
Yusuke Takeuchi | Nikkei Asia
Following a recent deal by the U.S. and the U.K. to offer Australia classified technology to build nuclear-powered submarines, should fellow Quad member Japan also seek such a capability? The four candidates running for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race to succeed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga were asked the question Sunday on Fuji TV. Poll leader Taro Kono, minister for administrative reform and also in charge of vaccine distribution, gave a thumbs-up. “As a capability, it is very important for Japan to have nuclear submarines,” he said.
Biden Hit With Backlash Over Removal of Pentagon’s Top Nuclear Policy Official
Joe Gould | Defense News
Lawmakers on both sides of nuclear weapons issues want answers after the lead Pentagon official overseeing the Nuclear Posture Review was ousted after nine months on the job and her position eliminated. The Pentagon is saying the departure of Leonor Tomero, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy, was due to a reorganization. However, non-proliferation advocates are questioning whether it was because Tomero was an advocate for nuclear restraint, and worry it could bias the review away from President Joe Biden’s pursuit of arms control.