Biden Administration Believes It Has Until End of Month to Salvage Iran Nuclear Deal
Kylie Atwood | CNN
The Biden administration believes it has until the end of February to salvage the Iran nuclear agreement, otherwise the US will have to change tack and launch aggressive efforts to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to three administration officials. “This session is the critical one,” a senior administration official said, referring to high level talks that have resumed in Vienna. “We are genuinely in the very final stretch.” “Nothing with Iran is ever a straight line, but we are getting to a decisive moment,” said a second administration official.
Defense Chiefs of S. Korea, U.S., Japan Agree on Close Cooperation Against N.K. Missile Threats
Yonhap News Agency
The defense chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed to closely cooperate in countering North Korea’s evolving missile threats in their phone talks Thursday, Seoul’s defense ministry said. The talks among Defense Minister Suh Wook and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts—Lloyd Austin and Nobuo Kishi—followed a series of the North’s missile tests, including the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on Jan. 30. Under the Joe Biden administration, the U.S. has been stepping up efforts to reinforce trilateral security cooperation with its key Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, as it confronts an assertive China, a muscle-flexing Russia and an intransigent North Korea.
Imagery Shows N.Korea Preparing for Possible Military Parade – Report
Josh Smith | Reuters
Commercial satellite imagery shows possible preparations for a military parade in North Korea, a Washington think-tank said on Thursday, amid expectations that the country could display new military advances or launch more missiles on upcoming holidays. Several hundred personnel were seen in formation at the Mirim Parade Training Ground in Pyongyang, which is designed to be a replica of the city’s Kim Il Sung Square, where parades are usually held, 38 North, which monitors North Korea, said in a report. More than 240 buses were parked nearby, but there were no signs of major military hardware, such as North Korea’s ballistic missiles, the report said.
Six B-21s in Production, Fuel Control Software Already Tested
Greg Hadley | Air Force Magazine
The B-21 Raider continues to be a “model” program for the Air Force, with six of the new bombers currently in production and some of its software already validated through digital testing, a top general at Air Force Global Strike Command said Feb. 9. Speaking at the 2022 Nuclear Deterrence Summit, Maj. Gen. Jason R. Armagost said the new stealth bomber will likely fly in 2022, echoing previous predictions by other Air Force officials.
80 Pits by 2030 Won’t Happen, NNSA Boss Reaffirms. But ‘Acceleration’ Is in the Works.
Colin Demarest | Aiken Standard
The leader of the National Nuclear Security Administration this week reasserted that a legal requirement to produce dozens of nuclear weapon cores by 2030 is not achievable, but suggested tactics designed to close the gap are being implemented. “We have said that we cannot meet the 80 pits per year goal by 2030,” Administrator Jill Hruby said Monday, during the first day of the Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Arlington, “and we will work closely with the Department of Defense to develop stockpile strategies that reflect this reality.” Hruby further said the National Nuclear Security Administration – the weapons-and-nonproliferation arm of the Department of Energy – has “developed acceleration strategies” to ensure the 80-pit quota is achieved “as close to 2030 as possible,” according to a copy of her remarks.
Robot Photos Appear to Show Melted Fuel at Fukushima Reactor
Mari Yamaguchi | Associated Press
A remote-controlled robot has captured images of what appears to be mounds of nuclear fuel that melted and fell to the bottom of the most damaged reactor at Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, officials said Thursday. A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 damaged cooling systems at the power plant, causing the meltdown of three reactor cores. Most of their highly radioactive fuel fell to the bottom of their containment vessels, making its removal extremely difficult. A previous attempt to send a small robot with cameras into the Unit 1 reactor failed, but images captured this week by a ROV-A robot show broken structures, pipes and mounds of what appears to be melted fuel and other debris submerged in cooling water, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said Thursday.