European Powers Back U.S. in Blaming Iran for Saudi Oil Attack, Urge Broader Talks
John Irish, Kylie MacLellan | Reuters
Britain, Germany and France backed the United States and blamed Iran on Monday for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, urging Tehran to agree to new talks with world powers on its nuclear and missile programs and regional security issues. The Europeans issued a joint statement after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron met at the United Nations on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders. But Iran ruled out the possibility of negotiating a new deal with powers, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday, saying European partners have failed to fulfill their commitments under a 2015 nuclear pact. In an interview with U.S. network NBC on Monday, Johnson said Trump was “the one guy who can do a better deal. ... I hope there will be a Trump deal.”
Trump and Moon Hold Summit as South Korean Spy Agency Says Nuclear Talks With North Could Resume in Two or Three Weeks
Japan Times
U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart held a summit in New York on Monday to discuss plans to restart U.S.-North Korea talks, as the allies hold discussions in Seoul on sharing the cost of American soldiers stationed in South Korea. Though negotiations with North Korea have stalled since a failed second summit between Trump and its leader Kim Jong Un in February, the North has said it is willing to restart working-level talks in late September. However, no date or location have been set. South Korea’s spy agency, however, said Tuesday that the U.S. and North are expected to resume the working-level talks within two or three weeks, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Moon said he hopes working-level negotiations between the United States and North Korea will be held soon to prepare for a third summit, but Trump said he would want to know what would result from a third summit with Kim before agreeing to hold it. “Right now, people would like to see that happen. I want to know what’s going to be coming out of it. We can know a lot before the summit takes place,” Trump said.
N.K. Leader May Visit S. Korea for Special ASEAN Summit in Nov.: Seoul
Yonhap News Agency
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may visit South Korea for a special ASEAN summit in November, depending on progress in denuclearization talks with the United States, Seoul's spy agency said Tuesday. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave a cautious prediction during its closed-door meeting with lawmakers as the U.S. and North Korea look set to resume their working-level nuclear talks soon. South Korea is considering inviting the North's leader to take part as an observer in the South Korea-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit set for Nov. 25-26 in the southern port city of Busan. "Depending on the progress in denuclearization talks, (Chairman Kim) may visit Busan," lawmakers quoted the NIS as saying. When lawmakers asked about the possibility of an inter-Korean summit, the agency said, “Everything is possible if there is progress in nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea.”
Underground Areas Identified at the Yongbyon Nuclear Facility: Purpose Unknown
38 North
The international community has long suspected that North Korea has uranium enrichment facilities in addition to the one declared at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. Some reports even suggest the presence of underground complexes there allegedly housing such enrichment facilities. Two previously unidentified underground complexes have now been identified at Yongbyon based on the presence of tunnel entrances and visible spoil piles, which have become far less obvious with time. While it is impossible to remotely discern their purposes, their location within Yongbyon’s security perimeter and subsequent camouflaging qualify them as subjects of interest for future inspection teams.
Sens. Warren, Sanders, Markey Call on Defense Leaders to Chill Pit Production Push
Colin Demarest | Aiken Standard
Two Democratic presidential candidates believe there is no reason to produce 80 plutonium pits per year, as is planned, and have urged congressional defense leaders to step back and reconsider related legislation, according to a missive reviewed recently by the Aiken Standard. In a Sept. 13 letter, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts described a significantly bolstered pit production mission as "unnecessary, unachievable and ill-advised," citing an independent analysis that earlier this year cast serious skepticism on the National Nuclear Security Administration's and U.S. Department of Defense's recommended path forward. At least 80 pits per year are needed by 2030, according to the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, a leading Pentagon nuclear policy document. The pits – nuclear weapon cores, often referred to as triggers – will be used to refresh the nation's nuclear stockpile, officials have said. To meet that requirement, the NNSA and the Defense Department last year recommended producing 50 pits per year at the Savannah River Site, south of Aiken and northwest of Charleston, and the remaining 30 per year at Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico.
Nuclear Energy Too Slow, Too Expensive to Save Climate: Report
Marton Dunai, Geert De Clercq | Reuters
Nuclear power is losing ground to renewables in terms of both cost and capacity as its reactors are increasingly seen as less economical and slower to reverse carbon emissions, an industry report said. In mid-2019, new wind and solar generators competed efficiently against even existing nuclear power plants in cost terms, and grew generating capacity faster than any other power type, the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR) showed. “Stabilizing the climate is urgent, nuclear power is slow,” said Mycle Schneider, lead author of the report. “It meets no technical or operational need that low-carbon competitors cannot meet better, cheaper and faster.” The extra time that nuclear plants take to build has major implications for climate goals, as existing fossil-fueled plants continue to emit CO2 while awaiting substitution. “To protect the climate, we must abate the most carbon at the least cost and in the least time,” Schneider said.