How to Reduce Nuclear Risks Between the United States and North Korea
Ankit Panda | USIP
Since the collapse of the unprecedented leader-level diplomatic process between the United States and North Korea in 2019, relations between the two sides have been at a standstill. In 2021, as the Biden administration entered office, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set into motion a wide-ranging plan for the modernization of his nuclear forces. This modernization has helped render his nuclear deterrent more credible while accentuating the risks of nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula. It has further cemented North Korea’s lack of intent to relinquish its nuclear weapons, which it views as the essential cornerstone of its national defense strategy. In the absence of North Korean nuclear disarmament in the near future, the United States and South Korea should seek a new approach that seeks to manage and reduce nuclear risks through forward-leaning, practical measures.
The Head of UN’s Nuclear Watchdog Warns Iran is ‘Not Entirely Transparent’ on its Atomic Program
JON GAMBRELL | Associated Press
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned Tuesday that Iran is “not entirely transparent” regarding its atomic program, particularly after an official who once led Tehran’s program announced the Islamic Republic has all the pieces for a weapon “in our hands.” Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, just across the Persian Gulf, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, alluded to remarks made this weekend by Ali Akbar Salehi…. Iran is “presenting a face which is not entirely transparent when it comes to its nuclear activities. Of course this increases dangers,” Grossi said. “There’s loose talk about nuclear weapons more and more, including in Iran recently. A very high official said, in fact, we have everything, it’s disassembled. Well, please let me know what you have.”…Grossi did not identify the Iranian official who made the comment. However, in an Iranian state television show late Sunday, Salehi said that the country had all it needed to build a weapon. “We have all the (pieces) of nuclear science and technology. Let me give an example,” Salehi said. “What does a car need? It needs a chassis, it needs an engine, it needs a steering wheel, it needs a gearbox. Have you made a gearbox? I say yes. An engine? But each one is for its own purpose.”
Seoul 'Open-Minded' about Japan's Participation in Korea-U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Dialogue: Ex-Seoul Official
Song Sang-ho | Yonhap News Agency
South Korea is "open-minded" about the idea of Japan participating in a currently bilateral nuclear deterrence dialogue between Seoul and Washington, a former South Korean national security advisor said Monday. Kim Sung-han, who served as President Yoon Suk Yeol's top security advisor from 2022-2023, made the remarks, noting that while in office, he had discussions with his counterpart over the idea of Japan's participation in the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG).
Russia May be Trying to Build 10,000 Attack Drones a Year for Use in Ukraine
Sam Skove | DefenseOne
Russia may be trying to build 10,000 attack drones a year for use in Ukraine - Plans for massive domestic production of the 200-kg, 2,500-km Iranian-designed suicide drones—and the high price Moscow is paying for them—are just two of the purported revelations of files that an Iranian hacking group says it stole from a company controlled by Tehran’s leading paramilitary arm. On Feb. 4, the Prana hacking group released thousands of emails and multiple documents that it claimed to have purloined from Sahara Thunder, which it calls a front company for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Defense One could not confirm the authenticity of the documents.
US Ban on Russian Uranium Would Boost Western Industry, says Urenco
Jamie Smyth | Financial Times
The head of the largest western supplier of enriched uranium used to fuel nuclear plants in the US says it has enough capacity to replace Russian supplies if Washington bans imports from the country.Boris Schucht, chief executive of Urenco, said a US bill proposing to ban uranium imports from Russia would boost a multibillion-dollar effort by western nations to strengthen their nuclear supply chains by providing long-term certainty to market participants.
Turkey Arrests Russian at Nuclear Plant in Islamic State Probe, Sources say
Reuters
Turkish counter-terrorism police investigating the militant group Islamic State have detained a Russian citizen working at a nuclear power plant under construction on Turkey's southern coast, security sources said on Tuesday. The suspect was caught working under a fake identity at the $20-billion Akkuyu nuclear plant, which is being built by Russian conglomerate Rosatom in the Mediterranean province of Mersin, the sources added.