In Latest Test, North Korea Detonates Its Most Powerful Nuclear Device Yet
Anna Fifield | Washington Post
North Korea sharply raised the stakes Sunday in its standoff with the rest of the world, detonating a powerful nuclear device that it claimed was a hydrogen bomb that could be attached to a missile capable of reaching the mainland United States. Even if Kim Jong Un’s regime is exaggerating its feats, scientific evidence showed that North Korea had crossed an important threshold and had detonated a nuclear device that was vastly more powerful than its last — and almost seven times the size of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
Additional THAAD Deployment Likely Next Week – Report
Choi He-suk | Korea Herald
Deployment of four more Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers may begin as early as next week, local media reported Friday citing unnamed South Korean and U.S. military sources. According to reports, Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense and U.S. Forces Korea are likely to transport four additional THAAD launchers, and materials required for their temporary deployment to the site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next week.
Iran Adhering to Nuclear Deal With World Powers, U.N. Watchdog Says
Erin Cunningham | Washington Post
The U.N. watchdog tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities certified Thursday that the country remains in compliance with a 2015 accord struck with world powers, even as the Trump administration has threatened to withdraw from the deal. In its quarterly report to member states, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium, which is used for peaceful purposes, is in line with the nuclear pact, as is the number of centrifuges used for enrichment.
Seoul Says Not Considering Redeployment of U.S. Nuclear Weapons to S. Korea
Yonhap
South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Friday dismissed the possibility of deploying U.S. nuclear weapons to South Korea to deter North Korea's armed provocations. "We have never thought we should redeploy U.S. nuclear assets," a ranking Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
North Korea Crisis: Russia’s Putin Warns of ‘Global Catastrophe’
F. Brinley Bruton and Alan Kaytukov | NBC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that ramping up the "military hysteria" around North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile tests could lead to a "global catastrophe." He also questioned the effectiveness of tightening sanctions, as the U.S. has suggested, saying that they will not change the behavior of Kim Jong Un and his regime.
Egypt Signs Agreement With Russia to Build First Nuclear Power Plant
Diarmaid Williams | Power Engineering International
Egypt has signed a deal to use Russian investment to develop the country’s first nuclear power plant at Dabaa, on the Mediterranean coast. The Associated Press reports that the agreement was signed on Monday after two years of negotiations. The reports came after Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, where they were attending a summit. The plant will be located about 130 kilometres (80 miles) northwest of Cairo on the Mediterranean coast, according to AP.