Japan Pulls Plug on Experimental Nuclear Reactor
Deutsche Welle
Japan has decided to pull the plug on its so-called "dream reactor" that was designed to burn a plutonium-uranium mixture, while producing more plutonium in the process, which, it was hoped, could be converted into more nuclear fuel. But the Monju nuclear plant cost 20 billion yen ($170 million, 163 million euros) per year, and over its 22-year lifetime, it operated just 250 days. And its operating costs were about to go up. The reactor would have required costly upgrades to meet new safety standards that were implemented after the meltdown at Japan's Fukushima reactor in 2011.
Russia Missing from Trump’s Top Defense Priorities, According to DoD Memo
John Hudson, Paul McLeary, Dan de Luce | Foreign Policy
Pentagon memo outlining the incoming Trump administration’s top “defense priorities” identifies defeating the Islamic State, eliminating budget caps, developing a new cybersecurity strategy, and finding greater efficiencies as the president-elect’s primary concerns. But the memo, obtained by Foreign Policy, does not include any mention of Russia, which has been identified by senior military officials as the No. 1 threat to the United States. “People there now would be pretty concerned to see Russia not on the list,” said Evelyn Farkas, a former senior Pentagon official who worked on Russia policy before leaving in 2015.
Diplomats: UN Has Warned Iran About Enrichment Cap
George Jahn | ABC News
The head of the U.N. nuclear agency said Monday that Iran is complying with obligations limiting uranium enrichment, but two diplomats say the agency has warned Tehran that unless it slows the process it could soon bust through its cap on material that could be used to make a bomb. A nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers stipulates that Iran can possess only low-enriched uranium — which is not suitable for weapons — and no more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) at any time. That's far less than would be needed to make a nuclear weapon, even if it were further enriched to weapons-grade levels.
Acting President Hwang Says THAAD Should Be Deployed Quickly
Yonhap News
Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Wednesday that an advanced U.S. anti-missile system has to be deployed to South Korea as soon as possible to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats. Hwang made the remarks amid calls from opposition parties to delay the planned deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the Korean Peninsula given the lack of public consensus and China's vehement opposition to it. Seoul hopes to install a THAAD battery in the southern county of Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by May next year.
S. Korea, U.S. Agree to Regularly Deploy Strategic Military Assets to Korean Peninsula
Yonhap News
The United States will regularly deploy its strategic military assets to South Korea to better defend the Northeast Asian ally from North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Seoul and Washington said Wednesday following joint defense cooperation talks. The commitment was reaffirmed at the inaugural meeting of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) in Washington on Tuesday (U.S. time). In a bid to step up deterrence against Pyongyang, the allies launched the dialogue process dedicated to exploring extended measures during the meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers in Washington in October.
Institutional Resilience, Deterrence and the Transition to Zero Nuclear Weapons
Ulrich Kühn | Security and Human Rights
The goal of a world free from nuclear weapons is directly related to the issues of international institutions and deterrence. Assuming that it would be possible, first, to move to significantly lower numbers of nuclear weapons and then to zero nuclear weapons, governing institutions would have to be resilient enough to respond in a timely manner and to uphold the bargain. But what factors determine and influence institutional resilience? And what would be the likely role of deterrence?