Key Issues for U.S.-North Korea Negotiations
Toby Dalton, Ariel (Eli) Levite, and George Perkovich
Why is a phased approach to denuclearization necessary, and what might a notional road map look like? After declaring “the accomplishment of the great, historic cause of perfecting the national nuclear forces,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not simply agree to hand over immediately his nuclear weapons and destroy the nuclear and missile enterprise carefully built over the last several decades. Practically, charting a path to comprehensive denuclearization will require several phases of activity, for the simple reason that neither Washington nor Pyongyang will agree to front-load the process with the most sensitive or expensive concessions.
Iran Tells UN It Will Hike Uranium Enrichment Capacity
AFP
Iran has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has launched a plan to increase its uranium enrichment capacity, nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said Tuesday. “If conditions allow, maybe tomorrow night at Natanz, we can announce the opening of the centre for production of new centrifuges” for uranium enrichment, said Salehi, a vice president and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, according to conservative news agency Fars.
China Expresses Intention to Play Role in Declaring Formal End to Korean War
Yonhap
China on Thursday signaled its intention to actively engage in the process of formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War, as South Korea appears to be pushing for the declaration through a three-way summit with the United States and North Korea. The war ended with an armistice, not with a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. The armistice was signed by the U.S.-led United Nations Command, the North and China in July 1953.
Pentagon Completes Draft Plans for New Low-Yield Sea-Launched Nuclear Weapon
Kris Osborn | Fox News
The Pentagon has completed initial draft plans for several emerging low-yield sea-launched nuclear weapons intended to deter potential attackers and add new precision strike options to those currently possible with the existing arsenal. While final requirements for both a low-yield sea-launched nuclear cruise missile and long-range sub-launched low-yield warhead are still in development, Pentagon officials say the process has taken several substantial new steps forward.
Deep in the Pentagon, a Secret AI Program to Find Hidden Nuclear Missiles
Phil Stewart | Reuters
The U.S. military is increasing spending on a secret research effort to use artificial intelligence to help anticipate the launch of a nuclear-capable missile, as well as track and target mobile launchers in North Korea and elsewhere. The effort has gone largely unreported, and the few publicly available details about it are buried under a layer of near impenetrable jargon in the latest Pentagon budget. But U.S. officials familiar with the research told Reuters there are multiple classified programs now under way to explore how to develop AI-driven systems to better protect the United States against a potential nuclear missile strike.
India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Agni-5
Dinakar Peri | Hindu
Long-range ballistic missile Agni-5 was successfully test fired off Odisha coast on Sunday proving its reliability. This is the sixth successful test of the missile and the second in its pre-induction configuration. “Agni-5 missile was successfully flight tested today at 0945 hrs from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island [Wheeler Island]. All the radars, electro-optical tracking stations and telemetry stations tracked the vehicle all through the course of the trajectory. All the mission objectives have been achieved,” the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said in a statement. Agni-5 can carry nuclear warhead weighing 1.5 tonnes to a distance of over 5,000 km and is the longest missile in India’s arsenal capable of reaching most parts of China. With a smaller payload, the range can go up much higher.