Kim Jong-un Plans Formal Nod to Denuclearization, South Korea Says
Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times
Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, plans to formally announce his willingness to denuclearize his country when he meets with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea this month, an official from the South said on Tuesday. The statement is expected to be part of a joint declaration that the two leaders will adopt when they meet on April 27, said Mr. Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok. Negotiators from both Koreas have agreed on a rough framework for the joint declaration, he said.
No Reward for North Korea Without Irreversible Denuclearization: Pompeo
David Brunnstrom and Patricia Zengerle | Reuters
North Korea should not expect rewards from talks with the United States until it takes irreversible steps to give up its nuclear weapons, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, CIA Director Mike Pompeo, said on Thursday. Pompeo said the historical analysis was “not optimistic,” when asked at his Senate confirmation hearing if he believed North Korea would agree to dismantle its nuclear program. He said that in past negotiations the United States and the world had relaxed sanctions too quickly.
Progress in Iran Deal Talks, But Trump Stance Uncertain
Arshad Mohammed and John Irish | Reuters
European officials are making headway toward an agreement to address U.S. concerns about the Iran nuclear deal, a European diplomat said on Thursday, but a second diplomat said it was unclear if U.S. President Donald Trump would embrace their work. “We came out feeling like we are making good progress towards addressing the president’s concerns and coming (up) to an agreement,” the first European diplomat told a small group of reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Jim Mattis: Iran Nuclear Deal ‘Needs to be Fixed’
Travis J. Tritten | Washington Examiner
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told House lawmakers on Thursday the Iran nuclear deal “needs to be fixed,” and he’s uncertain whether it could still be saved. Mattis had testified before that Iran was in compliance, and it was in the U.S.’ national security interest to remain in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which President Trump has criticized as one of the worst deals in history. Now, both the secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who called the deal “insufficient” on Thursday, appear to be on the same page as Trump as a May deadline approaches for reaffirming the deal.
Pakistan Tests Enhanced-Range Variant of Babur Nuclear-Capable Land-Attack Cruise Missile
Ankit Panda | Diplomat
On Saturday, Pakistan carried out what it said was a successful flight test of a range-enhanced, ground-launched Babur subsonic cruise missile. According to a statement released by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the missile tested was an “enhanced range version of the indigenously developed Babur Cruise Missile.” Dubbed the Babur Weapon System-1 (B), the missile, per ISPR, “incorporates advanced aerodynamics and avionics that can strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy, at a range of 700 kilometers.”
Conceptual Twist of Japanese Nuclear Policy: Its Ambivalence and Coherence Under the US Umbrella
Masakatsu Ota | Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament
Despite its anti-nuclear weapon declaratory-policy, “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” Japan has enjoyed the protection of the nuclear umbrella provided by the United States for more than 60 years. This bilateral nuclear arrangement has established and cherished a strong bond between the two nations, which the author calls “the US–Japan Nuclear Alliance.” This unique politico-military alliance, backed by US nuclear forces, has brought about a “conceptual twist” of Japanese security policy related to nuclear weapons. The twist can be analyzed in terms of two characteristic elements: ambivalence and coherence. This twist is a result of several factors, including Japan’s unprecedented experience of the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, Japan’s anti-nuclear public sentiment, the Japanese security policy discourse delineated by Cold War strategies of the US, and Tokyo’s acceptance of the US nuclear umbrella. These factors have forced Japanese conservative governments, including the current Abe administration, to perform Nuclear Kabuki Play resulting from the ambivalence and coherence that characterize Japan’s security policy. Abe’s opposition to a No First Use (NFU) policy and Japan’s calibrated approach to the newly adopted nuclear weapon ban treaty are closely associated with Japanese ambivalence and coherence toward nuclear weapons and related security issues.