Kings Bay Nuclear Submarine Hub Dodged a Bullet Named Hurricane Idalia
Jamie Kwong | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Last month, Hurricane Idalia slammed parts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. It also threatened to devastate one of only two US bases that host nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Located in Camden County, Georgia—just north of the Florida border—Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is the Atlantic hub of the US nuclear submarine fleet. It’s tasked with maintaining and servicing these billion dollar systems and their nuclear missiles, which the United States relies on to assure its capacity to launch a nuclear strike “anywhere, anytime.” Hurricane Idalia put this key nuclear mission at risk.
What Putin and Kim Want From Each Other
Ankit Panda | Foreign Policy
Despite their attempts to project a shared ideological front at the summit, Putin and Kim may not be willing to fully yield to the other’s demands—at least, not yet. North Korea, for instance, may seek access to sensitive Russian naval nuclear propulsion technology, which Moscow is unlikely to part with for little in return. Similarly, Russia may seek to acquire more advanced North Korean missiles for possible use in Ukraine, but Kim may prefer to keep these for his own national defense and deterrence needs.
US, ROK Discuss how Conventional and Nuclear Forces Will Counter North Korea
Jeongmin Kim | NK News
U.S. and South Korean defense officials met in Seoul this week to discuss how conventional ROK forces will coordinate with American nuclear forces to deter and defend against North Korean attack. The biannual Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on Monday took place as the allies look to update their decade-old strategy on countering the DPRK by the end of this year. According to a joint press release, the two sides agreed that the U.S. Strategic Command (U.S. STRATCOM) responsible for strategic nuclear deterrence and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will collaborate with the ROK Strategic Command, which is set to be newly established.
European Powers to Retain Sanctions Aimed at Deterring Iran Nuclear Ambitions
Lucy Fisher and Henry Foy | Financial Times
Britain, Germany and France said they would retain a range of sanctions on Iran that had been due to expire next month, in response to concerns over Tehran’s expansion of its nuclear programme. The decision of the “E3” nations, which signed up to the deal, was a “legitimate and proportionate” response to Iran’s moves to advance its nuclear programme “beyond all credible civilian justification”, the UK said on Thursday. The three countries informed Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat and the co-ordinator of talks between Iran and western powers, of their move, on the basis that Tehran was not meeting its obligations under a 2015 deal to reduce the scope of its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
UK, France, Germany, US Urge Iran to Reverse Bar on Some UN Nuclear Inspectors
Reuters
The United States, Britain, France and Germany called on Iran to reverse its decision to bar "several" U.N. inspectors, a joint statement from the countries published by the British government said on Monday. "Iran must immediately reverse these inspector de-designations and fully cooperate with the Agency (the International Atomic Energy Agency) to enable them to provide assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," the statement said.
South Korea’s Interest in Nuclear Weapons Hasn’t Gone Away—It’s Just On Hold
Dasl Yoon and Timothy W. Martin | The Wall Street Journal
South Korea swore off nuclear weapons in a recent pact with the U.S., but the deal may have just put a temporary pause on the debate in Seoul…Following the leader-to-leader pact called the “Washington Declaration,” South Korean support for nuclear armament dropped to 60% this year, about a nine-percentage-point fall from the prior year, according to a recent survey by Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank in Seoul. Trust in the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which includes South Korea, rose modestly to 75%...“The recent statements with Washington temporarily put out the fire, but as long as South Koreans fear North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, politicians will continue to call for nuclear armament,” Shin said.