Moon’s Phase-Out: What Does It Imply?
Mark Hibbs
Moon Jae-in, the newly-elected President of the Republic of Korea, has vowed to wind down Korea’s nuclear power program. Because Korea steadily built up its nuclear industry for four decades, has 25 power reactors generating nearly a third of its electricity, and is now exporting modern nuclear power plants, Moon’s statements about nuclear energy have taken some people by surprise. Let’s look at what they imply.
U.S. Pressed to Pursue Deal to Freeze North Korea Missile Tests
David E. Sanger and Gardiner Harris | New York Times
The Trump administration has come under growing pressure to open negotiations on a temporary freeze on North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests in return for reducing the American military footprint in the Korean Peninsula, according to American officials and foreign diplomats. Versions of the proposal, floated by Beijing for several months, have been revived several times this week, first by South Korea’s newly installed president and then by China’s foreign minister and one of its top military officials in talks on Wednesday with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Exclusive: South Korea President Calls on China's Xi to do More on North Korea Nuclear Program
Jean Yoon and Soyoung Kim | Reuters
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday China should do more to rein in North Korea's nuclear program and he would call on President Xi Jinping to lift measures against South Korean companies taken in retaliation against Seoul's decision to host a U.S. anti-missile defense system. In an interview with Reuters ahead of his trip to Washington next week for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Moon said 'strong' sanctions should be imposed if North Korea tests an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or conducts a sixth nuclear test.
Japan Missile Defence Drill Aims to Ease Concern Over North Korean Threat
Teppei Kasai and Tim Kelly | Reuters
Japan opened a missile defence drill to the public on Wednesday, a move it says will reassure the country it is ready to counter any missile attack by neighbouring North Korea. A PAC-3 Patriot battery drove on to the Asaka Self Defence Forces base near Tokyo, deployed its radar antenna and raised its missile launcher to firing position. The drill is one of four being held across Japan. "Making this public is a way to reassure people about their safety and bring peace of mind," Akinori Hanada, an Air Self Defence Force major, told reporters.
Russia’s Rosatom Sells 49 Percent Stake in Akkuyu Nuclear Project to Turkish Companies
Hurriyet Daily News
Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy conglomerate Rosatom agreed to sell a 49 percent stake in a giant nuclear project in southern Turkey to Turkish investors in a preliminary agreement on June 19 on the sidelines of a nuclear conference in Moscow. The stake in the Akkuyu project was sold for an undisclosed sum to the three Turkish companies Cengiz, Kolin and Kalyon, dubbed CKK as a consortium, which are quite active in construction and energy sectors. Each of these companies will have an equal stake.
House Passes Nuclear Energy Tax Bill
Devin Henry | Hill
The House quickly passed a bill extending a nuclear energy tax credit on Tuesday. The bill, bipartisan legislation from Reps. Tom Rice (R-S.C.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and others, would increase the number of utilities that can qualify for the tax credit and remove construction deadlines for facilities that use it.