North Korea and China Project Unity in Face of Stalled Nuclear Talks with U.S.
Josh Chin and Andrew Jeong | Wall Street Journal
The leaders of China and North Korea used a summit this week to project a show of unity in the face of stalled negotiations over Pyongyang’s nuclear program and to press the U.S. to compromise. The meetings gave Beijing a platform to underline its clout in global affairs and its critical leverage in resolving one of Washington’s top security challenges. The U.S., embroiled in an increasingly bitter dispute with China over trade practices, needs the cooperation of President Xi Jinping to enforce sanctions on North Korea and to nudge his Communist ally into making concessions toward giving up his nuclear arsenal.
U.S.-North Korea Summit Looks Imminent, South Korean Leader Says
Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea said Thursday that the visit to China this week by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, heralded an imminent second summit meeting between Mr. Kim and President Trump to negotiate the terms of denuclearizing the North. Mr. Moon held his New Year’s news conference in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, hours after Mr. Kim wrapped up a four-day trip to China, which included his fourth summit meeting with President Xi Jinping. China is considered the best buffer North Korea has against American pressure and sanctions as Mr. Kim prepares for a second meeting with Mr. Trump. He also consulted with Mr. Xi before and after his first meeting with Mr. Trump, which took place in Singapore in June.
Moon Voices Need for ‘Bolder’ Denuclearization Steps to End Sanctions
Yonhap News Agency
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday stressed the need for North Korea to take more concrete and faster denuclearization steps while also highlighting the importance of corresponding measures by the international community to further accelerate the denuclearization process. “I believe North Korea needs to take practical denuclearization steps more boldly if it wishes to resolve the issue of international sanctions because the issue of international sanctions depends on the speed of North Korea's denuclearization process,” the president told a press conference held at his office Cheong Wa Dae.
Iran Defiant Amid U.S. Warnings Against Space Programme
Al Jazeera
Iran will continue with its aerospace programme despite warnings of more economic and political isolation by the United States, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday, adding there was no international law prohibiting the plan. Zarif, who is in New Delhi on a bilateral visit, also told Reuters news agency that leaving a 2015 nuclear deal that was agreed between Iran and world powers is an option Tehran could take, but is not the only one on the table. Under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which enshrined the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran is "called upon" to refrain from work on ballistic missiles. Iran has ruled out negotiations with Washington over its military capabilities, particularly the missile programme run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is not covered by the nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
China Mobilises DF-26 Ballistic Missiles Capable of Sinking U.S. Warships in the South China Sea
Jack Kilbride | ABC News
Beijing has announced it has deployed intermediate ballistic missiles to the country's north-west region, saying the weapons have the capacity to destroy US ships entering disputed waters in the South China Sea. The DF-26 missiles — which have been previously dubbed the 'Guam Killer' or 'Guam Express' by Chinese media and defence experts — are capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. They have a range of 4,500 kilometres, making them capable of reaching as far as Guam in the east and Indonesia in the south, providing Beijing with a powerful weapon as tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea.
Smith, Inhofe Clash on Nukes
Kingston Reif | Arms Control Association
The incoming chairmen of the House and Senate armed services committees ended 2018 by trading blows on nuclear weapons policy, presaging what is poised to be a contentious fight between Democrats and Republicans on the issue during the 116th Congress. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) has long maintained that the United States has more nuclear weapons than it needs for its security and can reasonably afford. This has raised the ire of Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who has expressed strong support for the Trump administration’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) report and its emphasis on augmenting the role of nuclear weapons and developing new nuclear capabilities.