North Korea and U.S. Missile Defense Capabilities
Ankit Panda | The National Bureau of Asian Research
Ankit Panda argues that to better posture U.S. missile defense capabilities to cope with known and anticipated developments in North Korea’s strategic forces, Congress can leverage multiple tools. These include playing an active role in oversight of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, studying North Korea’s growing capabilities to stress U.S. missile defense, and exploring measures for arms control.
Iran Blocking IAEA Access to Nuclear-Related Sites
Laurence Norman | Wall Street Journal
Iran is refusing to allow inspectors access to nuclear-related sites and hindering a probe by the United Nations atomic agency while continuing to expand its nuclear activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in two confidential reports Tuesday, casting doubt on efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. The reports leave the Biden administration and its European allies facing a choice between pushing for a formal rebuke of Iran—which Tehran’s new hard-line government has warned could scuttle the resumption of nuclear talks—or refraining from action, potentially undercutting the authority of the IAEA and its leadership.
Russia Concerned About Iran's Nuclear Capabilities
TASS
Moscow is concerned about the rapid progress of Iran's nuclear capabilities, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Wednesday. "We are definitely concerned about the rapid progress that is being observed in Iran's nuclear capabilities," Ryabkov said. The Russian diplomat explained that the concern was not in terms of Iran's violation of basic obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or the comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), because these documents do not impose any restrictions on Iran in this area.
N. Korea, Slimmed Down Kim Jong Un, Enjoy Toned-Down Parade
Kim Tong-Hyung | AP News
Military search dogs and goose-stepping trainers. Health workers wearing gas masks and red hazmat suits. And a slimmed down, beaming Kim Jong Un in a cream-colored business suit. The parade marking North Korea’s celebration of its 73rd anniversary was a marked departure from past militaristic displays, with a domestic audience worried about the pandemic likely in mind.
The parade late Wednesday centered around paramilitary organizations and public security forces protecting the capital, Pyongyang, instead of the military units that handle the most important weapons in the North Korean leader’s nuclear and missile arsenal.
IAEA to Send Experts to Japan in December to Review Fukushima Water Release Plan
Reuters
A plan to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean will be examined in December by international experts sent by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Japan's industry ministry said on Thursday. In a move that angered local fishermen as well as China and South Korea, Japan said in April that it would release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima plant, which was wrecked by an earthquake and tsunami a decade ago.
Under Secretary Bonnie Jenkins’ Remarks: Nuclear Arms Control: A New Era?
U.S. Department of State
Good morning, it is an honor to speak to you today at what is my first in-person public event since I was confirmed as the new Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Before I begin I also want to recognize my friends and esteemed colleagues on this panel. All of us present are committed to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and I look forward to having frank and constructive conversations with you on how to create the conditions necessary to achieve this important goal.