North Korea Making Bomb Fuel Despite Denuclearization Pledge: Pompeo
David Brunnstrom | Reuters
North Korea is continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs in spite of its pledge to denuclearize, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, even as he argued that the Trump administration was making progress in talks with Pyongyang.
North Korea’s Ruling Party Informs Officials Kim Regime Will Not Give Up Nukes
Jieun Kim, Leejin Jun, and Joshua Lipes | Radio Free Asia
The Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party has decreed that North Korea will not relinquish its nuclear arsenal, which it termed a “precious legacy” of the country’s late leaders, according to local sources, despite an earlier pledge by party chairman Kim Jong Un to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Intelligence: North Korean Engine Dismantlement at Sohae Reversible ‘Within Months’
Ankit Panda | Diplomat
North Korea’s dismantlement of a missile engine test stand has begun, but is easily reversible, U.S. intelligence finds. In the preceding week, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that North Korea has started to dismantle a rocket engine test stand at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, on the country’s west coast.
Trump Says U.S. Ready to Make a ‘Real Deal’ on Iran’s Nuclear Program
Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday kept open the possibility of negotiating an agreement to denuclearize Iran, two days after he rattled his saber at the nation on Twitter.
Tactical Nuclear Weapon Launches Into Development With Pentagon Policy Bill
Joe Gould | Defense News
The Trump administration is poised to get congressional authorization to start building a controversial new submarine-launched low-yield nuclear weapon. The Senate and House came together Monday on a $716 billion defense authorization report that authorizes $65 million to develop the weapon, aimed at deterring Russia, according to the bicameral compromise conference report.
Iran’s Top Banker is Dismissed in Shake-Up as U.S. Sanctions Take a Toll
Rick Gladstone | New York Times
Iran’s central banker was fired on Wednesday in the first senior shake-up since the United States abandoned the nuclear agreement nearly three months ago and restored sanctions, moves that worsened an already weak Iranian economy.