North Korea Says US Has Nothing to Offer Regarding Any Nuclear Deal
Jane Chung and Sangmi Cha | Reuters
North Korea said on Thursday the United States had nothing to offer it in possible renewed talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs after Washington said it was ready to take “concrete steps” toward securing a deal. It criticized the United States for convening a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday, calling it a “foolish thing” which would help Pyongyang to make a clear decision on which path it would take. The 15-member Security Council met as concerns grow internationally that North Korea could resume nuclear or long-range missile testing, suspended since 2017, because denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have stalled. The U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, said the United States was ready “to simultaneously take concrete steps” toward a deal on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs but she added that the Security Council must be prepared to respond to any provocations. “The U.S. talked about a ‘corresponding measure’ in the meeting. However, as we already declared, we have nothing to lose more and we are ready to take a countermeasure corresponding to anything that the U.S. opts for,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
US Hits Iran With New Sanctions, Hopes for Prisoner Dialogue
Matthew Lee | AP
The Trump administration on Wednesday hit Iran with new sanctions that target several transportation firms as it continues its “maximum pressure campaign” against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The sanctions target Iran’s state shipping line and a China-based company that has been involved in delivering missile parts to Iran. They also add a layer of new penalties to a previously sanctioned Iranian airline, Mahan Air, which is accused of sending weapons to Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Yemen, and three of its sales agents. The moves were announced by the Treasury and the State Department and will subject foreign firms and governments that do business with the targeted entities to sanctions themselves, including a freeze on any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions. Pompeo announced the sanctions even as he expressed hope that a weekend prisoner swap with Iran could lead to a dialogue between Washington and Tehran over prisoners. He called Saturday’s release of Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang in exchange for an Iranian jailed in the U.S. a “happier note” that could yield progress.
Iran Will Bypass US Sanctions or Overcome Them Through Talks: Rouhani
Reuters
Iran will overcome U.S. sanctions by either bypassing them or through negotiations, and it will not cross its red lines in any talks with arch-adversary Washington, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. Tensions have soared between Tehran and Washington since last year, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran that have crippled its oil-based economy. The Islamic Republic has rejected negotiating a new deal with the Trump administration, saying talks are only possible if Washington returns to the nuclear pact and lifts sanctions. “The government is determined to defeat (the enemy) by bypassing America’s sanctions...or through various means including talks, but we will not cross our red lines,” the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Rouhani as saying.
Pentagon Conducts First Test of Non-Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Post-INF Treaty
Joseph Trevithick | War Zone
Details are still limited, but the U.S. military has confirmed that it launched a ground-launched ballistic missile, believed to be in the intermediate-range class, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this morning. This is the first U.S. test of this type of weapon since the collapse earlier this year of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, between the United States and Russia, which had prohibited both countries from developing and fielding missiles in this category. Breaking Defense is reporting that what the U.S. military is now calling a "prototype conventionally-configured ground-launched ballistic missile" flew more than 310 miles, beyond the limits the INF had previously imposed. Defense News has learned that the Air Force led the test in cooperation with the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO). In addition, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, previously known as Orbit ATK, was the prime contractor. Experts and observers had already noted the similarities between the missile that the U.S. military tested and previous designs based on the Castor 4 rocket booster, which is now presently a Northrop Grumman Innovation System product.
Congress Stalls INF-Busting Missiles & Nuke Treaty Withdrawal
Theresa Hitchens | Breaking Defense
Congress has slapped DoD with a prohibition on spending any fiscal 2020 funds for buying or fielding intermediate-range ballistic or cruise missiles despite US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The prohibition was agreed by the House and Senate in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) late on Monday — the night before one of the competitors in the Army’s pivotal contest for a next-generation long-range missile successfully tested a system that eventually the service hopes to reach a minimum range of 500 kilometers, above the INF’s range cap. Of course, the missile being tested is still in development so it would not violate the NDAA restrictions. Pushed by Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, lawmakers also are demanding that the Trump Administration provide Congress with 120 days of notice before it withdraws from a pair of nuclear arms control agreements, as well as give lawmakers an assessment of the likely reaction of NATO allies to any withdrawal. The NDAA agreement further “requires an independent study on the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and a report on military-to-military dialogue with foreign countries to reduce the risk of miscalculation, unintended consequences, or accidents that could precipitate a nuclear war,” according to a summary released Monday night by House Republicans.
State Report: LANL Lost Track of 250 Barrels of Nuke Waste
Scott Wyland | Santa Fe New Mexican
The contractor that's been in charge of Los Alamos National Laboratory's operations for the past year lost track of 250 barrels of waste, while the company heading the legacy cleanup mislabeled and improperly stored waste containers and took months to remedy some infractions, according to the state's yearly report on hazardous waste permit violations. Triad National Security LLC, a consortium of nonprofits that runs the lab's daily operations, had 19 violations of its permit from the New Mexico Environment Department. Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos, also known as N3B, which is managing a 10-year cleanup of waste generated at the lab, was cited 29 times. Triad's most notable violation was shipping 250 barrels of mostly mixed waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad without tracking them. Mixed waste contains low-level radioactive waste and other hazardous materials. Inspectors found records still listed the waste at the national lab. Lab personnel didn't update the shipping data because they were waiting for WIPP to acknowledge it had received the waste, lab spokesman Matt Nerzig said in an emailed statement.