Policymakers and Experts Endorse Recommendations for Security Cooperation
Asia Pacific Leadership Network
Military and economic competition, shifting power dynamics, and environmental problems are creating increasingly complex security challenges for states in Northeast Asia. Regional security mechanisms could help manage these challenges, but such mechanisms have been slow to develop in the region. In 2021-22, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Royal United Services Institute engaged Northeast Asia’s expert and policy community in a project that seeks to identify the principles and steps needed to accelerate the establishment of a robust and inclusive Northeast Asian security architecture.
Analysts Investigate Possibility of North Korea Missile Test ‘Deception’
Josh Smith | Reuters
Reports suggest North Korea’s biggest missile test ever may not have been what it seemed, raising new questions over the secretive country’s banned weapons programme. North Korea said it had test-fired its new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, the first test of a missile that size since 2017. North Korean state media heralded the launch as an “unprecedented miracle,” and South Korean and Japanese officials independently confirmed flight data that showed it flew higher and longer than any previous test. But new details—including discrepancies spotted in the North’s heavily stylized video featuring leader Kim Jong Un overseeing the launch in a leather jacket and sunglasses—have poked holes in Pyongyang’s claims.
UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief in Ukraine to Talk Safety Support
Associated Press
The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s director-general arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for talks with senior government officials on delivering “urgent technical assistance” to ensure the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities, the agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Rafael Mariano Grossi’s aim is to “to initiate prompt safety and security support” for Ukraine’s nuclear sites. That will include sending IAEA experts to “prioritized facilities,” which it didn’t identify, and sending “vital safety and security supplies” including monitoring and emergency equipment. It said that Grossi will travel to one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants this week, but didn’t say which one.
Biden Steers Away From Big Change to US Nuclear Weapons Policy
Demetri Sevastopulo | Financial Times
President Joe Biden has decided against making a major change to US nuclear weapons policy following pressure from European and Asian allies not to undermine their security amid the nuclear threat from Russia and China. After a months-long review that had sparked anxiety from France to Japan, Biden this week decided on a declaratory policy that the “fundamental purpose” of nuclear weapons was to deter, or respond to, a nuclear attack on the US or its allies, according to three people familiar with the decision.
Biden Administration Kills Trump-Era Nuclear Cruise Missile Program
Valerie Insinna | Breaking Defense
In a rare political win for non-proliferation advocates, the Biden administration has cancelled the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear program, one of the two new nuclear weapons greenlit by the Trump administration. The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2023 budget request, released today, zeroes out funding planned for the so-called SLCM-N program, according to a senior defense official who spoke to reporters about the spending proposal. “Really this decision came out of the Nuclear Posture Review,” the official said. “There was direction from the president to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our defense strategy. That [decision to cancel SLCM-N] was a component.”
U.S. Says Iran Nuclear Deal Not Imminent Amid Deadlock Over IRGC
Simone Foxman, Verity Ratcliffe, and Arsalan Shahla | Bloomberg
The U.S. said the revival of a nuclear deal with Iran may not happen soon following recent requests from Tehran, including that Washington removes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of terrorist organizations. “I can’t be confident it’s imminent,” Robert Malley, U.S. Special Envoy for Iran, told reporters on Sunday at a conference in Qatar. “A few months ago we thought it was imminent.” The comments come as the U.S. reassesses the political costs of reviving the 2015 pact that limited Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief, including on oil exports. Russia’s war on Ukraine is also complicating the negotiations, which involve Moscow.
Nuclear Fears in US Amid Russia-Ukraine War: AP-NORC Poll
Ben Fox and Hannah Fingerhut | Associated Press
Russia’s war on Ukraine has most Americans at least somewhat worried that the U.S. will be drawn directly into the conflict and could be targeted with nuclear weapons, with a new poll reflecting a level of anxiety that has echoes of the Cold War era. Close to half of Americans say they are very concerned that Russia would directly target the U.S. with nuclear weapons, and an additional 3 in 10 are somewhat concerned about that, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Russian President Vladimir Putin placed his country’s nuclear forces on high alert shortly after the Feb. 24 invasion. Roughly 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned that Putin might use a nuclear weapon against Ukraine, including about 6 in 10 who are very concerned.