Preview: U.S. Softens North Korea Approach as Pompeo Prepares For More Nuclear Talks
David Brunnstrom, John Walcott, and Hyonhee Shin | Reuters
The United States appears to have shelved an “all or nothing” approach to North Korean denuclearization as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to head back to North Korea this week hoping to agree a roadmap for its nuclear disarmament. Pompeo will spend a day and a half in North Korea on Friday and Saturday on what will be his third trip to the country this year, and his first since an unprecedented summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.
Foiled Bomb Plot Distracts From Iranian President Rouhani’s Message in Europe
Deutsche Welle
Hassan Rouhani has met with Austrian Chancellor Kurz and President Van der Bellen in a bid to save the Iran nuclear deal. But his trip has been overshadowed by an alleged bomb plot against critics of Iran’s regime. The remaining signatories are set to meet with Rouhani in Vienna on Friday to discuss the future of the deal.
The Most Important Part of the Trump-Putin Summit No One is Talking About
Alex Ward | Vox
President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on July 16 will likely feature discussions about election meddling, the war with Syria, and the North Korean threat. But the most important outcome of the meeting may be something almost no one is talking about: The extension of the New Start nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia.
Japan Nuclear Agency Urges Measures to Cut Plutonium Stocks
Mari Yamaguchi | ABC News
Japan’s nuclear policy-setting body on Thursday endorsed a call for stricter management of its fuel recycling program to reduce its plutonium stockpile. The annual “nuclear white paper” approved by the Atomic Energy Commission is an apparent response to intensifying pressure from Washington as it pursues denuclearization in North Korea.
Japan Picks Lockheed Martin Radar for Missile Defense System: Ministry Official
Nobuhiro Kubo | Reuters
Japan has selected Lockheed Martin Corp’s advanced radar for its multibillion-dollar missile defense system, a Japanese defense ministry official with direct knowledge told Reuters on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
Deterrence and Its Discontents
Ulrich Kühn | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
What might Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, have found, had he lived long enough to study the 2018 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review and its drafters? Anxiety about failure and death, fear of impotence, and an obsession with deterrence that obscures the ultimate question: “What is it that the United States wants in this world?” In this essay, the author uses psychoanalytic metaphors to explain why the United States does not currently have a long-term strategy for dealing with its most fundamental foreign policy challenges–and why it needs one, particularly as regards the global nuclear dilemma.