Edition

Proliferation News 5/16/24

IN THIS ISSUE: Russia Launched Research Spacecraft for Antisatellite Nuclear Weapon Two Years Ago, U.S. Officials Say, Xi and Putin condemn U.S., Pledge Closer Ties as Russia Advances in Ukraine, Russia Has Stopped UN from Monitoring North Korea Sanctions. Who is Watching Kim?, Polish Ministry Approves Plans for Rolls-Royce SMRs, UK Government Planning Nuclear Site in Scotland - Jack, The Changing Nuclear Mind Game

Published on May 16, 2024

Warren P. Strobel, Dustin Volz,  Michael R. Gordon, and Micah Maidenberg | The Wall Street Journal 

Russia launched a satellite into space in February 2022 that is designed to test components for a potential antisatellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device, U.S. officials said. The satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon. But U.S. officials say it is linked to a continuing Russian nuclear antisatellite program that has been a growing worry for the Biden administration, Congress and experts outside government in recent months. The weapon, if deployed, would give Moscow the ability to destroy hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit with a nuclear blast. The satellite in question, known as Cosmos-2553, was launched on Feb. 5, 2022, and is still traveling around the Earth in an unusual orbit

Bernard Orr and Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters

"The China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two sides need to cherish and nurture it," Xi told Putin. "China is willing to ... jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries, and work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world." A joint statement spoke of concerns about what were described as U.S. efforts to violate the strategic nuclear balance, about global U.S. missile defence that threatened Russia and China, and about U.S. plans for high precision non-nuclear weapons.

Christian Davies | Financial Times

Western countries are trying to replace a UN body that monitors compliance with international sanctions on North Korea after it was disbanded earlier this month in a blow to global nuclear non-proliferation efforts...One alternative under consideration by western countries, said Ungar, was establishing a new monitor under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, which unlike the Security Council would not be vulnerable to a Russian or Chinese veto. “But it would raise tricky legal and budgetary questions, while a lot of General Assembly members inside and outside Asia would prefer to avoid getting into a fight involving the US and China,” she added.

World Nuclear News

Industria submitted its application for a decision-in-principle in December last year to Polish Climate and Environment Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska. The application concerns the construction of a nuclear power plant using Rolls-Royce SMR technology - a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor - and a used nuclear fuel storage facility as an integral part of the power plant.On 10 May, Hennig-Kloska issued the ministry's decision-in-principle, saying that she believes the investment would be in the public interest and in line with Poland's energy and climate policies. The application was positively assessed by the Head of the Internal Security Agency and the Minister of State Assets.

BBC

The UK government is planning to build a new nuclear reactor in Scotland despite opposition from Holyrood, according to Scottish Secretary Alister Jack. He told a House of Lords committee he had asked the UK energy minister to plan for such a site as part of a UK-wide strategy.The Conservative minister also called for the Lords to be allowed to scrutinise Scottish laws. First Minister John Swinney accused Mr Jack of being a "menacing behaviour" and said his government would have “nothing to do with nuclear power”.

Rose Gottemoeller | Foreign Policy

The United States and Russia thus agree on one thing in this terrible war: They do not want to risk a nuclear holocaust. Why, then, do the Russians keep claiming that the world is facing one? Part of it is evidently the Kremlin’s effort to derive value from this very brinkmanship—a pattern of behavior rarely seen since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the last time the world came to the brink of a nuclear exchange. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union fought proxy wars in many places, from Angola to Vietnam, but threats to use their nuclear forces rarely played a role. Neither side used such threats to achieve conventional battlefield goals, the way leading Russian officials have been doing throughout the war in Ukraine.


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