Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, Ernest J. Moniz, and Meghan L. O’Sullivan | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center
Following decades of mostly successful efforts to combat the spread of nuclear weapons, multiple global trends are reviving the possibility of a world with more nuclear-armed states. These developments raise fundamental questions about whether the United States can and should prioritize efforts to stymie further acquisition of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century… The Task Force unanimously concluded that the United States retains a vital interest in thwarting the spread of nuclear weapons, and that Washington must work to strengthen the principles and adapt the tools that bolster this objective.
Jon Gambrell and Munir Ahmed | AP News
Pakistan’s defense minister says his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries’ new defense pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella. Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif’s comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades.
Ivan Nechepurenko, Paul Sonne, and David E. Sanger | The New York Times
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Monday that he was prepared to extend existing limits on the number of deployed long-range nuclear weapons for one more year as long as the United States did the same, a move that could give Moscow and Washington time to negotiate a new version of the last remaining arms control treaty between them. Speaking at a meeting of his security council at the Kremlin, Mr. Putin said that Russia wanted to “avoid provoking a further strategic arms race.”
Parisa Hafezi and John Irish | Reuters/Yahoo
Iran and European powers are engaged in last-ditch talks to prevent the revival of U.N. sanctions on Tehran, two senior Iranian officials and two Western diplomats told Reuters on Monday, though all warned the chances of success remain slim. The sources said foreign ministers of Iran, Britain, France, and Germany will meet on Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss Iran's disputed nuclear ambitions amid looming threats of sanctions.
Jack Kim | Reuters/Yahoo
North Korea's Kim Jong Un said there was no reason to avoid talks with the U.S. if Washington stopped insisting his country give up nuclear weapons, but he would never abandon the nuclear arsenal to end sanctions, state media reported on Monday. "Personally, I still have fond memories of U.S. President (Donald) Trump," KCNA reported the North Korean leader saying in a speech at the Supreme People's Assembly on Sunday.
Jean Mackenzie | BBC News
South Korea's president has said he would agree to a deal between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in which North Korea agreed to freeze production of its nuclear weapons, rather than get rid of them. Lee Jae Myung told the BBC North Korea was producing an additional 15-20 nuclear weapons a year and that a freeze - as "an interim emergency measure" - would be "a feasible, realistic alternative" to denuclearisation for now.