Edition

Proliferation News 9/3/24

IN THIS ISSUE: U.S. Researchers Find Probable Launch Site of Russia's New Nuclear-Powered Missile, U.N. Agency Issues Fresh Warning Over Iranian Nuclear Activities, IAEA Chief Discusses Ukraine, Russia Nuclear Plants with Zelenskiy, Says Situation Fragile, Russia Signals its Official Stance on Using Nuclear Weapons is About to Change, Accusing the West of ‘Escalation’, US and UK Plan Indefinite Extension of Nuclear Weapons Co-operation Pact, Defense Minister Nominee Says he is Open to Idea of S. Korea's Nuclear Armament

Published on September 3, 2024

Jonathan Landay | Reuters

Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M730 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible." Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.Using images taken on July 26 by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, the two researchers identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names - Vologda-20 and Chebsara - as the new missile's potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.

Laurence Norman | The Wall Street Journal 

Iran has continued to expand its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium in recent months, a confidential report from the United Nations atomic agency said Thursday, amid warnings in Washington that Tehran is better placed to produce the bomb in the future. The quarterly report on Iran’s nuclear work is the first since Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, took office with a goal of bolstering the economy by negotiating an end to Western sanctions on the country.

Anastasiia Malenko and Max Hunder | Reuters

U.N. nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi, who is due to visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine on Wednesay, said the situation there was "very fragile" and the risk of a disaster remained. Rossi was speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukrainian nuclear and energy officials. They also discussed the state of affairs at the Kursk nuclear plant in Russia, which Ukrainian troops are close to.

Holly Ellyatt | CNBC News

Russia has again hinted that it’s making changes to its official stance on the use of nuclear weapons, amid Ukraine’s continuing incursion into its Kursk border region. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Sunday that Russia is in the process of amending its nuclear doctrine, which sets out the conditions in which nuclear weapons can be used, because of what Russia sees as a Western-backed “escalation” of the war with Ukraine…Speaking to Russian state media agency Tass on Sunday, Ryabkov said work was “at an advanced stage” to amend Russia’s nuclear doctrine governing the use of nuclear weapons.

John Paul Rathbone and Lucy Fisher | Financial Times 

Britain and the US plan to extend indefinitely the treaty governing technology sharing between their nuclear weapons programmes, as both nations embark on costly modernisations of their deterrent to counter arms proliferation by adversaries. The change — formally recommended by the UK and US governments but subject to legislative ratification by both sides — scraps the Mutual Defence Agreement’s previous 10-year limit and follows warnings by the UN that Russia’s war in Ukraine has sparked a global race for nuclear weapons.

Lee Minji | Yonhap News 

Defense minister nominee Kim Yong-hyun said Monday that South Korea's nuclear armament could be among the options considered to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats amid high public support for the idea of their country going nuclear. "That is included among all possible options," Kim said in a parliamentary confirmation hearing, in response to a question on the possibility of securing room for nuclear armament. Speaking to reporters last month, Kim said that he was open to all means to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats, while stressing that the alliance with the United States remains the basis in dealing with such threats.


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