Russia Puts Advanced Sarmat Nuclear Missile System on ‘Combat Duty’
Al Jazeera
Moscow has put into service an advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said would make Russia’s enemies “think twice” about their threats, according to reported comments by the head of the country’s space agency.Yuri Borisov, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said Sarmat missiles have “assumed combat duty”, according to Russian news agency reports on Friday. “The Sarmat strategic system has assumed combat alert posture,” the state-run TASS news agency quoted the Roscosmos chief as saying.
Iran Slows Buildup of Near-Weapons-Grade Nuclear Fuel
Laurence Norman | The Wall Street Journal
Iran significantly slowed the pace at which it is accumulating near-weapons-grade enriched uranium in recent months, the United Nations’ atomic agency reported on Monday, a move that could ease tensions with the U.S. and help open the way to broader negotiations over its nuclear program. According to a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran added 7.5 kilograms—about 16.5 pounds—of 60% enriched uranium in the three months to August, far less than the 51.8 kilograms it added in the previous six months.
North Korea Stages Tactical Nuclear Attack Drill
Cynthia Kim | Reuters
North Korea conducted a simulated tactical nuclear attack drill that included two long-range cruise missiles in an exercise to "warn enemies" the country would be prepared in case of nuclear war, the KCNA state news agency said on Sunday. KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out on Saturday and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km (930 miles) at a preset altitude of 150 meters.
South Korea’s Yoon Will Call for Strong Response to North’s Nuclear Weapons at ASEAN and G20 Summits
HYUNG-JIN KIM | Associated Press
South Korea’s president says he’ll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea and block the country’s illicit activities to fund its weapons programs when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week…“At the upcoming ASEAN-related Summits and the G20 Summit, I intend to urge the international community to resolutely respond to North Korea’s ever-escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats and to work closely together on its denuclearization,” Yoon said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press.
State-Backed Disinformation Fuelling Anger in China Over Fukushima Water
Helen Davidson | The Guardian
The release of the treated water tapped into anti-Japanese sentiment in China, fuelled by government statements and state media that has loudly questioned the science behind the process, and accused Japan’s government of endangering the region. Fake or misattributed videos have claimed sea life is turning up dead on beaches, that there have been mass protests, and that a Japanese official who drank treated water from Fukushima at a 2011 press conference had died…News articles have also reported panic buying of salt in the belief that iodine will provide protection from radiation, and of Geiger counters to detect radiation.
The State of Nuclear Instability in South Asia: India, Pakistan, and China
Debak Das | Lawfare
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, D.C., in June has prompted a debate on the United States’ bet on India as a military partner to check China in the Indo-Pacific. A key part of this debate is the nuclear relationship among India, China, and Pakistan. Twenty-five years ago—in May 1998—India and Pakistan both tested nuclear weapons, initiating a trilateral nuclear rivalry in Southern Asia. Since then, these three states have steadily increased their numbers of nuclear warheads and their fissile material production. The uneasy strategic stability in the region is also marked by technological advances in missile technology, counterforce capabilities, and an expanding spectrum of nuclear delivery vehicles available to every side.