Russia Sanctions Bill Still Not a Done Deal
Niels Lesniewski | Roll Call
The question of when Congress will strengthen sanctions against Russia remains unclear. The House overwhelmingly passed a package Tuesday that includes new sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, sending the measure to the Senate ahead of the August recess. Only three members of the Housevoted against the combined bill. But, Senate Foreign Relation Relations Chairman Bob Corker said Wednesday that senators want to make changes to the North Korea portion, which he says was not the result of a House-Senate negotiation. He noted that senators may be interested in congressional review language.
North Korea Could Cross ICBM Threshold Next Year, U.S. Officials Warn in New Assessment
Ellen Nakashima, Anna Fifield and Joby Warrick | Washington Post
North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile as early as next year, U.S. officials have concluded in a confidential assessment that dramatically shrinks the timeline for when Pyongyang could strike North American cities with atomic weapons. The new assessment by the ¬Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which shaves a full two years off the consensus forecast for North Korea’s ICBM program, was prompted by recent missile tests showing surprising technical advances by the country’s weapons scientists, at a pace beyond what many analysts believed was possible for the isolated communist regime.
US Within Reach: China Shows Off New and Improved Advanced Missile System
Nectar Gan | South China Morning Post
China has publicly displayed for the first time a model of an advanced form of one its intercontinental ballistic missiles as the country’s military prepares to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army later this year. A model of the Dongfeng-31AG – an upgraded version of the DF-31A – was shown for the first time at an exhibition marking the anniversary at the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution in Beijing last week.
GAO Examines Nuclear Modernization Affordability In DoD, DoE Budgets
Alissa Tabirian | Defense Daily
The Departments of Energy and Defense should better explain their 10-year nuclear deterrent modernization budget estimates and address future affordability concerns, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a newly released report. The GAO examined the DoD and DoE’s fiscal year 2017 joint report, which places the total cost of the two Cabinet agencies’ nuclear modernization plans at nearly $342 billion through fiscal year 2026. The Pentagon represents roughly $234 billion of that total, while the DOE’s portion accounts for $107.8 billion.
Google Enters Race for Nuclear Fusion Technology
Damian Carrington | Guardian
Google and a leading nuclear fusion company have developed a new computer algorithm which has significantly speeded up experiments on plasmas, the ultra-hot balls of gas at the heart of the energy technology. Tri Alpha Energy, which is backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, has raised over $500m (£383m) in investment. It has worked with Google Research to create what they call the Optometrist algorithm. This enables high-powered computation to be combined with human judgement to find new and better solutions to complex problems.
North Korea's New KN19 Coastal Defense Cruise Missile: More Than Meets the Eye
Ankit Panda | Diplomat
On June 8, 2017, North Korea carried out the first-ever test of its Kumsong-3 coastal defense cruise missile (CDCM) from near Wonsan, on the country’s east coast. The system, which is known by the U.S. government as the KN19 and was first seen at the April 15, 2017, parade in Pyongyang, is based on a much older ship-based Kumsong-3 anti-ship cruise missile (known by the U.S. government as the KN01), which is itself based on the Soviet-designed Zvedza Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missile. The new CDCM configuration is recognizable by its distinct integrated, all-terrain launcher, which features four missile canisters.