South Korea Says it Will Lay the Groundwork for Trump to Talk to Kim About Nuclear Weapons
Anna Fifield | Washington Post
South Korea and the United States are looking for a way to guarantee “a bright future” for North Korea if its leader Kim Jong Un will give up his nuclear weapons program, the national security adviser in Seoul said Wednesday, as preparations for next week’s inter-Korean summit gather pace.The mood in South Korea has changed dramatically in just a few months, from palpable fear of another Korean War to cautious optimism about making progress on the decades-long standoff on the peninsula.
U.S. and Russian Nuclear Arsenals Set to be Unchecked for First Time Since 1972
Julian Borger | Guardian
The US and Russian nuclear arsenals could soon be unconstrained by any binding arms control agreements for the first time since 1972, triggering an expensive and dangerous new arms race, a group of former officials and experts from the US, Europe and Russia h as warned. In a statement to be published on Wednesday, the signatories point out that the 2010 New Start treaty limiting the deployed strategic warheads and delivery systems of the US and Russia, will expire in February 2021, unless urgent steps are taken to extend it.
U.S. Hopes for Success in Talks With Europeans on 'Fixing' Iran Nuclear Deal
Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay | Reuters
The United States hopes to reach agreement with Britain, France and Germany to address President Donald Trump’s concerns about the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Washington’s disarmament ambassador said on Thursday. The crux of the accord between Iran and six major powers-Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States-was that Tehran would curb its nuclear programme in return for relief from international sanctions that hobbled its economy.
Pentagon: Missile Threats Increasing
Bill Gertz | Washington Times
Senior Pentagon and military officials this week outlined the growing array of missile threats facing the United States from China, Russia and other states, including maneuvering hypersonic weapons.John Rood, undersecretary of defense for policy, told a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing that the threat posed by advanced missiles is increasing.“ The United States, allies and partners confront a security environment that is more complex and volatile than any we have experienced in recent memory,” Mr. Rood told the subcommittee on strategic forces, in a likely preview of the Pentagon’s forthcoming Ballistic Missile Review, a major study that will highlight missile threats and the Trump administration’s plan for a multilayered missile defense network to counter them.
Rhetoric Aside, the U.S. Commitment to Preventing Nuclear Terrorism is Waning
Nickolas Roth, Matthew Bunn, and William H. Tobey | Hill
With the world focused on the United States and North Korea, it’s easy to forget that every president for a quarter-century has said preventing nuclear terrorism was a national security priority. This includes the Trump administration, which identified in its Nuclear Posture Review that nuclear terrorism is one of “the most significant threats to the security of the United States.” It appears, however, despite this strong rhetoric, the administration may not be putting its money where its mouth is. The Trump administration is proposing massive cuts to vital programs responsible for securing nuclear weapons-usable material around the world. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency primarily responsible for working with other countries to reduce nuclear terrorism risks, wants to reduce spending for nuclear security programs by $115 million in 2019, a 26 percent reduction from last year.
China Announces Commissioning of DF-26 Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile Brigade
Ankit Panda | Diplomat
On Monday, PLA Daily announced that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Rocket Force (PLARF) had commissioned a new brigade of its Dong Feng 26 (DF-26) intermediate-range ballistic missile. Video footage carried in Chinese state media showed at least 22 integrated six-axle DF-26 transpo rter-erector-launchers along with their crews. The DF-26 is thought to have a range capability of around 4,000 kilometers and is capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads.