Trump Cancels Nuclear Summit With North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un
John Wagner | Washington Post
President Trump on Thursday canceled a planned summit next month with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing “tremendous anger and open hostility” from the rogue nation in a letter explaining his abrupt decision. The summit had been planned for June 12 in Singapore. In his letter, Trump held open the possibility that the two leaders could meet at a later date to discuss denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, which Trump has been pushing.
North Korea Seeks ‘Peace’ After ‘Nuclear Site’ Demolition Witnessed by Sky News
David Mercer | Sky News
North Korea has said it wants to achieve “peace” after Sky News witnessed the apparent demolition of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire was the only British broadcaster invited to watch a series of explosions at the facility ahead of planned talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea state media claimed the site had been completely dismantled in the blasts “to ensure the transparency of discontinuance of nuclear test.”
Iran Lists Tough Conditions for Europe to Save Nuclear Deal
Deutsche Welle
Iranian leader Khamenei on Wednesday published conditions the three European signatories of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal—Germany, Britain, and France—must accept to guarantee Iran stays in the agreement. The move came as the three countries scramble to salvage the accord in the wake of the U.S.’s withdrawal.
Iran Complying with Nuclear Deal, But Could Do Better: IAEA
Francois Murphy | Reuters
Iran continues to comply with the terms of its nuclear deal with world powers despite the U.S. withdrawal, but could be faster and more proactive in allowing snap inspections, the U.N. atomic watchdog policing the accord said on Thursday. In its first such report since U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington’s pullout on May 8, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran remained within limits on the level to which it can enrich uranium, its stock of enriched uranium and other items. But the IAEA seemed to rebuke Iran for dragging its feet on so-called “complementary access” inspections under the agency’s Additional Protocol, which Iran is implementing under the deal. Such inspections are often carried out at short notice.
Russian Sub Test-Fires 4 Intercontinental Missiles in Salvo
Washington Post
A Russian nuclear-powered submarine successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles on Tuesday, the navy said. The navy said the submarine, named Yuri Dolgoruky after the medieval prince who founded Moscow, launched the Bulava missiles in a single salvo from a submerged position in the White Sea. The navy said the mock warheads the missiles carried reached their practice targets on the opposite side of Russia—the Kura shooting range on the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The exercise marked the first simultaneous launch of four Bulava missiles, which can carry multiple nuclear warheads and has a range of up to 9,300 kilometers (about 5,770 miles).
Deep in the Desert, Iran Quietly Advances Missile Technology
Max Fisher | New York Times
A team of California-based weapons found that work on a secret missile research facility in the Iranian desert now appears to focus on advanced rocket engines and rocket fuel, and is often conducted under cover of night. It is possible that the facility is developing only medium-range missiles, which Iran already possesses, or perhaps an unusually sophisticated space program. But an analysis of structures and ground markings at the facility strongly suggests, though does not prove, that it is developing the technology for long-range missiles, the researchers say.