Trump-Inspired Insurrection Prompts Concern Over Control of Nuclear Weapons
Rachel Oswald | Roll Call
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s incitement this week of a violent mob to assault Congress to halt the certification of his election loss, longstanding advocates of taking away the presidency’s authority to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike see an opening for their cause. With even some Republicans publicly stating that Trump in his final two weeks of office is mentally unwell, concerned activists and supportive lawmakers such as Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., are pressing their case and calling for both immediate and longer-term steps to prevent current and future presidents from being able to order a first-strike nuclear attack. For decades, the U.S. president has had the sole authority and complete discretion to order an initial nuclear strike on an adversary.
IAEA Chief Says Matter of Weeks Left to Revive Iran Nuclear Diplomacy
Francois Murphy | Reuters
Reviving Iran’s nuclear deal must happen within the coming weeks, UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday after Tehran resumed 20% uranium enrichment and its parliament threatened to curb access for UN inspectors in February. “It is clear that we don’t have many months ahead of us. We have weeks,” Grossi said in an interview for the Reuters Next conference. Iran resumed enriching uranium to 20% fissile strength at the underground Fordow nuclear plant earlier this month in a further breach of the nuclear pact with major powers since the United States withdrew from it in 2018, possibly complicating efforts by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the deal. Its parliament passed a law in November that obliges the government to halt inspections of its nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency and step up uranium enrichment if U.S. sanctions are not eased.
Nuclear Stand-Off: Can Joe Biden Avert a New Arms Race?
Julian Borger | Guardian
Joe Biden will have to make critical decisions on arms control in his first days in the White House that could determine whether a new nuclear arms race can be averted, and possibly reversed. When the new president takes the oath of office on 20 January, there will be 16 days left before the 2010 New Start treaty with Russia expires, and with it the last binding limit on the world’s two biggest nuclear arsenals left standing in the wake of the Trump era. At the same time, there will be urgent pressure on the incoming administration to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which has been unraveling at an accelerating speed since Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.
‘Your Move, Mr. President’: North Korea Sets the Stage for Biden
Laura Bicker | BBC News
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un celebrated his birthday with a long wish-list of new weapons. It included more accurate long-range missiles, super large warheads, spy satellites and a nuclear-powered submarine. The military plans announced during one of the biggest political events in North Korea in the last five years may sound threatening - and it is indeed a threat. But it's also a challenge. The timing of this message is key as it comes as U.S. President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office. Mr. Kim, who has also now been promoted to Secretary General (the highest rank of the ruling Worker's Party), is struggling to be heard outside his own country amidst the current tumult in the U.S. But if the incoming U.S. administration harbours any hopes of preventing Mr. Kim's nuclear ambitions, now might be the time to listen.
The UK’s New Nuclear Warhead: Issues for Parliament
Matthew Harries | RUSI
Shortly before Christmas, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released its annual update to Parliament on the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. The document referred to the year’s most important development: the UK is embarking on the complicated and sensitive task of building a new nuclear warhead – something it has not done for 30 years, and has never done without nuclear-explosive testing, which it has now foresworn. The update revealed little about this project that had not already been announced, which itself does not amount to very much. What we do know, however, is that the UK is building billions of pounds’ worth of new defence-nuclear infrastructure; the warhead will be produced in cooperation with the US, which has its own priorities and constraints; and the government has said that the new warhead programme will remain compliant with the UK’s commitments to non-proliferation and disarmament.
South Korea's Moon Says Will Make 'Last-Ditch' Effort for North Korea Breakthrough
Sangmi Cha | Reuters
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday he remains committed to engaging with North Korea, and that cooperation on issues such as anti-epidemic work could help lead to a breakthrough in stalled talks in the last years of his term. Seoul will make efforts to jumpstart talks between the United States and North Korea as U.S. President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office, Moon said during his annual New Year’s speech. “Dialogue and co-prosperity are key drivers of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “Our will to meet anytime, anywhere, and willingness to talk...remains unchanged.” Moon, whose term ends in 2022, has made engagement with North Korea one of his signature goals, and he said he would liaise closely with Biden’s administration.