Trump Says He, Putin Discussed New Nuclear Pact Possibly Including China
Steve Holland | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms that could eventually include China in what would be a major deal between the globe’s top three atomic powers. Trump, speaking to reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Peter Pellegrini, prime minister of the Slovak Republic, also said he and Putin discussed efforts to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons, the political discord in Venezuela, and Ukraine during a call that stretched over an hour. The 2011 New START treaty, the only U.S.-Russia arms control pact limiting deployed strategic nuclear weapons, expires in February 2021 but can be extended for five years if both sides agree. Without the agreement, it could be harder to gauge each other’s intentions, arms control advocates say.
Iran Poised to Breach Parts of Nuclear Agreement, Europeans Warn
Laurence Norman | Wall Street Journal
European diplomats warned Monday that Iran is preparing to abandon parts of a landmark nuclear deal in response to new U.S. sanctions, a step that risks inflaming tensions after the Trump administration dispatched warships to the Persian Gulf to deter potential Iranian attacks. A senior European diplomat said Iranian officials have been considering a partial withdrawal from some parts of the multination accord that placed strict but temporary limits on a broad swath of Iran’s nuclear work. Such a step may include stepping up research into centrifuges that could more speedily produce highly enriched uranium, the key component for both nuclear-power generation and the production of military nuclear weapons, the official said.
China Refuses to Join Nuclear Talks with U.S. and Russia in Blow for Trump
Samuel Osborne | Independent
China has refused to join nuclear talks with the US and Russia, quashing Donald Trump‘s hopes for trilateral disarmament negotiations between the globe’s major atomic powers. The US president said he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed on Friday the possibility of a new accord limiting nuclear arms. Mr Trump said the accord could eventually include China. But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: “China opposes any country talking out of turn about China on the issue of arms control, and will not take part in any trilateral negotiations on a nuclear disarmament agreement.” Mr Geng said his country’s nuclear forces were at the “lowest level” of its national security needs, and said they could not be compared to the US and Russia. He added that it was up to the US and Russia to further reduce their nuclear weapons stockpiles before other countries participate.
South Korea Reluctant to Say Whether North Korea Tested a Missile on Saturday
Dagyum Ji | NK News
South Korea on Tuesday declined to confirm precisely what kind of weapons were tested by North Korea over the weekend, while stressing that Pyongyang’s behavior “runs against the intent” of last year’s DPRK-ROK military agreement. Saturday saw Pyongyang test what Seoul has described as several “short-range projectiles,” marking what experts widely agree was the country’s first missile launch since November 2017. ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesperson Kim Joon-rak today told a press briefing that the South Korean military had on Saturday detected “multiple short-range projectiles” being fired into the sea off the peninsula’s east coast between 0906 and 1055 KST. Kim said the projectiles had included “new tactical guided weapons” and seen projectiles launched from “240mm and 300mm multiple rocket launchers (MRL).”
Is The Pentagon Exaggerating Russian Tactical Nuclear Weapons?
Hans Kristensen | Forbes
Washington is buzzing with warnings that Russia is increasing its number of non-strategic nuclear weapons. The Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is clear and unequivocal: “Russia’s non-strategic nuclear weapons modernization is increasing the total number of such weapons in its arsenal.” The NPR’s threat assessment and embrace of what it calls “the return of Great Power Competition” are based on the premise that Russian and Chinese military capabilities and political activities have changed so dramatically in the past ten years that US defense planning also must change significantly (beyond the changes already made during the past decade).
China Completing More Ballistic Missile Subs, With Plans for a New Version
Mike Yeo | Defense News
China has launched two more nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and might fit anti-ship ballistic missiles on a new cruiser class on the verge of entering service, according to a new Pentagon report. The two new submarines will bring the number of Type 094s, or Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs, in Chinese service to six, according to the latest annual “China Military Power Report,” released May 2 by the U.S. Defense Department. The report also said China is planning a new class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs, or SSBN, with construction expected to begin in the early part of the next decade.