US Assesses North Korea Preparing for Possible Long Range Missile Test Within Days as Biden Prepares to Travel to Asia
Barbara Starr | CNN
North Korea appears to be preparing for a possible intercontinental ballistic missile test within the next 48 to 96 hours, just as President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Asia, according to a US official familiar with the latest intelligence assessment. “The things we have noticed in the past for a launch are the things we are noticing now,” the official said. The launch site under satellite observation is located near Pyongyang. The official would not detail specifics of the current imagery, but typically, intelligence analysts look for signs of scaffolding or other launcher equipment, fueling, vehicles and personnel. Biden sets off for South Korea on Thursday and will hold meetings with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol before traveling to Japan on Sunday where he is set to meet with the leaders of Japan, Australia, and India.
NATO Does Not Plan Nuclear Arms or Bases in Finland, PM Tells Paper
Reuters
The NATO alliance has not expressed any interest in placing nuclear weapons or permanent bases in Finland, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told an Italian newspaper in an interview published on Thursday during a visit to Rome. “There isn’t even interest (within NATO) to put nuclear weapons or bases in Finland,” Marin told daily Corriere della Sera, her office said. Finland and Sweden formally applied to join the NATO alliance on Wednesday, a decision spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but face objections from Turkey to an accession process that was originally expected to be relatively rapid.
Israeli Military Exercise to Simulate Attack on Iranian Nuclear Targets
Arie Egozi | Breaking Defense
As Israeli leaders sound the alarm about what they say is an acute, active threat from Iran’s nuclear program, Israel plans to conduct a major military exercise, with US participation, part of which will simulate attacks on Iranian nuclear targets, according to Israeli officials. Israeli military officials told Breaking Defense the US Air Force would provide refueling services for Israeli fighters, as was reported by Israel’s Channel 13. The US Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this report. The news came as Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz alleged Tuesday that Iran was “just a few weeks” away from having enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb.
S. Korea, U.S. Expected to Announce Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreements at Yoon-Biden Summit
Yonhap News Agency
South Korea and the United States are expected to announce a number of agreements on nuclear energy cooperation at their upcoming bilateral summit later this week in Seoul, sources said Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden is set to arrive in South Korea on Friday for his first summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol on a range of issues, including North Korea’s nuclear program and supply chain risks, set for Saturday. According to presidential office officials, the two countries are reportedly working to include agreements to pursue cooperation in joint developments of small modular reactors (SMR) and resume meetings of their High Level Bilateral Commission (HLBC), a consultative body on strategic nuclear energy cooperation, in a joint statement released after the summit.
Japan OKs Plan to Release Fukushima Nuclear Plant Wastewater
Mari Yamaguchi | Associated Press
Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday approved plans by the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant to release its treated radioactive wastewater into the sea next year, saying the outlined methods are safe and risks to the environment minimal. The plan was submitted by the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings in December based on the government’s decision last year to release the wastewater as a necessary step for the ongoing plant cleanup and decommission. A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems, causing the meltdown of three reactors and the release of large amounts of radiation. Water that has been used to cool the three damaged reactor cores, which remain highly radioactive, has since leaked but was collected and stored in tanks.
AUKUS Fallout: Double-Dealing and Deception Came at a Diplomatic Cost
Peter Hartcher | Sidney Morning Herald
While Scott Morrison was secretly pursuing the AUKUS deal with Washington and London, the French ambassador in Canberra was starting to fret. President Emmanuel Macron had charged him to act with “ambition” in expanding the relationship with Australia, yet Jean-Pierre Thebault was finding it impossible to get access to cabinet ministers except for fleeting handshakes and “how-do-you-dos” at cocktail parties. Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne would not agree to see him, nor would then defence minister Linda Reynolds. Yet the nations were supposed to be strategic partners on a high-stakes, $90 billion “Future Submarine” project. As 2020 became 2021, Thebault was feeling stonewalled. What was going on?