U.S. Will Try to Bring China Into Arms Control Talks
Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger | The New York Times
The White House will renew its effort to draw China into discussions about entering arms control talks, President Biden’s national security adviser said on Friday, and will attempt to establish a global accord that specifies that artificial intelligence programs can never be used to authorize the use of nuclear weapons without a human in the decision loop.
Nuclear Incident at Zaporizhzhia Plant ‘Highly Unlikely’ After Dam Attack
John Paul Rathbone | Financial Times
A nuclear incident following the breach of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam in Ukraine is “highly unlikely” despite the loss of water supplies that are used to cool nuclear fuel at the nearby Zaporizhzhia power plant, said nuclear scientists and the international body that oversees atomic energy. “It’s not good — in fact it’s bloody awful — but in terms of the power plant I do not see an immediate risk of a nuclear incident,” said Paddy Regan, professor of nuclear physics at the University of Surrey in the UK. “The biggest risk to loss of life is probably flooding from the dam burst.”
South Korea's Yoon Says Alliance with U.S. 'Nuclear-based'
Jack Kim | Reuters
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday he has upgraded the country's alliance with the United States to one that is "nuclear-based" in the face of North Korea's growing military threat…At their summit in Washington, the two leaders agreed to strengthen the so-called U.S. extended deterrence, which envisions the use of U.S. nuclear weapons to defend the South. "The South Korea-U.S. alliance has now been elevated to 'nuclear-based' alliance," Yoon said.
South Korean Support for Nukes Drops as Public Debate Ramps Up: Survey
Jeongmin Kim | NK News
South Korean support for acquiring nuclear weapons has declined in recent years even as discussion about going nuclear has ramped up, a new nationwide survey suggests, concluding that domestic politicization of the issue shaped public opinion more than perceptions of North Korean threats. The Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU) found that public support for nuclear armament dropped from 71.3% to 60.2% over the past two years, and researchers said the trend indicates that global events like the war in Ukraine have had less impact on nuclear attitudes than previously thought.
UN Nuclear Chief, Facing Israeli Criticism on Iran, Says his Agency ‘Very Fair but Firm’
STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN | Associated Press
The International Atomic Energy Agency will “never politicize” its work in Iran, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Monday, insisting after Israel’s prime minister accused it of capitulating to Iranian pressure that his agency has been “very fair but firm.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments came after a confidential report from the IAEA last week said that its investigators had closed off their investigation of traces of man-made uranium found at Marivan, near the city of Abadeh, about 525 kilometers (325 miles) southeast of Tehran.
U.S. and China Lock Horns at Asia’s Top Security Forum
Ishaan Tharoor | The Washington Post
At a major conference billed as a “dialogue,” the top defense officials of the United States and China found themselves locked in a standoff…Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the underlying subtext of Li’s speech was that China believes “the U.S. fundamentally is not an Asian power and thus should relinquish its forward presence in the region.” The dynamic on show at the conference was “likely to be a new normal as U.S.-China relations reach new lows,” he said, adding that instead of engaging the other, “both countries will use forums like this to present competing narratives and their preferred visions for regional security.”