Will South Korean Nuclear Leadership Make a Difference in 2016?
Toby Dalton, Council on Foreign Relations
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced this week that the Republic of Korea will chair the December 2016 ministerial meeting on nuclear security in Vienna, Austria. South Korea will also chair the forty-eight-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) next year and is slated to host the group’s annual plenary meeting in Seoul. 2016 is shaping up to be a critical year for South Korea’s nuclear diplomacy.
Kerry warns North Korea of ‘severe consequences’
Chang Jae-soon, Yonhap News Agency
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Wednesday that North Korea will face "severe consequences" if it forges ahead with irresponsible provocations, a day after Pyongyang apparently threatened a nuclear test.
China's island airstrips to heighten South China Sea underwater rivalry
Greg Torode, Reuters
China's apparent construction of a third airstrip on its man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea could fill a gap in Beijing's anti-submarine defenses, complicating operations for the U.S. Navy and its allies, Chinese and Western experts said.
Fact-Checking the Republican Candidates’ Iran Deal Claims
Joshua Keating, Slate
Not surprisingly, the recently negotiated nuclear agreement with Iran was a major topic of conversation at Wednesday’s GOP debates, but a lot of specifics appeared to get lost in the back-and-forth among the candidates. So who was stretching the truth, getting things right, and making stuff up? Here’s some context for the claims made on the stage at the Reagan Library.
Russia's New Sarmat Heavy Nuclear Missile Delayed Again
The Moscow Times
Russia is gearing up to test its newest heavy nuclear missile in early 2016, but a working prototype of the rocket is still nowhere to be seen after the weapon's production deadlines slipped again, news agency TASS reported Wednesday.
U.S. Nuclear Missile Submarine Surfaces in Scotland
Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon
A nuclear-armed U.S. ballistic missile submarine arrived in Scotland this week amid growing tensions with Moscow over Ukraine and Russia’s strategic arms buildup.