Nuclear Policy News – February 19, 2019

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TOP NEWS

Obama Energy Chief Has A Fix for INF Treaty
Defense News

US Will Not Open Door to Saudi Arabia Building Nuclear Weapons, Deputy Energy Secretary Says
CNBC

Winning the Nuclear Game Against North Korea
Bloomberg Opinion – Tobin Harshaw and Vipin Narang

East Asia

North Korea Has Secret Base with Intermediate-Range Missiles Capable of Hitting Okinawa: U.S. Study
Japan Times2/16/2019
The Sangnam-ni missile operating base, located 250 km north of the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas, is one of an estimated 20 undeclared ballistic missile bases in North Korea, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report.

The War That Wasn’t: Trump Claims Obama Was Ready to Strike North Korea
New York Times2/16/2019
It is impossible to prove a negative, of course, but nobody who worked for Mr. Obama has publicly endorsed this assessment, nor have any of the memoirs that have emerged from his administration disclosed any serious discussion of military action against North Korea. Several veterans of the Obama era made a point of publicly disputing Mr. Trump’s characterization on Friday.

Shocker: North Korea Is Building More Nuclear Weapons (3 Reasons To Look Past the Headlines)
The National Interest2/15/2019
While one can make the argument that Pyongyang’s continued nuclear activity runs counter to the spirit of U.S.-North Korea diplomacy, one can’t claim that Kim is violating the letter of the diplomacy. The reason is simple: Kim hasn’t signed anything.

Russia/FSU/Europe

Obama Energy Chief Has A Fix for INF Treaty
Defense News2/17/2019
Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, said Saturday the U.S. has a path to salvage the tattered Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by agreeing to mutual inspections with Russia.

Lavrov Offers U.S. Talks on Extending Arms Accord: Munich Update
Bloomberg2/16/2019
Lavrov says the Trump administration hasn’t yet agreed to hold any “meaningful consultations” on START arms treaty but Russia will continue to press U.S. on the issue.

Merkel Nudges China to Help Save The INF Treaty
Defense News2/16/2019
German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants China to join negotiations about saving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. She made the appeal at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 16, directing her words at the highest-ranking Chinese government official in the audience, Yang Jiechi, member of the Politburo and director of the Office of Foreign Affairs. “I know there are many reservations, but we would be delighted” about Chinese participation,” she said.

Russian Nuclear-Capable Bombers Fly Over Sea of Japan
Reuters2/15/2019
Nuclear-capable Russian bombers carried out a training flight over the Sea of Japan, prompting Tokyo to scramble air force planes to intercept them, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian defense ministry as saying on Friday.

Middle East

US Will Not Open Door to Saudi Arabia Building Nuclear Weapons, Deputy Energy Secretary Says
CNBC2/16/2019
A representative of the United States government said Saturday that it would not help Saudi Arabia develop nuclear technology without guarantees that it would only be used for civilian purposes.

South Asia

The Kashmir Attack Could Prompt A Crisis in South Asia. Here’s Why.
Washington Post2/15/2019
The attack has India rattled — and pointing fingers at Pakistan. This is troubling, because India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars over Kashmir besides engaging in intermittent skirmishes along the border. Will the Pampore incident spark a new and dangerous phase in the enduring rivalry between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan?

Opinion and Analysis

What Can We Do to Prevent Nuclear War?
Toronto Star – John Polanyi, Nobel Laureate2/17/2019
The major powers, the U.S. and Russia with 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons, keep their intercontinental missiles in instant readiness for firing. The reason they do so is that neither believes that the threat of retaliation by itself can be relied on to keep the peace.

Winning the Nuclear Game Against North Korea
Bloomberg Opinion – Tobin Harshaw and Vipin Narang2/16/2019
Vipin Narang, a political science professor at MIT, thinks many moves ahead in the international chess of modern deterrence.

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