Top News W88 Alt-370 milestone has Pantex closer to ‘rate production’ Defense Daily INTERVIEW: Extended deterrence in the U.S.-ROK alliance NBR Russia Is open for talks with U.S. on nuclear disarmament Warsaw Institute United States W88 Alt-370 milestone has Pantex closer to ‘rate production’ Defense Daily4/28/20 The Pantex Plant assembled the “first production capability unit” of the W88 Alt-370 submarine-launched warhead, a precursor to the first production unit intended to prove the entire warhead design is ready for mass production, the Pantex Plant said. OPINION: Nuclear modernization is essential business. Don’t let coronavirus shut it down. Heritage FoundationPatty-Jane Geller 4/28/20 The National Defense Strategy’s top priority—to defend the homeland—rests on strong nuclear deterrence. East Asia OPINION: With Kim Jong Un mysteriously gone, China Is likely to make a power move Foreign PolicyMichael Auslin 4/28/20 There are many ways Beijing could use the mystery surrounding Kim Jong Un’s disappearance to its advantage. Japan is working on a hypersonic anti-ship missile that may be a threat to Chinese navy activities South China Morning Post4/29/20 Defence ministry plans to deploy an early version of the weapon in 2026, followed by an upgrade after 2028 INTERVIEW: Extended deterrence in the U.S.-ROK alliance NBRMira Rapp-Hooper 4/28/20 Following the failure of the United States and North Korea to reach an agreement on denuclearization at the Hanoi Summit in February 2019, Pyongyang has reverted to a pattern of missile tests and provocations. Middle East Iran’s satellite launch was completely legal, says MP Tehran Times4/28/20 Rejecting the United States’ efforts to extend sanctions on Iran, Hossein Naghavi Hosseini said the U.S. cannot refer to the JCPOA to criticize Iran because it has withdrawn from the internationally-endorsed deal. Russia and Europe Russia Is open for talks with U.S. on nuclear disarmament Warsaw Institute4/28/20 Kremlin strategists have taken some steps to mend ties with the West, especially with the United States, since the coronavirus outbreak. South Asia OPINION: Will coronavirus prevent Pakistan and India going to war this summer? Haaretz4/29/20 The clouds of war were gathering fast before the coronavirus crisis began. Will the pandemic postpone conflict between the two nuclear-powered arch-rivals, centered on the flashpoint territory of Kashmir – or make it more likely? Multilateral Arms Control OPINION: Keeping peace in the nuclear age Foreign AffairsAnatoly Antonov, Rose Gotemoeller 4/29/20 Ten years ago, the United States and Russia signed the New START treaty—a nuclear arms control agreement that we, as the heads of our governments’ respective delegations, helped negotiate. PUBLICATION: Pathways forward for the ME WMDFZ process and 2020 NPT review conference: Conference Report UNIDIR4/29/20 utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Card&utm_campaign=MEWMDFZ_workshop As part of its 2020 NPT Review Conference (RevCon) series, UNIDIR convened a day-long event on 6 February 2020 on the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (ME WMDFZ).