Nuclear Policy News – April 23, 2020

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Top News

Top U.S. military official assumes N.K. leader still in control of armed forces
Yonhap

Iran says it puts first military satellite into orbit, triggers U.S. condemnation
Reuters

ANALYSIS: NATO and outer space: Now what?
Brookings

United States

The Air Force made a surprise decision to sole-source the Long Range Standoff Weapon. Here’s who will move forward.
Defense News4/22/20
In a surprise move, the Air Force on Friday announced plans to continue its Long Range Standoff Weapon program with Raytheon as the prime contractor.

OPINION: U.S. should extend the New START nuclear weapons treaty to make us all safer
Union of Concerned ScientistsLisbeth Gronlund
4/22/20
According to an AP News story, last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the fate of the 2010 New START agreement, as well as potential future agreements to limit nuclear weapons.

East Asia

Top U.S. military official assumes N.K. leader still in control of armed forces
Yonhap4/23/20
A top U.S. military official said Wednesday he assumes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is still in full control of his country’s armed forces despite reports he may be seriously ill.

Middle East

Iran says it puts first military satellite into orbit, triggers U.S. condemnation
Reuters4/22/20
Iran said on Wednesday it successfully launched the country’s first military satellite into orbit, triggering protests from the United States and stoking already high tensions over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Pompeo says Iran military satellite launch might defy U.N. resolution
Reuters4/22/20
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called for Iran to be held accountable for the launch of a military satellite, adding that he thinks the action defied a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Coronavirus puts missile showdown between Turkey and U.S. on hold
Reuters4/20/20
Turkey’s plans to switch on its new Russian missile defence systems have been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but it does not intend to reverse a decision which has raised the threat of U.S. sanctions, a senior Turkish official said.

Russia/Europe

ANALYSIS: Russian Modernization of Its ICBM Force
Real Clear DefenseMark Schneider
4/23/20
Since 1997, Russia has been modernizing its ICBMs by replacing legacy Soviet ICBMs with new (post-Cold War) systems.

Multilateral Arms Control

ANALYSIS: NATO and outer space: Now what?
BrookingsFrank Rose
4/20/20
Given the increasing role outer space is playing in NATO military operations, and the growing anti-satellite threat from states like Russia and China, NATO’s decision to declare outer space an operational domain was the correct one.

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