Top News South Korea Pushes Ahead With Diplomatic Office in North Korea New York Times Bolton: US Wants Stronger Iran Sanctions Than Pre-Nuclear Deal Voice of America Iran says Israel, U.S. will be targeted if Washington attacks Reuters Nuclear weapons are making a comeback — and making the world more dangerous The Hill East Asia What does North Korea want from the US? Financial Times8/22/2018 Less than three months after the pomp and ceremony of the Singapore summit, relations between the US and North Korea are stuttering and the point of contention is clear: Pyongyang wants a declaration ending the officially unfinished Korean war before denuclearisation negotiations can proceed. North Korea Is Still Pursuing Its Nuclear Ambitions, Says UN—Energy Journal Wall Street Journal8/22/2018 North Korea is continuing to build up its nuclear arsenal, the United Nations’ atomic agency said in a report this week, despite an agreement between Washington and Pyongyang to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. South Korea Pushes Ahead With Diplomatic Office in North Korea New York Times8/22/2018 South Korea said on Wednesday that it would press ahead with its plan to open a diplomatic “liaison office” in North Korea this year, dismissing concerns that it was too quickly making overtures to the North Koreans, who have yet to begin dismantling their nuclear weapons program. USFK Commander Calls Joint Korea Military Exercises a Political Tool Voice of America8/22/2018 The commander of United States Forces Korea (USFK) minimized the impact of suspended U.S.-South Korea military exercises on troop readiness on Wednesday, and said the joint drills in recent years were used to pressure North Korea to engage in diplomatic talks. Middle East Bolton: US Wants Stronger Iran Sanctions Than Pre-Nuclear Deal Voice of America8/22/2018 U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser says the reimposition of economic sanctions against Iran has had a “profound effect,” and the administration wants to go further than the measures in place before the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. U.S. Vows to Grant Few Waivers on Iran Sanctions Wall Street Journal8/22/2018 The Trump administration is looking to ratchet up pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program, going beyond previous international sanctions, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday. Top U.K. Envoy Breaks With Trump Administration Over Iran Policy Wall Street Journal8/21/2018 The U.K.’s top diplomat defended Britain’s support for the Iran deal on Tuesday during his first trip to Washington, taking on an issue that is emerging as a major source of contention in the relationship between the two allies. Iran says Israel, U.S. will be targeted if Washington attacks Reuters8/22/2018 A senior Iranian cleric warned Washington on Wednesday that if it attacked Iran, the United States and allied Israel would be targeted, as a war of words escalated after the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran. Russia/FSU/Europe Russia is preparing to search for a nuclear-powered missile that was lost at sea months ago after a failed test CNBC8/21/2018 A nuclear-powered Russian missile remains lost at sea after a failed test late last year, and Moscow is preparing to try to recover it, according to people with direct knowledge of a U.S. intelligence report. South Asia India Test Fires Short-Range Ballistic Missiles From Submerged Sub The Diplomat8/22/2018 With the recent test firing of three submarine-launched ballistic missiles, India is inching closer to completing its nuclear triad. U.S. Nuclear Policy Sanctions on Iran having effect, but regime change is not U.S. policy: Bolton Reuters8/22/2018 U.S. sanctions are having a strong effect on Iran’s economy and popular opinion, though regime change there is not part of Washington’s policy, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said on Wednesday. Opinion and Analysis Nuclear weapons are making a comeback — and making the world more dangerous The HillStephen Blank 8/21/2018 Signs are multiplying that nuclear weapons are making a comeback, making the world more dangerous. The Pentagon reports that China is close to building a nuclear triad. Russia is working on 22 different short, intermediate, and long-range nuclear weapons. North Korea shows no sign of denuclearizing. Iran is bringing back its enriched uranium from Russia where it had been stored under the terms of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Agreement (JCPOA). And the Congress has recently approved a massive defense appropriation that includes provisions for new nuclear weapons.