Top News Pompeo to travel to North Korea with new special envoy Reuters Bolton and his Russian counterpart discuss arms control, Syria and Iran Washington Post The modern nuclear arsenal: A nuclear weapons expert describes a new kind of Cold War Washington Post East Asia Amid praise for Trump, North Korea doubles down on criticism of Japan Reuters8/24/2018 In North Korea, Japan appears to have replaced the United States as the most vilified imperialist enemy, with state media deriding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government as a “cult” bent on derailing Pyongyang’s diplomatic outreach. Pompeo to travel to North Korea with new special envoy Reuters8/23/2018 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea again next week to try to persuade it to abandon its nuclear weapons, and will take a new U.S. special representative, Stephen Biegun, with him in an attempt to break the deadlock. Pompeo Taps Ford Executive to Lead North Korea Nuclear Talks Bloomberg8/23/2018 Secretary of State Michael Pompeo tapped a Ford Motor Co. executive to lead talks with North Korea as the U.S. seeks to ensure that tough international sanctions imposed last year remain in force. US, South Korea Rift Grows on How to Denuclearize North Korea Voice of America8/24/2018 As South Korea extends its engagement with North Korea, there appears to be a widening rift between Washington and Seoul over how to achieve North Korea’s denuclearization. A Radioactive Device Has Gone Missing in Malaysia. Police Are Working ‘Round the Clock’ to Find it Time8/24/2018 Malaysia has stepped up efforts to locate missing radioactive material, forming a “round the clock” task force to track down a device that disappeared from a pickup truck earlier this month. Middle East British Airways and Air France to Suspend Iran Service New York Times8/23/2018 Two major European airlines said Thursday that they would suspend service to Tehran next month, a double-punch that underscored the power of reimposed American sanctions on Iran and the limited abilities of others to sidestep them. Russia/FSU/Europe Bolton and his Russian counterpart discuss arms control, Syria and Iran Washington Post8/23/2018 The Trump administration is “very, very early in the process of considering” what it wants to do about the main existing arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, White House national security adviser John Bolton said Thursday after meeting with his Russian counterpart. U.S. Nuclear Policy The modern nuclear arsenal: A nuclear weapons expert describes a new kind of Cold War Washington Post8/24/2018 With the flurry of talks with North Korea and the fallout from the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, nuclear weapons have become a major topic of discussion in recent months. But secrecy abounds: Who has what weapons? How many? How much damage could they do? Hans Kristensen tries to answer those questions. Opinion and Analysis Changing nuclear oversight threatens security, tech edge The HillSpencer Abraham, Ernest Moniz, Clay Sell, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall 8/23/2018 Now that the 2019 John McCain National Defense Authorization Act has become law, there is a lesson to be learned from a furtive effort to fundamentally change the way the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile is sustained to ensure a reliable deterrent.