Top News Hiroshima remembers atomic bombing on 73rd anniversary Associated Press UN experts: North Korea hasn’t stopped nuke and missile programs Military Times White House to detail implementation of new Iran sanctions Monday: Pompeo Reuters Trump says meeting with Iran is ‘up to them’ Politico Iran nuclear deal: EU shields firms from US sanctions law BBC News East Asia Hiroshima remembers atomic bombing on 73rd anniversary Associated Press8/6/18 Hiroshima marked the anniversary of the Aug. 6, 1945 atomic bombing of the city with a somber ceremony Monday to remember those killed and injured and a call to eliminate nuclear weapons amid hopes of denuclearizing North Korea. UN experts: North Korea hasn’t stopped nuke and missile programs Military Times8/6/18 North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and is violating U.N. sanctions including by “a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products,” U.N. experts said in a new report. A summary of the report by experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea, which was sent to the Security Council Friday night and obtained by The Associated Press, said North Korea is also violating sanctions by transferring coal at sea and flouting an arms embargo and financial sanctions. North Korea urges U.S. to drop sanctions as Seoul probes illicit coal shipments Reuters8/6/18 North Korean state media on Monday urged the United States to drop sanctions, as South Korea said it was investigating nine cases of coal shipments that potentially violated U.N. resolutions. Pyongyang had demonstrated good faith by ending nuclear weapons testing and returning the remains of U.S. troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, and the resolutions had lost a reason to exist, said the Rodong Sinmun, a mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party. North Korea alarmed by U.S. attitudes but committed to nuclear deal Reuters8/4/18 North Korea’s foreign minister said on Saturday he was increasingly alarmed by U.S. attitudes toward the isolated state but said it remained firm in its determination to implement the nuclear deal it reached with Washington in June. Abe repeats hopes for summit with Kim to rebuild Japan-North Korea relations The Japan Times8/6/18 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated at a news conference Monday that he is determined to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to develop new relations with the communist country. “In the end, I must hold dialogue with Kim and resolve the issues of nuclear (weapons), missiles and, most importantly, North Korea’s abductions of Japanese nationals, in order to build a new bilateral relationship,” he said at a news conference in Hiroshima, where he attended the annual A-bomb ceremony. Middle East Iran nuclear deal: EU shields firms from US sanctions law BBC News8/6/18 European foreign affairs chiefs have pledged to protect firms against the impact of US sanctions for doing business with Iran. An EU “blocking statute” will take effect on Tuesday to nullify US legal action against European firms in connection with Iran. White House to detail implementation of new Iran sanctions Monday: Pompeo Reuters8/5/18 The United States intends to fully enforce sanctions due to be reimposed against Iran early this week on orders from U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. Washington’s so-called “snapback” sanctions are due to be reinstated against Tehran at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, a U.S. Treasury official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Russia/FSU/Europe UK nuclear warhead plant warned: ‘Improve safety or shut down’ The Guardian8/5/18 The Office for Nuclear Regulation has ordered immediate safety changes to be made at the UK’s nuclear warhead assembly facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield, in Berkshire, its annual report reveals. The ONR warns that, even with the changes, operations at the Berkshire site will be allowed to continue only for a limited period. U.S. Nuclear Policy Pompeo plays down North Korea sparring Reuters8/6/18 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday played down an exchange of contentious remarks with North Korea on the sidelines of weekend regional meetings in Singapore, saying Pyongyang had made clear its continued commitment to denuclearize. U.S. warns Russia, China and others on enforcing North Korea sanctions CBS News8/4/18 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia, China and other countries on Saturday against any violation of international sanctions on North Korea that could reduce pressure on the North to abandon its nuclear weapons. Pompeo’s comments came on the heels of a new United Nations report that found North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and is violating U.N. sanctions, including through illicit ship-to-ship transfers of oil. Trump says meeting with Iran is ‘up to them’ Politico8/4/18 President Donald Trump on Saturday said any meeting with the Iranian regime is “up to them.” “Iran, and it’s economy, is going very bad, and fast! I will meet, or not meet, it doesn’t matter – it is up to them!” Trump wrote on Twitter while en route to Ohio for a political rally. Sanctions Could Complicate Return of Remains from North Korea Voice of America8/3/18 Recovering the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War could be complicated by restrictions under international sanctions, experts said, even though the White House is hailing the effort as “the momentum for positive change” in relations between the United States and North Korea. Trump administration not ‘starry-eyed’ about North Korea denuclearization, John Bolton says Washington Examiner8/5/18 National security adviser John Bolton said Sunday that the Trump administration is not “starry-eyed” about the possibility of North Korea denuclearization after just one meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump. Opinion and Analysis Japan’s nuclear options The Japan TimesRamesh Thakur 8/5/18 As I argued in the inaugural issue of the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament published by Nagasaki University’s Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, signing the ban treaty would put Japan on the right side of history, geography, legality, morality and humanity. How to Strike a Missile Deal With Iran Foreign PolicyMichael Elleman and Mark Fitzpatrick 8/6/18 The United States’ confrontational posture toward Iran is not likely to enlist any international partners apart from those already in the anti-Iran camp. But as European leaders try to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran, they should seek to find common cause with Washington to address their shared concerns. A key issue is the potential threat inherent in Iran’s ballistic missile program: If Iran ever decides to go for broke in building nuclear weapons, some of its missiles, which today are fitted with conventional warheads, could be repurposed to deliver nuclear warheads. Walking the nuclear risk tightrope The HillJulia Phillips and James Wells 8/4/18 As U.S. officials strive to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons in countries such as Iran and North Korea, we need to set a global example by reducing nuclear risks here in the United States. We need to maintain civilian nuclear research reactors, which are critical to our economic competitiveness and scientific enterprise, while transitioning them off fuel that can be used to build nuclear weapons. Special Interest The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States by Jeffrey Lewis – review The Guardian8/6/18 The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States is an attempt to give us hindsight before it’s too late. It calls itself a speculative novel, a horrific imagined future based on a quite plausible extrapolation of the present.