Top News Exclusive: Pompeo told North Korea to cut its nuclear arsenal by 60 to 70 percent Vox Khamenei says Iran does not have anything to be concerned about Reuters MDA ‘not averse’ to space-based interceptors, its director says Defense News East Asia Exclusive: Pompeo told North Korea to cut its nuclear arsenal by 60 to 70 percent Vox8/8/18 The Trump administration has presented North Korea with a formal timeline for starting the process of denuclearization — and Pyongyang has rejected it several times. It shows that even after months of talks, Washington and Pyongyang have made little progress toward ending the North Korean nuclear threat. U.N. chief offers a warning on anniversary of last nuclear attack CBS News8/9/18 Nagasaki marked the anniversary of the world’s second atomic bombing Thursday with the United Nations chief and the city’s mayor urging global leaders to take concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the first United Nations chief to visit Nagasaki, said fears of nuclear war are still present 73 years after the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings and that the attacks should never be repeated. China defends Iran business ties after Trump threat Reuters8/8/18 China’s business ties with Iran are open, transparent and lawful, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said companies doing business with Iran would be barred from the United States. Middle East Khamenei says Iran does not have anything to be concerned about Reuters8/8/18 Iran’s utmost authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic had nothing to be concerned about, a report on his official website said on Wednesday, as the country’s clerical leadership faces biting U.S. sanctions. Iran’s foreign minister: U.S. will not stop Iran oil exports: newspaper Reuters8/8/18 A U.S. plan to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero will not succeed, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was cited as saying by an Iranian newspaper on Wednesday. North Korea’s foreign minister visits Iran as US reimposes sanctions CNN8/7/18 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, to Tehran on Tuesday, hours after the United States reintroduced sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported the two officials met and “expressed satisfaction with existing bilateral relations and called for further expansion of ties.” Russia/FSU/Europe Italian premier asked Trump for info on Iran nuclear status Associated Press8/8/18 Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday his country is willing to consider a “more rigorous” stance toward Iran, adding that he recently asked U.S. President Donald Trump to share intelligence about Iran’s alleged nuclear program that has triggered fresh U.S. sanctions. Conte told reporters at a news conference in Rome that Italy would hope to coordinate any initiatives with European Union partners in the aftermath of re-imposed U.S. sanctions against Iran. South Asia Pakistan, Russia Sign Rare Military Cooperation Pact Voice of America8/8/18 Pakistan has wrapped up a groundbreaking contract with Russia that would, for the first time, open doors for Russian military training of Pakistani army officers. The rare deal comes amid deteriorating relations between Islamabad and the United States, which has resulted in the halt of all military exchange programs with Pakistan and left a void that Moscow has stepped in to fill. Pakistan Will Add 60,000 Troops to Patrol Afghan Border Bloomberg8/8/18 Pakistan will add as many as 60,000 troops to boost its patrols along its disputed border with Afghanistan in an effort to curb the flow of insurgents passing between the two nations, according to military officials familiar with the matter. U.S. Nuclear Policy MDA ‘not averse’ to space-based interceptors, its director says Defense News8/8/18 The Missile Defense Agency is ‘not averse’ to developing and fielding space-based missile defense interceptors, its director, Gen. Samuel Greaves, said August 8 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium. While it has appeared, in a way, like Congress has been pushing the development of space-based missile defense interceptors on an unenthusiastic MDA, Greaves stressed that the capability was part of many discussions within the MDA and the Pentagon. Detect Nukes In Flight With Electron Beam Technology Breaking Defense8/8/18 Imagine a technology that could detect roadside bombs and landmines buried underground, pick out a nuclear warhead from a cloud of decoys miles away, or even fry enemy electronics, potentially disarming those warheads from a distance. Well, physicist William Dent has invented that technology and briefed its potential to the Army and industry here. It’s called a neutron beam generator. Opinion and Analysis North Korea’s Economic Policy in 2018 and Beyond: Reforms Inevitable, Delays Possible 38 NorthRuediger Frank 8/8/18 Successful examples of authoritarian economic miracles like Singapore, China or South Korea under Park Chung-hee show that if he plays his hand well, Kim Jong Un can have his cake and eat it, too—reform the economy while keeping his monopolistic grip on power. In the very distant future, this could help him to fulfill the vision that his grandfather Kim Il Sung harbored when he was Kim Jong Un’s age: national unification under North Korean leadership, driven by a superior military force and unhindered by an inferior economy. It would be a mistake to forget that this is the ultimate goal behind every North Korean policy.