Top News Looming Demise of a Nuclear Treaty Threatens to Upend Others Wall Street Journal Donald Trump to name Heather Nauert as next UN ambassador USA Today Inhofe ‘urging’ Trump to boost defense, sees ‘no strategic rationale’ for cuts Defense News North Korea tells China it’s committed to denuclearization Associated Press East Asia North Korea tells China it’s committed to denuclearization Associated Press12/7/18 North Korea’s foreign minister said his country remains committed to ending its nuclear weapons program in talks Friday with his Chinese counterpart, according to China’s foreign ministry. The talks in Beijing between Ri Yong Ho and Wang Yi came amid a lack of progress in international efforts to persuade North Korea to reverse its drive to build a nuclear arsenal. US Intelligence Not Shocked North Korea Upgrading Missile Bases Voice of America12/6/18 North Korean efforts to upgrade and expand a long-range missile base come as no surprise to U.S. intelligence officials, who have long been wary of promises by Pyongyang to denuclearize. “Our analytical line has not changed” a U.S. intelligence official told VOA, when asked about the images. “North Korea has a big job to do. Until it has fully panned out and they have done their part, we have to be skeptical” South Korea eyes $300-million deal to buy U.S. missiles for Aegis destroyers Reuters12/7/18 South Korea plans to buy dozens of U.S.-built ship-to-air missiles, in an order worth about $300 million, to boost air defenses against North Korea, even as it moves to reduce tension with Pyongyang, Seoul’s arms buying agency said on Friday. Since 2013, South Korea has bought Standard Missile-2s, developed by Raytheon Co (RTN.N), in installments to equip three Aegis destroyers preparing to be deployed in the mid-2020s. Middle East Trump Says ‘We Cannot Allow’ Iran To Possess Nuclear Weapons Radio Farda12/7/18 U.S. President Donald Trump in brief remarks at the White House on December 6 said he will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Speaking to American-Jewish guests at a Hannukah gathering, Trump said the Iran deal was “horrible, horrible” and insisted “it should have never been made”. Russia/FSU/Europe Looming Demise of a Nuclear Treaty Threatens to Upend Others Wall Street Journal12/7/18 The impending collapse of a Cold War-era treaty banning U.S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles is spurring broader concerns about the very future of arms control. Responding to appeals from its European allies, the Trump administration has given Moscow 60 days to resolve the U.S. allegations that it has punched a hole in the accord by deploying ground-launched cruise missiles. U.S. Nuclear Policy Inhofe ‘urging’ Trump to boost defense, sees ‘no strategic rationale’ for cuts Defense News12/6/18 Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe said he used a recent two-hour White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice Mike President Pence and national security adviser John Bolton to urge the administration to reverse course on a planned cut to the fiscal year 2020 national defense budget. “I’m urging the president to consider” approving a “strategy-driven budget,” he said Thursday in a speech at the National Defense University focused on his priorities for the committee. “There’s no strategic rationale for any cut” to the defense budget, which stood at $716 billion for 2019, he said. Donald Trump to name Heather Nauert as next UN ambassador USA Today12/6/18 President Donald Trump will name Heather Nauert, a former Fox News anchor and the current State Department spokeswoman, as his next United Nations ambassador, according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Trump may announce Nauert’s appointment as early as Friday. Opinion and Analysis What the impending death of the INF teaches about future arms control agreements Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsPerry World House 12/6/18 While the pros and cons of pulling out of the INF have been thoroughly debated, a subject that has received much less attention is what the impending death of the INF can teach us about future arms control agreements. Specifically, how can future treaties be designed to avoid the fate of the INF?