Top News: Wary of Biden tack on Iran, Israel revisits military options, newspaper says Reuters North Korea stages military parade after rare party congress Reuters ANALYSIS: The hypersonic missile debate Aerospace Corporation United States ANALYSIS: The hypersonic missile debate Aerospace CorporationSam Wilson 1/13/21 Before adjudicating among conflicting technological assessments—deciding whether hypersonic missiles are undefendable, or easier to defend, untraceable or easier to track, extremely precise or widely imprecise—one may want to begin with considering the U.S. relationship with Russia and China. ANALYSIS: Catalytic nuclear war’ in the age of artificial intelligence & autonomy Journal of Strategic StudiesJames Johnson 1/13/21 This article revisits the Cold War-era concept of ‘catalytic nuclear war,’ considered by many as unworkable, and reconceptualizes it in light of technological change, as well as improved understanding of human psychology and other factors. OPINION: Our nuclear arms don’t need to be launch-ready. Biden should back down from the precipice. Washington Post1/13/21 Mr. Trump will be out of office soon, but there are long-overdue reforms that would reduce the dangers by taking nuclear weapons off launch-ready alert. East Asia North Korea stages military parade after rare party congress Reuters1/13/21 North Korea appeared to have stage a military parade on Thursday – an event that would be closely watched by international observers for signs of new military technology – after wrapping up a rare ruling party congress, Yonhap news agency reported. North Korea: Will Kim Jong Un resume ICBM and nuclear tests? Al Jazeera1/14/21 At party Congress, Kim pledges to expand weapons programmes with the aim of ‘making a preemptive and retaliatory nuclear strike’. Kim Jong-un uses party congress to double down on nuclear program New York Times1/13/21 The North Korean leader said his economic policies had failed, but he called his nuclear arms buildup one of the great feats “in the history of the Korean nation.” Middle East Iran works on uranium metal for reactor fuel in new breach of nuclear deal Reuters1/13/12 Iran has started work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, the U.N. nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday, in the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six major powers as the country presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions. Wary of Biden tack on Iran, Israel revisits military options, newspaper says Reuters1/14/21 Israel is revising military options for a possible clash with Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government braces for differences with the incoming U.S. administration on Iranian nuclear policy. OPINION: With Iran, Biden can’t let perfect be the enemy of good Foreign PolicyJames Acton 1/13/21 Why any new agreement would likely be worse than resuscitating the existing deal. Russia and Europe ANALYSIS: Year 2020 in review: Results of Russia’s nuclear weapons modernization Jamestown FoundationMaxim Starchak 1/13/21 Russia continues to press ahead with its nuclear weapons modernization program; however, domestic production difficulties and the coronavirus pandemic hindered the development of its latest strategic systems during the course of the last year.