Top News Iran will never seek nuclear weapons: President Rouhani Al Jazeera Efforts to denuclearize North Korea will continue despite hard-line minister, U.S. says New York Times Pakistan conducts training launch of nuclear-capable ‘Ghaznavi’ missile The New Indian Express United States Feds say nuclear weapons work will be open Albuquerque Journal1/22/20 A review of a proposal to ramp up production of key components for the United States’ nuclear arsenal will be open and transparent, according to members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation. ANALYSIS: A history of damage limitation in U.S. nuclear war planning Global Security ReviewRichard Purcell 1/22/20 The concept of nuclear damage limitation dates back to the early 1960s. Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, described it as “the ability to reduce the weight of the enemy attack by both offensive and defensive measures and to provide protection for our population against the effects of nuclear detonations.” OPINION: Time to stop the ‘Doomsday Clock’ Wall Street JournalLawrence Krauss 1/22/20 ‘Atomic scientists’ have no special authority when they opine on politics or military strategy. OPINION: Washington needs nonproliferation messaging consistency on Iran and North Korea The DiplomatMary Chesnut 1/22/20 In a world where very few states have nuclear weapons — namely, the victors of the Second World War and a handful of others — what strategies has the United States employed to prevent additional states from acquiring “the bomb”? East Asia Efforts to denuclearize North Korea will continue despite hard-line minister, U.S. says New York Times1/22/20 Privately, some American officials acknowledge that the administration has gotten nowhere in negotiations, and that there is no sign the North will give up its nuclear weapons. ‘Nuke sniffer’ and other U.S. spy planes monitoring heightened North Korea threat: Report Washington Times1/22/20 A flurry of U.S. Air Force spy and special operations aircraft activity has been reported over the Korean peninsula in recent days, coinciding with heightened concern that North Korea may be readying a major ballistic missile test or other provocation, including a possible nuclear detonation test. China fails to repatriate North Korea workers despite U.N. sanctions: U.S. official Reuters1/22/20 China has failed to send home North Korean workers by a December deadline in violation of United Nations sanctions, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, adding that this was why Washington blacklisted two entities involved in Pyongyang’s labor export. Middle East Iran will never seek nuclear weapons: President Rouhani Al Jazeera1/22/20 Iran will never seek nuclear weapons—with or without the nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. Europe/Russia On Israel trip for Auschwitz anniversary, Macron says Iran must never get nuclear weapons France 241/22/20 President Emmanuel Macron said France was determined Iran would never gain a nuclear weapon but it wanted to avoid any military escalation in the Middle East, after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. South Asia Pakistan conducts training launch of nuclear-capable ‘Ghaznavi’ missile The New Indian Express1/23/20 Pakistan on Thursday conducted a successful training launch of nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Ghaznavi’, which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres.