TOP NEWS The world is two minutes from doom CNN – Jerry Brown and William Perry The INF Quandary: Preventing a Nuclear Arms Race in Europe. Perspectives from the US, Russia and Germany Russia Matters Here’s how many billions the US will spend on nuclear weapons over the next decade DefenseNews East Asia North Korea’s Kim Praises Donald Trump’s ‘Unusual Determination’ U.S. News1/24/2019 Peace talks between North Korea and the U.S. remain fraught, but both leaders have expressed optimism about the other’s intentions. North Korea’s Kim ‘believes in’ Trump ahead of second Trump summit: KCNA Reuters1/23/2019 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke highly of U.S. President Donald Trump, state media said on Thursday, and expressed satisfaction over the results of talks between officials from both countries about a second summit between Kim and Trump. Round 2 with North Korea: What can Trump deliver this time? Christian Science Monitor1/24/2019 When the goal is nuclear disarmament, it seems there should never be a bad time for summitry. Yet there are worries that an American president hungry for home-pleasing news could accept a bad deal. Middle East Can Saudi Arabia Produce Ballistic Missiles? Satellite Imagery Raises Suspicions Washington Post1/23/2019 Satellite images suggest that Saudi Arabia has constructed its first known ballistic missile factory, according to weapons experts and image analysts, a development that raises questions about the kingdom’s increasing military and nuclear ambitions under its 33-year-old crown prince. Russia/FSU The INF Quandary: Preventing a Nuclear Arms Race in Europe. Perspectives from the US, Russia and Germany Russia Matters1/24/2019 The fate of the INF Treaty is of surpassing importance in Europe, Russia and the United States. Three authors representing each of these perspectives consider the likely future of the treaty, how it might be saved and what its demise might mean. NATO: Russia’s new missile lowers bar for the use of nuclear arms CNBC1/24/2019 NATO has called on Russia to come back within the terms of a treaty signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. The Russians have developed a missile which NATO says could lower the bar for the use of nuclear arms. With days to go before deadline, nuclear treaty seems doomed DefenseNews1/24/2019 A top American official today does not expect Russia will meet the demands of the Trump administration before a Feb. 2 deadline, when America will begin withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. U.S. Nuclear Policy Here’s how many billions the US will spend on nuclear weapons over the next decade DefenseNews1/24/2019 If the U.S. carries out all of its plans for modernizing and maintaining the nuclear arsenal, it will cost $494 billion over the next decade, an average of just less than $50 billion per year, a new government estimate has found. Opinion and Analysis The world is two minutes from doom CNN – Jerry Brown and William Perry 1/24/2019 It is two minutes to midnight, but there is no reason the Doomsday Clock cannot move away from catastrophe. The “new abnormal” can be made an unfortunate interlude in the world’s history, rather than its final chapter. We must turn back the clock.