Top News ANALYSIS: An unanswered question at the heart of America’s nuclear arsenal Scientific American Iran lawmakers call for debate on quitting nuclear arms treaty Reuters ANALYSIS: Opportunities for nuclear arms control engagement with China Arms Control Association United States DoE dipping into Cold War leftovers for future depleted uranium needs Defense Daily1/28/20 modernization/ The Department of Energy has decided to use a Cold War nuclear weapons cleanup in Ohio to help produce high-purity depleted uranium metal for nuclear weapons programs. ANALYSIS: An unanswered question at the heart of America’s nuclear arsenal Scientific AmericanStephen Young 1/28/20 The United States has an arsenal of some 3,800 nuclear weapons, about half of which are deployed, with the rest in storage. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) and the nuclear weapons laboratories it oversees are concerned that the performance of the weapons will degrade over time. OPINION: The low-yield nuclear warhead: A dangerous weapon based on bad strategic thinking Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsAndrew Facini 1/28/20 In the unintuitive world of nuclear weapons strategy, it’s often difficult to identify which decisions can serve to decrease the risk of a devastating nuclear conflict and which might instead increase it. East Asia ANALYSIS: Opportunities for nuclear arms control engagement with China Arms Control AssociationTong Zhao 1/24/20 The clock is ticking on an extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). To complicate matters, instead of extending the treaty as is, Washington seeks to broaden the existing U.S.-Russian agreement by including China in a new trilateral arms control framework. OPINION: North Korea has a new foreign minister, but that doesn’t mean a change in policy The DiplomatDan DePetris 1/28/20 The North Korean ranks underwent a shake up last week when Ri Son Gwon, a former military commander, was appointed as Pyongyang’s new foreign minister. Middle East Iran lawmakers call for debate on quitting nuclear arms treaty Reuters1/28/20 A group of Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday asked parliament to debate a motion for Iran to quit a treaty governing global nuclear arms control, a move apparently aimed at pressuring European powers to salvage Tehran’s own 2015 nuclear deal. Iran prepares site for satellite launch that U.S. links to ballistic missiles Reuters1/28/20 Iran is preparing a site for launching a satellite, a government minister said on Monday, highlighting a program the United States says is a cover for ballistic missile development. Russia/Europe ANALYSIS: The case for extending New START with Russia LawfareFrank Rose 1/28/20 Is it wise to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia? In recent months, senior Trump administration officials and conservative defense analysts have expressed increasing doubts. Multilateral Arms Control ANALYSIS: The NPT at its golden anniversary review European Leadership NetworkAndreas Persbo, Sahil Shah 1/28/20 The 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates the golden anniversary of its entry-into-force on 5 March 2020.