Nuclear Policy News – June 12, 2018

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TOP NEWS

Trump-Kim Talks Short on New Nuclear Pledges From North Korea
Wall Street Journal

Trump’s vow to end military drills with Seoul stuns a region
Washington Post

Iran spokesman warns Kim about nuclear agreement with Trump
Washington Post

Live Updates: Trump to Suspend Military Exercises on Korean Peninsula
New York Times

EAST ASIA

Live Updates: Trump to Suspend Military Exercises on Korean Peninsula
New York Times6/12/18
President Trump said Tuesday that he was suspending military exercises on the Korean Peninsula and that he expected the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to move “very quickly” to dismantle his nuclear arsenal after a day of discussions in Singapore.

Trump-Kim Talks Short on New Nuclear Pledges From North Korea
Wall Street Journal6/12/18
Deal has few specifics, but U.S. president says the leaders will ‘meet again…many times’

Trump’s vow to end military drills with Seoul stuns a region
Washington Post6/12/18
President Donald Trump rocked the region with the stunning announcement Tuesday that he was halting annual U.S.-South Korean military drills — and wants to remove the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the South as a deterrent against North Korea.

China suggests sanctions relief for North Korea after Trump-Kim summit
CNBC6/12/18
China suggested on Tuesday that sanctions relief could be considered for North Korea, after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Trump, Kim sign agreement after North Korea summit; war games put on hold
NBC6/11/18
The president said he “developed a very special bond” with the dictator, who Trump called “a very talented man.” Kim was also invited to the White House.

What just happened? Experts break it down
CNN6/12/18
CNN Opinion asked a group of expert commentators to weigh in with their reactions to the historic meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

North Korea summit: Trump, Kim sign “comprehensive” document — live updates
CBS6/12/18
President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a document that Mr. Trump described as “important” and “comprehensive,” to conclude their meetings in Singapore.

President Trump Wants North Korea to Give Up Nuclear Weapons. Here’s Just How Hard That Would Be
Time6/11/18
Delivering any sort of blow to Pyongyang’s sprawling missile and nuclear weapon infrastructure will take a herculean, years-long effort — the likes of which have never been seen before.

The Nine Steps Required to Really Disarm North Korea
New York Times6/11/18
The vast scope of North Korea’s atomic program means ending it would be the most challenging case of nuclear disarmament in history.

North Korean Dissidents Lament That Human Rights Are a Non-Issue as Trump Meets Kim
Foreign Policy6/11/18
The State Department says it will address rights issues at other venues.

U.N. nuclear watchdog says ready to help North Korea denuclearization
Reuters6/12/18
The U.N. nuclear watchdog welcomed the joint statement of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday and said it was prepared to undertake verification activities.

Trump’s North Korea summit falls short of Nixon-goes-to-China moment
Reuters6/12/18
Donald Trump’s dramatic meeting with North Korea’s leader may have been choreographed to look like a Nixon-goes-to-China moment, but the summit appears to have failed to secure any concrete commitments by Pyongyang for dismantling its nuclear arsenal.

Don’t trust Trump, Iran tells North Korea, as Singapore summit approaches
Newsweek6/11/18
Iran has warned North Korea that President Donald Trump is not a trustworthy negotiator, as the American leader prepares to meet Kim Jong Un for their long-awaited summit in Singapore.

North Korea Open for Business? Some See Hope in Trump Talks
New York Times6/12/18
North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated countries. It is ruled by an unpredictable dictator with his finger on the nuclear button. So, who’s ready to do business there?

Trump Will Leave Summit With North Korea Early
NYMag6/11/18
Donald Trump has decided to leave his historic summit with Kim Jong-un 15 hours earlier than expected, flying back to Washington on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday morning.

Iran spokesman warns Kim about nuclear agreement with Trump
Washington Post6/12/18
The spokesman for the Iranian government is warning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that President Donald Trump could nullify any nuclear deal with North Korea.

Trump’s comments back US report of razed N. Korea test site
Washington Post6/12/18
President Donald Trump’s comments on Tuesday that North Korea was destroying a major missile engine testing site seemed to support a recent U.S. study that the country was razing a facility that had been crucial to its development of mid-range solid-fuel missiles.

RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE

Military alliance CSTO supports Russia-U.S. nuclear disarmament treaty
Xinhua6/11/18
A military alliance grouping six former Soviet republics adopted a statement Monday supporting the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia.

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Peace with Pyongyang: Legal Implications for the United States and South Korea
38 North6/11/18
A peace treaty is a versatile instrument that can be tailored to further US and South Korean interests in addressing the security challenges posed by North Korea.

The Best Model for a Nuclear Deal With North Korea? Iran
New York TimesAntony Blinken
6/11/18
As Mr. Trump pursues North Korea’s denuclearization at the Singapore summit meeting scheduled for Tuesday, he risks being hoisted on his own hyperbole.

Trump Kim-Summit: The Best-Case Scenario
Atlantic Council6/11/18
Atlantic Council analysts present their views on what they believe to be an achievable, best-case outcome, one that would test North Korea’s readiness for genuine, rapid denuclearization by demanding front-loaded “down payments” during the first twelve months.

For All His Deals, Trump Has Never Faced an Adversary Like Kim Jong-un
New York Times6/11/18
President Trump has imagined himself at the center of high-stakes nuclear negotiations since at least the mid-1980s, when he tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the Reagan administration that it needed a New York real estate deal maker to lead arms-control talks with the Soviet Union.

The North Korea Nuclear Agreement and Human Rights
CFRElliott Abrams
6/12/18
If the United States and North Korea are to have a new relationship, it must include the human rights dimension.

The ‘war or peace’ binary on North Korea is dangerously wrong
Washington PostJennifer Rubin
6/11/18
We are not at war, nor do we have an entirely peaceful relationship with Pyongyang (although Trump may decide to sign a meaningless peace treaty giving Kim yet another win).

Young voices on peace with North Korea
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsCatherine Killough and Alicia Sanders-Zakre
6/11/18
Young people and their work should inspire the United States to choose diplomacy over war and to pursue peace with North Korea.

This Is Bigger Than a Meeting With Kim Jong Un
The AtlanticUri Friedman
6/11/18
Donald Trump is navigating a new nuclear era—and fashioning a new approach.

A Peace Treaty for the Korean Peninsula: Will the Past be Prologue?
38 North6/11/18
Until now, talks about North Korean denuclearization have remained separate from discussions about a peace treaty.

How to evaluate the Trump-Kim summit
Washington PostJennifer Rubin
6/11/18
We suggest four criteria for evaluating the success or failure of the summit.

How to measure the success or failure of the Trump-Kim summit
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists6/11/18
But what are its prospects for success? How do we even define “success” (or failure)? What are the two most likely scenarios for a happy outcome? And what recommendations can we make, to help translate the most-desired scenarios into reality?

Will the upcoming Missile Defense Review maintain the current course or plot a new direction?
BrookingsFrank Rose
6/11/18
Next on the docket: the Missile Defense Review (MDR), which was expected to be released in February yet the wait continues. Amid the suspense, many in Washington are wondering whether the document will maintain the existing consensus in the United States on missile defense (i.e., defense against limited threats from regional states), or move in a different direction.

Success after Singapore hinges on credible US missile defense
The HillAriel Cohen
6/11/18
Missile defense should be a key component of the U.S. strategic posture in Asia.

CVID Is the Most Important Acronym of the Trump-Kim Talks. No One Knows What It Means
Slate6/11/18
Everyone seems to agree that CVID is the key acronym to watch for as Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un prepare to meet for landmark nuclear talks, but it’s less clear what it actually means or even what it stands for.

How Trump lost the summit before the photographers even left the room
Washington PostJennifer Rubin
6/12/18
The spectacle of the murderous dictator Kim Jong Un on equal footing with the president of the United States — each country’s flag represented, a supposedly “normal” diplomatic exchange between two nuclear powers — was enough to turn democracy lovers’ stomachs.

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