Nuclear Policy News – June 26, 2018

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TOP NEWS

Exclusive: Pompeo says no timeline on North Korea negotiations
CNN

Iran Is Changing, but Not in Ways Trump Thinks
New York Times

Criticism of North Korean Repression Is Discouraged, Activists Complain
Wall Street Journal

Mattis arrives in China; N. Korea to be key topic of meetings
Asahi Shimbun

EAST ASIA

Exclusive: Pompeo says no timeline on North Korea negotiations
CNN6/25/18
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN he would not put a timeline on negotiations with North Korea, but said the Trump administration will regularly assess the regime’s seriousness about abandoning its nuclear program as the US moves toward normalizing relations with Pyongyang.

Criticism of North Korean Repression Is Discouraged, Activists Complain
Wall Street Journal6/25/18
Seoul closes the physical office of a human-rights foundation that had angered Pyongyang, as authorities try to avoid upsetting the North

US cracks down on North Korea’s army of overseas workers
CNN6/25/18
The US ambassador to Myanmar was one of dozens of US envoys to get the same directions from Washington this spring: uncover North Korean sources of income, then cut them off.

Mattis arrives in China; N. Korea to be key topic of meetings
Asahi Shimbun6/26/18
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for meetings with senior Chinese leaders, as the world waits for indications that North Korea is taking steps to dismantle its nuclear program following the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

S. Korean, U.S. defense officials agree to strengthen cooperation over peninsula peace
Yonhap News Agency6/25/18
Top defense officials of South Korea and the United States agreed Monday to strengthen cooperation in facilitating ongoing diplomacy to achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula, Seoul’s defense ministry said.

The Mystery at the Heart of North Korea Talks
The Atlantic6/26/18
The parties have yet to agree on what exactly should be “denuclearized.” But one South Korean official has a plan to close the gap.

North Korea’s MIA Americans: thousands still unaccounted for even after Trump’s deal to bring hundreds back
Newsweek6/25/18
President Donald Trump’s promise that Pyongyang would hand over the remains of American troops missing after the Korean War has revived hopes of long-awaited closure among hundreds of families. But it will still leave thousands of the country’s fallen in North Korea.

The U.S. Will Soon Give North Korea a Timeline of ‘Specific Asks,’ Report Says
Time6/25/18
A senior U.S. defense official says North Korea will soon be presented with a timeline of “specific asks” from the U.S. to implement a bilateral agreement signed at a historic leaders’ summit in Singapore, Reuters reports.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran Is Changing, but Not in Ways Trump Thinks
New York Times6/25/18
President Trump says his decision to leave the nuclear agreement is already having a huge impact on Iran. He is right, Iranians say, but for the wrong reasons.
Rouhani says Iran will not give in to pressure from Trump
Reuters6/26/18
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lambasted on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme, and said Iranians will not give in to U.S. pressure but would defend their independence and Islamic values.

U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY

Government watchdog says nuke-detection plan under Trump, Obama is lacking
Defense News6/25/18
A new government watchdog report says the U.S. government’s plan for detecting nuclear proliferation is lacking in detail, raising questions about government’s ability to effectively monitor foreign nuclear programs.

Megadonor Sheldon Adelson rewards GOP candidates in tight races who opposed Iran deal
CNBC6/25/18
A week after President Donald Trump announced he was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Sheldon Adelson rewarded five GOP candidates who had adamantly opposed the deal.

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

The despot and the diplomat
Japan TimesChristopher Hill
6/25/18
Whether shaking a hand helps or not, negotiating while shaking a fist has little record of success.

Total Denuclearization Is an Unattainable Goal. Here’s How to Reduce the North Korean Threat.
Foreign PolicySiegfried Hecker, Elliot Serbin, and Robert Carlin
6/25/18
The United States and South Korea must help Pyongyang convert its military nuclear complex for civilian use.

Trump must beware of declaring ‘mission accomplished’ on North Korea
The HillHarry Kazianis
6/25/18
Another North Korea crisis is in the offing — but perhaps one of our own making.

With North Korea, Good Intentions Aren’t Enough
Foreign PolicyRobert Manning
6/26/18
Trump’s unilateral negotiating strategy will fail unless the United States collaborates with its regional allies — and adversaries — to forge a lasting peace.

Chinese Perceptions on Nuclear Weapons, Arms Control, and Nonproliferation
CFRPatricia Kim
6/21/18
On June 21, 2018, Patricia Kim testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

A bigger arsenal for a lasting peace
AEIThomas Donnelly
6/25/18
Where is Stanley Kubrick when you need him?

No Surprise: The Bomb Has Made a Bad Situation Worse in South Asia
National InterestMichael Krepon
6/24/18
Testing nuclear devices opens up a Pandora’s box of requirements that can be relieved only by accepting a modus vivendi with an adversary or by accepting minimal deterrence from the competition.

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