Nuclear Policy News – June 5, 2018

FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailCopy Link
TOP NEWS

Mattis says U.S. troops in S. Korea ‘not going anywhere’
Yonhap News Agency

South Korea-U.S. war games will take place quietly to avoid North Korea conflict
Newsweek

Bolton sidelined as Trump readies for North Korea
CNN

Iran to boost uranium enrichment if nuclear deal fails
BBC News

EAST ASIA

Donald Trump, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will likely save the details for after the summit
USA Today6/4/18
When President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un finally sit down together next week in Singapore, the best they can probably hope for is a general statement pledging work on an overall agreement regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Mattis says U.S. troops in S. Korea ‘not going anywhere’
Yonhap News Agency6/4/18
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has reaffirmed that the American troop presence in South Korea remains unchanged ahead of a high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The Threat to Kim Jong Un Within North Korea
The Atlantic6/4/18
Generations of North Korean leaders have billed the nuclear program as the key to their country’s security and prosperity. You can’t contemplate giving that up without alienating a whole lot of people.

Trump Greets Plans for North Korea-Syria Meeting With Deafening Silence
New York Times6/4/18
On Monday, White House officials declined to discuss the prospect of Mr. Assad visiting Pyongyang, saying only that Mr. Trump would convey his views directly to Mr. Kim.

South Korea-U.S. war games will take place quietly to avoid North Korea conflict
Newsweek6/4/18
South Korea plans to continue holding joint war games with the United States as it does every year, but will stop publicizing the event in order to avoid riling its neighbor North Korea, officials said Monday.

Bolton sidelined as Trump readies for North Korea
CNN6/5/18
As President Donald Trump huddled in the Oval Office on Friday with Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man, he was accompanied by only one other US official: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Absent was the administration’s most vocal North Korea hawk, national security adviser John Bolton.

Schumer, Senate Dems have a Korea summit checklist for Trump
Military Times6/4/18
U.S. Senate Democrats are demanding that any agreement President Donald Trump makes to ease sanctions on North Korea be contingent on complete denuclearization and destruction of test sites.

China’s Trade With North Korea Is Set to Soar With a Trump-Kim Deal
New York Times6/5/18
With President Trump’s summit meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, back on track, excitement is growing about the opportunities that could open up should the sanctions be eased.

MIDDLE EAST

Iran to boost uranium enrichment if nuclear deal fails
BBC News6/5/18
Iran says it has begun work on increasing its uranium enrichment capacity, in case its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers collapses.

Netanyahu heads to Europe with Iran on his mind
Washington Post6/4/18
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Europe in a bid to rally support from key allies for amending the international nuclear deal with Iran and for pushing Iranian forces out of neighboring Syria.

SOUTH ASIA

India Test Fires Most Advanced Nuclear-Capable ICBM
The Diplomat6/4/18
India has successfully test fired an Agni-V intercontinental-range ballistic missile on June 3.

U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY

Pentagon completes draft plans for new low-yield sea-launched nuclear weapon
Fox News6/5/18
The Pentagon has completed initial draft plans for several emerging low-yield sea-launched nuclear weapons intended to deter potential attackers and add new precision strike options to those currently possible with the existing arsenal.

Deep in the Pentagon, a secret AI program to find hidden nuclear missiles
Reuters6/5/18
The U.S. military is increasing spending on a secret research effort to use artificial intelligence to help anticipate the launch of a nuclear-capable missile, as well as track and target mobile launchers in North Korea and elsewhere.

OPINION AND ANALYSIS

Transcript of the 38 North Press Briefing “The Singapore Summit: What’s A Good Outcome?”
38 North6/4/18
Moderated by Yuki Tatsumi, co-director of the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, it featured Ambassador Robert Gallucci, Suzanne DiMaggio of the New America Foundation, and Joel Wit.

Bolton is right: Apply the Libya model to North Korea
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsCharles Blair
6/4/18
The twice-scheduled June 12 summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un—if indeed it occurs—will almost certainly conclude without a substantive agreement to denuclearize North Korea.

FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailCopy Link