TOP NEWS In Rare News Conference, North Korea Offers Its Own Version of Summit Collapse NPR News Opinion: India, Pakistan, And the Remote but Real Threat of Nuclear War Deutsche Welle – Michael Kugelman State of Disunion: Europe, NATO, And Disintegrating Arms Control European Council on Foreign Relations East Asia In Rare News Conference, North Korea Offers Its Own Version of Summit Collapse NPR News2/28/2019 “What we proposed was not the removal of all sanctions but the partial removal,” Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said through an interpreter in Hanoi. He said North Korea sought relief from five U.N. sanctions imposed in 2016 and 2017 that hurt the country’s economy, out of a total of 11, in exchange for disabling its main nuclear complex. Hot Takes on The Hanoi Summit Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists2/28/2019 At a press call yesterday, organized by the Peace & Security Collaborative at ReThink Media, 10 experts spoke about the disappointing end to the summit. Blackstone’s Schwarzman: Failed North Korea Talks Will Bring US and China Closer Together CNBC2/28/2019 “When you talk to the Chinese about North Korea, they think that if anything goes wrong on that peninsula there’s nuclear waste that’s going to come into China,” Schwarzman said. “That is their number 1 concern. They would like a denuclearized North Korea. To the extent it didn’t happen, [it] actually moves the countries together, China and the U.S.” Russia/Europe/FSU State of Disunion: Europe, NATO, And Disintegrating Arms Control European Council on Foreign Relations2/28/2019 Splits between Germany and Poland vis-à-vis Russia signal deeper divisions in the alliance, ones which threaten European security. U.S. Nuclear Policy Fischer Builds Case for Nuclear Modernization Lincoln Journal Star2/26/2019 Fischer, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces, pointed to efforts by Russia and China to build “myriad of additional nuclear capabilities to threaten the United States” during a series of questions directed at Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. Opinion and Analysis After All the Swagger, Trump’s Talks with North Korea Collapse New Yorker – Robin Wright2/28/2019 The collapse was a setback to Trump’s approach to diplomacy, which, under previous Administrations, had been based on a summit as a final reward rather than as a starting point. “The best way to move forward,” Rebecca Hersman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said, “is to resume lower-level talks until a more concrete process emerges.” Trump-Kim Summit’s Collapse Exposes the Risks of One-to-One Diplomacy New York Times – David Sanger2/28/2019 History suggests that the North Koreans may try to pressure Mr. Trump by escalating. And they have the opportunity: Mr. Trump not only left Hanoi early, but he also left without any agreement for a “freeze” on continued North Korean production of nuclear material. That means that the world’s fastest-growing nuclear arsenal will continue to increase in size as negotiations drag on. India-Pakistan Crises: Lessons for Israel, Syria And Iran – Analysis The Jerusalem Post – Seth Frantzman3/1/2019 The battle over the skies of Kashmir, and potential for further clashes, risk not only a clash between nuclear-armed powers in South Asia but also has ramifications for the Middle East. U.S. Should Accept North Korea With Some Nuclear Weapons, Panetta Says Fortune – Leon Panetta2/28/2019 Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the goal of talks with North Korea should be to establish conditions that let Kim Jong Un keep some nuclear weapons within internationally determined limits. Opinion: India, Pakistan, And the Remote but Real Threat of Nuclear War Deutsche Welle – Michael Kugelman2/28/2019 India and Pakistan are currently embroiled in their most serious crisis in several decades. While a nuclear exchange between the two sides is highly unlikely, the possibility nevertheless remains, says Michael Kugelman. Special Interest The Status of Nuclear Weapons Around the World NPR2/28/2019 We are surrounded by reminders that North Korea is not the only nuclear threat. In Russia, Moscow says it’s developing a hypersonic missile that will someday be able to get past American defenses. India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, claim to have shot down each other’s fighter jets. It’s their most serious confrontation in years.