Top News: Trump writes to Kim Jung-un offering help in virus fight, North Korea says New York Times Safeguarding the nukes: StratCom staggers Offutt staffers’ shifts to keep COVID-19 at bay Omaha Herald Trump will not offer Iran sanctions relief as coronavirus spreads rapidly in the country CNBC United States Safeguarding the nukes: StratCom staggers Offutt staffers’ shifts to keep COVID-19 at bay Omaha Herald3/19/20 U.S. Strategic Command is taking action to make sure its nuclear arsenal is ready if needed, even in the shadow of a global pandemic, say leaders of the Offutt-based command. U.S. tests first hypersonic glide body, challenging Russia’s advanced nuclear weapons lead Newsweek3/20/20 The United States has tested its first hypersonic glide vehicle, challenging Russia’s lead in advanced weapons it, too, has been developing for years. OPINION: Surging U.S. nuclear weapons budget a growing danger Arms Control AssociationKingston Rief, Shannon Bugos 3/19/20 The projected cost to sustain and upgrade the U.S. nuclear arsenal continues to grow. And grow. And grow some more. East Asia Trump writes to Kim Jung-un offering help in virus fight, North Korea says New York Times3/20/20 The North, which says it is waging an all-out campaign against the coronavirus, expressed “sincere gratitude” for the president’s letter. North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile, South says New York Times3/20/20 The South Korean military called it “deeply inappropriate” for the North to test missiles as the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. OPINION: More underground facilities near Yongbyon: A potential challenge for future denuclearization deals 38 NorthJacob Bogle 3/20/20 Commercial satellite imagery reveals a previously publicly unidentified underground facility (UGF) beneath a hill in Bungang, the worker’s district adjacent to the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. Middle East Trump will not offer Iran sanctions relief as coronavirus spreads rapidly in the country CNBC3/20/20 The Trump administration said it would not offer sanctions relief to Iran as the deadly coronavirus outbreak further isolates and cripples the Middle Eastern nation. OPINION: Trump’s callous sanctions risk tipping Iran over the nuclear precipice The GuardianSimon Tisdall 3/21/20 Mike Pompeo’s imposition of further sanctions is another disaster for the people of Iran and could cause Tehran to raise the stakes. Russia and Europe Russia’s Northern Fleet submariners to test fire Zircon hypersonic missiles TASS3/20/20 Submarines of Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet will conduct test firing of hypersonic missiles shortly, Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev said. Second upgraded Tupolev-22M3M makes first flight TASS3/20/20 A second overhauled and fundamentally upgraded strategic bomber Tupolev-22M3M has performed its first flight, a source in the defense-industrial complex has told TASS. South Asia India, Pakistan nuclear war could spell doom in China, Iran & Bangladesh Eurasian Times3/19/20 A nuclear conflagration between India and Pakistan would devastate global food supplies and could trigger unprecedented global food shortages and starvation for over a decade, a 19-member international research team said in a study on Monday.