Nuclear Policy News – May 13, 2020

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Top News

OPINION: Moving forward with the W93 SLBM warhead strengthens U.S. and British security
Real Clear Defense

China ‘won’t win more respect’ if it expands nuclear arsenal following calls from national media, analyst says
South China Morning Post

Russia slams U.S. assertion at U.N. that it remains party to Iran nuclear deal
Reuters

United States

OPINION: Moving forward with the W93 SLBM warhead strengthens U.S. and British security
Real Clear DefenseLinton Brooks, John Harvey, Franklin Miller
5/12/20
In his 2009 Prague speech, President Obama declared that “As long as [nuclear]weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary, and guarantee that defense to our allies.”

OPINION: How to head off the next nuclear arms race
ForbesWilliam Hartung
5/13/20
Donald Trump is no fan of international agreements, to put it mildly.

East Asia

Kim’s reappearance in North Korea reignites nuclear and missile fears
World Politics Review5/11/20
When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un mysteriously disappeared from public view for three weeks last month, triggering widespread rumors about his health, many international observers speculated about what could come next.

China ‘won’t win more respect’ if it expands nuclear arsenal following calls from national media, analyst says
South China Morning Post5/11/20
Calls for Beijing to expand its nuclear arsenal reflect its rocky relations with Washington, and any reckless moves could damage the nation’s credibility, according to an analyst.

ANALYSIS: China’s dual-capable missiles: A dangerous feature, not a bug
The DiplomatAnkit Panda
5/13/20
The DF-26 IRBM’s ability to operate conventional and nuclear warheads creates dangerous inadvertent escalation risks.

Middle East

Saudi Arabia to deploy its own missile-defence systems at oil facilities after U.S. withdrawal
Middle East Eye5/11/20
Some US officials feel that Iran ‘no longer poses an immediate threat to American strategic interests’.

Russia and Europe

Russia slams U.S. assertion at U.N. that it remains party to Iran nuclear deal
Reuters5/12/20
Russia’s U.N. ambassador slammed the United States on Tuesday as “ridiculous” for arguing it was still a member of the Iran nuclear deal two years after it quit, so Washington could trigger a return of all United Nations sanctions on Tehran.

Russia proposes five-year extension of nuclear weapons treaty
PL5/13/20
Russia proposed on Monday to extend for another five years the validity of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start-3), amid the silence of the United States to refer to that possibility.

Multilateral Arms Control

REPORT: Alternative approaches and indicators for the prevention of an arms race in outer space
UNIDIR5/13/20
Recent space-related military developments suggest that the guiding paradigm over the last four decades for space security talks—prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS)—is fast being overtaken by events.

REPORT: The IAEA’s safeguards system as the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s verification mechanism
NTI5/8/20
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system fulfills a vital role underpinning the NPT, reinforcing commitments to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and providing confidence that nuclear energy is used for exclusively peaceful purposes.

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