TOP NEWS Trump cancels summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Washington Post North Korea Says It Shut Nuclear Test Site Ahead of Planned Meeting With Trump New York Times Pompeo promises ‘zero concessions’ to North Korea until ‘credible steps’ are made Washington Post China, Germany to stay in Iran nuclear deal as Khamenei lists demands CNN House rejects limit on new nuclear warhead Defense News U.S. troops guarding nuclear missiles took LSD, Air Force records show CBS News EAST ASIA Trump cancels summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Washington Post5/24/18 “I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting,” President Trump wrote to Kim in a letter released by the White House. Pompeo promises ‘zero concessions’ to North Korea until ‘credible steps’ are made Washington Post5/23/18 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought Wednesday to mitigate lawmakers’ concerns that President Trump’s diplomatic venture with North Korea is faltering, stressing that the United States has not made any concessions to the regime and will continue to hold firm until Pyongyang takes “credible steps” toward denuclearization. China May Benefit From a Delay in a Trump-Kim Meeting New York Times5/24/18 There’s one leader who may be pleased that President Trump’s planned summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, appears to be on shaky ground: China’s president, Xi Jinping. North Korea warns of nuclear showdown, calls Pence ‘political dummy’ CNN5/24/18 A North Korean official has lashed out at US Vice President Mike Pence and said Pyongyang is ready for a nuclear showdown if dialogue with the United States fails. North Korea Says It Shut Nuclear Test Site Ahead of Planned Meeting With Trump New York Times5/24/18 North Korea said on Thursday that it had destroyed its only known nuclear test site, three weeks before its leader, Kim Jong-un, is scheduled to meet with President Trump. South Korean journalists’ tech gear taken as foreign media start marathon trek to North Korea nuke test site Japan Times5/24/18 The eight South Koreans arrived in Wonsan on Wednesday, where they were forced to leave their radiation detectors, satellite phones and Bluetooth mouses before they all set off for the test site, according to South Korean media pool reports. North Korea declares nuclear test site disabled after controlled blasts that shook mountainside Washington Post5/24/18 North Korea claimed to have destroyed its nuclear testing site Thursday, setting off a series of explosions to collapse a network of underground tunnels where it had detonated six increasingly large bombs over 11 years. North Korea says it’s up to U.S. whether they meet at a table or in a ‘nuclear showdown’ Washington Post5/23/18 North Korea is threatening to reconsider Kim Jong Un’s participation in a summit with President Trump next month, saying it is up to the United States to decide whether it wants to “meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown.” MIDDLE EAST China, Germany to stay in Iran nuclear deal as Khamenei lists demands CNN5/24/18 In comments likely to frustrate the White House, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany and China will stand by the existing nuclear accord with Iran, even as the US has withdrawn and expects its European allies to follow suit. Iran lays out its demands for a nuclear deal with European nations, and it undercuts the US in almost every way Business Insider5/24/18 Iran has laid out its demands for remaining in a nuclear agreement with France, Gemany, and the UK. RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE Emmanuel Macron Turns to Vladimir Putin in an Effort to Salvage the Iran Nuclear Deal Time5/24/18 Having failed to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear accord, French President Emmanuel Macron is reaching out to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Europe Seeks Russia’s Help on Saving Iran Deal, Despite Chill Wall Street Journal5/23/18 Macron will meet with Putin on Thursday, at a time when EU relations with Moscow are at post-Cold War lows U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY House rejects limit on new nuclear warhead Defense News5/23/18 The U.S. House on Wednesday shot down a proposed limit on the Trump administration’s pursuit of a low-yield nuclear weapon. U.S. troops guarding nuclear missiles took LSD, Air Force records show CBS News5/24/18 One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, “I absolutely just loved altering my mind.” Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America’s arsenal. Former defense officials beg Congress not to fund new nuclear warhead Defense News5/23/18 A group of prominent former national security officials have sent a letter to members of Congress asking that Capitol Hill not fund a major defense priority of the Trump administration: the creation of new low-yield nuclear warheads. Air Force Nuke Inspection Planes Are Unsafe to Fly Daily Beast5/24/18 The two ’60s-era planes the Air Force uses to photograph military installations in Russia and other territories under the Open Skies treaties are a danger in the sky, experts say. If a nuclear bomb explodes, government officials will probably use these scripts to calm you down Business Insider5/23/18 As part of the planning effort, the Environmental Protection Agency maintains a series of manuals about how state and local governments should respond. A companion document anticipates 99 likely questions during a radiation emergency — and scripted messages that officials can copy or adapt. Minot AFB security commander ousted over lost gun, ammo Washington Post5/23/18 A security group commander at North Dakota’s Minot Air Force Base was relieved of his command Wednesday after explosives and a machine gun were lost in separate incidents. OPINION AND ANALYSIS The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site: A Test Tunnel Tutorial 38 NorthFrank Pabian 5/23/18 As the upcoming closure of North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site appears to be on track, there are still lingering questions about the layouts of the various test tunnels. Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off PoliticoRich Lowry 5/23/18 Why President Donald Trump should cancel his planned June 12 summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un Grandstanding All Around as North Korea’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site is about to Close 38 North5/23/18 As North Korea continues to prepare for the imminent closure of its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, some media reports continue to misrepresent certain aspects of this act, claiming that by dismantling buildings and closing the tunnels, these unilateral actions are tantamount to destruction of evidence and site sanitization. Why North Korea’s denuclearization plan doesn’t convince this nuclear expert Nature5/23/18 Suh Kune-yull says vast supplies of uranium and a huge nuclear workforce make rearmament a real possibility. The New Uncertainty of Trump’s North Korea Diplomacy New YorkerRobin Wright 5/23/18 The White House is proceeding with travel plans, but there is now a notable iffiness to the President’s tone about the results—even if the summit with Kim happens, sooner or later. In Defense of the Low Yield Nuclear Trident Missile Real Clear DefenseMatthew Costlow 5/23/18 In the debate about how many and what type of weapons the United States should maintain, failure to understand and correctly adjust U.S. strategy to the real causes of war can have catastrophic effects. With Kim Jong Un, There’s No ‘Win-Win’ Wall Street JournalNicholas Eberstadt 5/23/18 If U.S. diplomats treat North Korea like a normal state, negotiations will be as futile as in the past. Here’s the bottom line on North Korea’s nukes: US is in control with or without Trump Kim summit CNBCDaniel Davis 5/23/18 The world of diplomacy is anything by binary and for a deal to be made, many and competing interests must be managed. Therefore, coming out of negotiations with a deal we’re happy with is a heavy lift. Trump risks being a foreign policy loser Washington PostJennifer Rubin 5/23/18 In the past week or so Trump has suffered major setbacks on three of the most critical foreign policy challenges he faces — China, North Korea and Iran. Shutting down North Korea’s test site is not as easy as it looks. Ask France, Britain and the U.S. Washington Post5/24/18 But while closing down that site could end testing there, history shows that its nuclear legacy will likely endure for a very long time. Just ask France, Britain or the United States. North Korea says it’s dismantling its nuclear test site. How significant is that? Washington PostOr Rabinowitz 5/23/18 Dismantling North Korea’s test site is a positive step. But it is only the first one toward creating a safer Korean Peninsula.