TOP NEWS Pompeo and North Korean official will try to salvage nuclear summit with New York skyline below them Washington Post Russia to build 5th-generation nuclear sub with hypersonic missiles by 2027, source says TASS The FY2019 National Nuclear Security Administration Budget: Weapons Are Winners Union of Concerned Scientists Navy seeks acceleration of first nuclear-armed Columbia ballistic missile sub Fox News EAST ASIA Trump team doesn’t know what it wants from North Korea Politico5/31/18 The president and his top officials have been at odds with each other — and sometimes even themselves — when it comes to defining the U.S. negotiating position with Kim Jong Un. Would The U.S. Withdraw Troops From South Korea? NPR5/31/18 American troops have been stationed on the Korean Peninsula for nearly 70 years. More recently they’ve become something of a political football. Pompeo and North Korean official will try to salvage nuclear summit with New York skyline below them Washington Post5/31/18 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold a crucial meeting Thursday morning with the right-hand man to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to see if they can salvage a potential summit between Kim and President Trump in Singapore next month. U.S., North Korea to hold second day of nuclear talks Reuters5/30/18 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol enter a second day of meetings in New York on Thursday as they try to settle nuclear weapons disagreements and set the stage for an historic summit between their leaders. US sizes up Kim ahead of possible nuclear summit CNN5/31/18 While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were billed primarily as diplomatic missions, the face-to-face encounters have also served as valuable intelligence gathering opportunities that are helping shape US officials’ understanding of the reclusive dictator and guide ongoing talks between the two countries. From ‘fire and fury’ to sharing burgers: Here’s a timeline of Trump’s ‘soap opera’ diplomacy with North Korea CNBC5/30/18 If the nuclear talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un do actually happen, it will mark the culmination of a long and unusual path. Pace of Disarmament Stands as Major Obstacle in North Korea Talks Wall Street Journal5/30/18 U.S. is pushing for complete denuclearization as quickly as possible; North appears to want a slower process MIDDLE EAST What Does Trump’s Withdrawal From the Iran Nuclear Deal Mean for Afghanistan? The Diplomat5/30/18 Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal is not good news for Afghanistan. RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE Transatlantic Split Over Iran Could Become the Worst Since the Suez Crisis Atlantic Council5/30/18 European efforts to preserve the Iran nuclear agreement, coupled with US plans to impose sanctions on Iran and secondary sanctions on companies that fail to comply with those sanctions, have contributed to a dangerous divide in the Atlantic community—one that threatens an economic relationship that remains the linchpin of the world’s economy. Russia to build 5th-generation nuclear sub with hypersonic missiles by 2027, source says TASS5/31/18 The Husky-class fifth-generation lead nuclear-powered submarine armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles is expected to be built by 2027, a source in the Russian defense sector told TASS on Thursday SOUTH ASIA Looking Back: The 1998 Nuclear Wake Up Call for US-India Ties The Diplomat5/31/18 India’s 1998 nuclear tests were a moment of reckoning for the United States. U.S. NUCLEAR POLICY Navy seeks acceleration of first nuclear-armed Columbia ballistic missile sub Fox News5/30/18 The Navy and industry may be speeding up full production plans for its first Columbia-Class nuclear armed ballistic missile submarine as part of a broader move to increase the size of the service’s submarine fleet more quickly. The FY2019 National Nuclear Security Administration Budget: Weapons Are Winners Union of Concerned Scientists5/31/18 To no one’s surprise, both the administration and Congress increased funding for the NNSA and, in particular, for its nuclear weapons work. OPINION AND ANALYSIS U.S. Needs Better Missile Defense for a Scarier Nuclear Age Bloomberg5/29/18 It’s a threat that should be taken more seriously. Why did Kim Jong Un blow up his nuclear test site? Washington PostSiegfried Hecker 5/30/18 Although it is not irreversible, blowing up the site’s tunnels, sealing the entrances and removing test site facilities and equipment was nevertheless a serious step toward denuclearization. What possessed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to take this step now? What Would Denuclearization Look Like in North Korea? Council on Foreign Relations5/30/18 Successful denuclearization will hinge on rigorous on-the-ground inspections and closing the gap between North Korea and the United States on what areas any agreement should cover. North Korea’s negotiator is not a very nice man CNNDavid Adelman 5/30/18 By all indications, Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, and now in his seventies, may not a very nice man by any stretch of the imagination. Trump is wrong about North Korea, says the CIA Washington PostJennifer Rubin 5/30/18 The intelligence community has now let on that Pyongyang has no interest in denuclearization. North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center; Possible Preparation for Reprocessing Campaign in Early May? 38 North5/30/18 Commercial satellite imagery of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center from May 6 indicates activity around the Radiochemical Laboratory’s Thermal Plant that could be early signs of a possible reprocessing campaign. Why Trump’s plans for regime change in Iran will have the opposite effect Washington PostMichael McFaul and Abbas Milani 5/30/18 Some hope that this new confrontational tone coming from Washington might weaken Iran’s theocracy. In fact, however, the opposite is more likely. Kim Won’t Be Duped Like Qaddafi Foreign PolicyDoug Bandow 5/30/18 Washington’s Libya model for nuclear negotiations is an illustration of why nuclear weapons are necessary. Trump Critics Cannot Make Up Their Minds On North Korea And Iran The Daily CallerPeter Huessy 5/29/18 Harsh Trump administration critics cannot seem to make up their minds on Korea or Iran.