TOP NEWS Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job Associated Press First of new class of Russian submarines may face final test this week Forbes In IAEA Board of Governors ballot, Argentina’s Grossi wins majority required for Director General appointment International Atomic Energy Agency United States Envoy for North Korea expected to get No. 2 State Dept. job Associated Press10/28/19 The U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to be nominated as early as this week to be second-in-command at the State Department, officials said Monday. Russia First of new class of Russian submarines may face final test this week Forbes10/29/19 Open source intelligence indicates that Russia’s newest strategic submarine, Knyaz Vladimir, will conduct its first missile launch this week. Russia deploys S-300 missile system near Afghanistan for first time Moscow Times10/28/19 The Russian military has for the first time deployed the S-300 surface-to-air missile system at its military base near Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry has announced. Middle East Poll: Majority of voters are deeply concerned about Iran obtaining nuclear weapons The Hill10/28/19 A large majority of voters — 84 percent — are concerned about the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll released on Monday. East Asia Two U.S. strategic bombers carry out operation over East Sea Hankyoreh10/28/19 The private aircraft tracking site Aircraft Spots announced on Oct. 27 that two US military B-52H Stratofortress aircraft had taken off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and conducted a mission over the East Sea. China urges U.S. and North Korea to make progress in stalled talks by year-end Japan Times10/29/19 China on Monday called on the United States and North Korea to move ahead with stalled nuclear talks for regional stability, with Pyongyang having been putting pressure on Washington to change what it regards as one-sided demands by the end of this year. Multilateral Arms Control In IAEA Board of Governors ballot, Argentina’s Grossi wins majority required for Director General appointment International Atomic Energy Agency10/29/19 Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina today received the majority required in an IAEA Board of Governors ballot to be appointed new Director General. Factbox: Five facts about next U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi Reuters10/29/19 Grossi, 58, is a veteran of nuclear diplomacy. He worked in senior positions at the IAEA from 2010 to 2013 and since then as Argentina’s ambassador to the agency. Analysis/Commentary To make maximum pressure work, Washington should cancel Iran nuclear waivers Foreign PolicyAndrea Stricker, Behnam Ben Taleblu 10/28/19 Iran is flouting and bypassing its nonproliferation promises. If Trump is serious about stopping an Iranian bomb, he should cancel or suspend nuclear waivers for the Fordow and Arak facilities. Erosion of America’s reliability for allies Japan TimesKuni Miyake 10/28/19 Japan may need to change its traditional security policy Impeachment backstory: The nuclear dimension of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsMariana Budjeryn 10/29/19 Concluded on December 5, 1994, the Budapest memorandum was part of the deal under which Ukraine agreed to surrender the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. These four bombers are the crown jewels of Russia’s air force National InterestCaleb Larson 10/28/19 Russia is transitioning away from Soviet legacy systems, but much of its arsenal remains from the Cold War.