Non Proliferation News September 21, 2009

EAST ASIA

1. Obama Urged to Meet Jong-II for N. Korea’s Denuclearization: Rep. Chung Dong Young

The Seoul Times

September 21, 2009

http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=8825

Former South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young Friday called on U.S. President Barack Obama to have a one-on-one meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for the North's nuclear dismantlement, Yonhap News reported on Sept. 19 in its dispatch from Washington D.C. filed by its correspondent Hwang Doo-hyong.

2. Seoul, Washington discuss North plans

JoongAng Daily by Ser Myo-ja

September 21, 2009

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2910326

Seoul and Washington will engage in a series of consultations to coordinate their North Korea policy this week following the remarks by Kim Jong-il that his nation is open to nuclear talks.

3. N. Korea Open to Talks, Kim Tells China

Washington Post by Blaine Harden

September 19, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091800481.html

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a Chinese diplomat Friday that his government is willing to discuss its nuclear program in "bilateral or multilateral" meetings, China's official news agency said.

4. North Korea delegation heads to U.N.

UPI

September 19, 2009

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/09/19/North-Korea-delegation-heads-to-UN/UPI-42201253378114/

Momentum to revive stalled nuclear talks picked up as a North Korean delegation headed to the United Nations, observers said.

MIDDLE EAST

5. Iran's leader says US nuke accusations wrong

Associated Press by Nasser Karimi

September 20, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ixeFBxfLzaSjs8Mb8cuFmtPOT6-wD9AR4LK81

Iran's supreme leader said Sunday that U.S. officials know they are wrongly accusing Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

6. Medvedev: Israel not planning Iran strike

Associated Press by Jim Heintz

September 20, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ib6TEjWd3Qh6p5oLvpgW_lmC0IBgD9AR69PG0

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Israeli officials have assured him that they are not planning a military strike on Iran.

7. Q+A: Could Israel strike Iran over nuclear concerns?

Reuters

September 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE58J16O20090920

Many analysts believe the risks of a strike by Israel, even one not endorsed by its ally the United States, are significant.

8. UK says Iran must take steps to ease nuke fears

Reuters

September 20, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE58J0KI20090920

Iran must take "concrete steps" to demonstrate in upcoming talks its nuclear aims are peaceful, Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Sunday.

9. Israel Finds Strength in Its Missile Defenses

Washington Post by Howard Schneider

September 19, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801787.html

As it pushes for international action against Iran's nuclear program, Israel is steadily assembling one of the world's most advanced missile defense systems, a multi-layered collection of weapons meant to guard against a variety of threats, including the shorter-range Grads used to strike Israeli towns like this one and intercontinental rockets.

10. Secretary of State Clinton Challenges Iran on Nuclear Program

Washington Post by Glenn Kessler

September 19, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091801530.html

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton challenged Iran on Friday to come clean on its nuclear program and ease its repression of opposition activists, saying that "the Iranian government seeks a sense of justice in the world but stands in the way of the justice it seeks."

11. Israel wants Iran free of S-300 for 'future operations'

Presss TV

September 19, 2009

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=106638&sectionid=351020104

Amidst Iran's quest for acquiring the advanced S-300 air defense system, an Israeli military official says every effort should be made to stop the defense system from reaching countries where Israeli air force may need to operate.

12. Iran ready to pay for probe into Israeli nukes

Press TV

September 19, 2009

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=106590&sectionid=351020101

Iran is prepared to allocate a budget for a probe into Israel's largely clandestine nuclear industry, Tehran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says.

SOUTH ASIA

13. A.Q. Khan “exposes” Islamabad role

The Hindu by Hasan Suroor

September 21, 2009

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/international/article22902.ece

For the first time a letter, purported to have been written by A.Q.Khan, the “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear programme disclosing Islamabad’s role in supplying nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya, has been published.

14. India’s nuclear power a “myth”

The Telegraph by Dean Nelson

September 19, 2009

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6207554/Indias-nuclear-power-a-myth.html

He said the device had only "fizzled". The claims by the test director K Santhanam have provoked an outcry in India which treasures its nuclear status as a symbol of its power in Asia where it has been locked in an arms race with both Pakistan and China.

RUSSIA/FSU

15. Russia, U.S. likely to agree on arms reduction deal by yearend

Ria Novosti

September 20, 2009

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090920/156195746.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday the chances to reach agreements with the United States on a new strategic arms reduction treaty by the end of 2009 are "high enough."

16. U.S. missile defense reversal no concession to Russia – Gates

Ria Novosti

September 20, 2009

http://en.rian.ru/world/20090920/156192524.html

U.S. President Barack Obama's proposed shift in America's missile-defense plans in Europe is no concession to Russia, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an article published in The New York Times on Sunday.

17. Russia says it won't deploy missiles near Poland

Associated Press by Vladimir Isachenkov

September 19, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBfP25PNSK26-XwSw1faZNQT2ZDQD9AQEKI00

Russia said Saturday it will scrap a plan to deploy missiles near Poland since Washington has dumped a planned missile shield in Eastern Europe. It also harshly criticized Iran's president for new comments denying the Holocaust.

EUROPE

18. Two thirds of voters oppose replacement of Trident, poll says

Guardian by Allegra Stratton

September 21, 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/21/survey-trident-renewal

Two thirds of voters are opposed to the replacement of the Trident defence missile system, according to a new poll.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

19. Getting atomic dominoes to fall one by one

Xinhua News by Lucy-Claire Saunders

September 20, 2009

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/21/content_12086167.htm

The United Nations chief of disarmament is cautiously optimism that next week's series of high-level meetings on atomic weapons will push world leaders to take committed steps towards nuclear disarmament.

20. Q&A-Obama to chair UN council session on nuclear arms

Reuters by Louis Charbonneau

September 20, 2009

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18253065.htm

U.S. President Barack Obama will chair a rare summit meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eradicating the world's atomic arsenals.

21. Global network detects sign of atomic bomb testing

Associated Press by Edith M. Lederer

September 20, 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGEa5e_fQbqd78In1-kT2aooCuvQD9AQ5V9O2

Iran, Israel and the five nuclear powers that are permanent Security Council members are part of a global network to detect signs of testing of a new atomic bomb, a positive sign of cooperation in the bid to halt the spread of such weapons, the head of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty organization said Friday.

22. 53^rd IAEA General Conference Closes

IAEA News

September 18, 2009

http://www.iaea.or.at/NewsCenter/News/2009/gc53ends.html

The IAEA´s 53rd General Conference of Member States concluded today in Vienna, with over 1 400 delegates from IAEA Member States attending the week-long event.

MISCELLANEOUS

23. Obama faces battle with Pentagon hawks to achieve nuclear-free goal

Guardian by Julian Borger

September 20, 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/20/pentagon-obama-nuclear-arms

According to officials with knowledge of the inter-agency bargaining, the US defence department produced a draft nuclear posture review that did not just fall short of Obama's vision. In some ways it appeared to be moving in the opposite direction.

24. Barack Obama ready to slash US nuclear arsenal

Guardian by Julian Borger

September 20, 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/20/barack-obama-us-nuclear-weapons

Obama has rejected the Pentagon's first draft of the "nuclear posture review" as being too timid, and has called for a range of more far-reaching options consistent with his goal of eventually abolishing nuclear weapons altogether, according to European officials.

25. Shelving of Missile Defense Reflected Military’s Concerns

Washington Post by R. Jeffrey Smith

September 21, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR2009092002532.html

Call it another revolt of the generals. More than 13 years ago, the nation's military leaders told civilian defense officials they wanted to limit spending on missile defenses and to emphasize the protection of forces deployed overseas over defense of the American homeland against a long-range missile threat.

OPINION

26. A Better Missile Defense for a Safer Europe

New York Times by Robert M. Gates

September 19, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/opinion/20gates.html?em

THE future of missile defense in Europe is secure. This reality is contrary to what some critics have alleged about President Obama’s proposed shift in America’s missile-defense plans on the continent — and it is important to understand how and why.

27. New nuclear resolve

Guardian by David Miliband

September 20, 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/nuclear-disarmament-security-council

David Miliband discusses what will need to happen at this week’s security council summit and the review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in order to increase global security, pave the way for a world without nuclear weapons, and improve access to affordable, safe and dependable energy.

28. Now, ‘Reset’ With the Poles and Czechs

New York Times by Mark Brzezinski

September 21, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/opinion/22iht-edbrzezinksi.html?hpw

President Obama’s decision to revise the Bush administration’s plan for missile defense in Europe has been greeted with anxiety and alarm in the Czech Republic and Poland.

29. Why is MD So Controversial?

Korea Times by Clifford D. May

September 20, 2009

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2009/09/137_52136.html

Missile defense ― as the term might suggest ― is defensive, not offensive. Brilliant American scientists have developed sophisticated technologies to prevent missiles, including those armed with nuclear warheads, from reaching their intended victims. If we are willing to share this capability to protect people around the world, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., asked, ``What is controversial about that?"

30. Sole Deterrent against nuclear war

Japan Times by David Rothauser

September 20, 2009

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/rc20090920a6.html

Regarding the Sept. 15 article "Japan balks at limits on U.S. nukes": There is no defense against the use of nuclear weapons. The U.S. nuclear umbrella is a myth. Read the book "One World or None" by the Federation of American Scientists (New York Press, 2007). The renowned contributors to the book include J.R. Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr. Their collective conclusion is that the only deterrence to nuclear war is the abolition of nuclear weapons.