Nonproliferation News - November 17, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
Inspectors Fear Iran Is Hiding Nuclear Plants
NYT by David E. Sanger and William J. Broad

Iran wants nuclear fuel swap to take place on its own soil
The Hindu by Siddharth Varadarajan

IAEA deepens Syria atom probe over uranium traces
The Star by Reuters

New Russian-U.S. arms reduction treaty hampered by differences
RIA Novosti by Ilya Kramnik

EAST ASIA
1. Obama says China agrees on Iran nuclear transparency
Reuters by Caren Bohan and Patricia Zengerle
China and the United States agree Iran must show its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday, but Chinese President Hu Jintao was more guarded on the dispute at a summit in Beijing.

2. North Korea’s Underground Bunkers
Radio Free Asia
November 16, 2009
North Korea built hundreds of bunkers at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating it from South Korea even as the previous Seoul government pursued its policy of opening to the North, according to a well-informed defector.

3. N. Korea unwilling to give up nuclear ambition: former U.S. diplomat 
Yonhap by Tony Chang
North Korea does not have any intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions in the near future, a former senior U.S. diplomat said Monday, forecasting that an upcoming meeting between Washington and Pyongyang will do little to resolve stalled multilateral denuclearization talks.

MIDDLE EAST
4. Inspectors Fear Iran Is Hiding Nuclear Plants
NYT by David E. Sanger and William J. Broad
International inspectors who gained access to Iran’s newly revealed underground nuclear enrichment plant voiced strong suspicions in a report on Monday that the country was concealing other atomic facilities.

5. Nuclear Agency Warns of More Iran Plants
WSJ by Jay Solomon and David Crawford
The United Nations atomic watchdog said Iran could be constructing a number of covert nuclear installations in addition to a secret uranium-enrichment facility the Obama administration disclosed in late September.

6. Iran: IAEA report refuted West's Fordo claims
Press TV
The Islamic Republic says the latest report by the UN nuclear watchdog proved West's huge media hype against Iran's second enrichment plant were based on 'baseless allegations'.

7. Iran wants nuclear fuel swap to take place on its own soil
The Hindu by Siddharth Varadarajan
In the clearest statement to date of Tehran’s attitude to the U.S.-backed proposal for a nuclear fuel swap as a step towards building trust with Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said his government will take a positive view of the plan provided the exchange of enriched uranium takes place “inside Iran.”

8. Iran will only deliver its uranium after receiving nuclear fuel’
Tehran Times
Senior Presidential Advisor Parviz Davoudi has said that Iran will only deliver its 3.5 percent enriched uranium after it receives the 20 percent enriched uranium in exchange.

9. Iran's Nuke Standoff and Ahmadinejad's Woes
Time
If you think Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hasn't been getting much love from the global community over Iran's nuclear ambitions, you should hear what Iran's politicians have been saying.

10. Reports: Iran's Russian reactor startup delayed
AP by Steve Gutterman
Moscow on Monday dashed Iranian hopes that a Russian-built nuclear reactor will be switched on this year, a blow to Tehran amid persistent tension over its nuclear program.

11. IAEA deepens Syria atom probe over uranium traces
The Star by Reuters
Syria's initial explanation of uranium traces U.N. inspectors found at a Damascus atom research reactor is unconvincing and they will take more samples in a deepening probe, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

SOUTH ASIA
12. US seeks India's promise on non-proliferation
The Economic Times
The Obama administration has asked for an “assurance” from India on nuclear non-proliferation, even as the two sides attempt to conclude a deal on reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in the US on an official visit. Even as India and the US negotiate the reprocessing pact, the US wants India to give an assurance letter on nuclear non-proliferation. However, the Indian side feels that enough assurances have been given in the 123 agreement.

13. Nuclear installations put on alert
The Hindu by Vinay Kumar
Nuclear power centres in the country, particularly the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay, were put on alert on Monday following intelligence inputs that terrorists might target them.

RUSSIA/FSU
14. Russia changes stance on Iran
RIA Novosti
Vladimir Sazhin, senior fellow of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, speaks with a RIA Novosti correspondent about the talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS

OPINION
15. New Russian-U.S. arms reduction treaty hampered by differences
RIA Novosti by Ilya Kramnik
Russia and the United States cannot agree on a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace the START-1, which will expire on December 5, 2009.

16. New Nuke Treaty: Not So Fast?
Wired by Nicholas Thompson
The START treaty between the United States and Russia expires in early December and there’s no chance that we’ll have a signed and ratified replacement in the next three weeks. Not to worry, say Obama officials. The two sides will work out some kind of “bridge” agreement in the meantime. START allows for weapons inspectors from each country to remain in the other; with a bridge agreement, that will continue.

17. START bridging agreement
Russian strategic nuclear forces by Pavel Podvig
The START bridging agreement will most likely include provisional implementation of the new treaty, rather than extension of the old one.

18. Beating Kim at His Own Game
NYT by Andrei Lankov
President Obama is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for a summit meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. No doubt, North Korea’s nuclear weapons program will play a major role in the forthcoming negotiations. It is noteworthy that Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. envoy to North Korea, will fly to Pyongyang soon.

19. Global Insights: The Great Nuclear Wall of China 
World Politics Review by Richard Weitz
Although nuclear arms control is not likely to be a major agenda item during President Barack Obama's visit to China, it should be. One of the obstacles facing the president as he seeks to realize the ambitious goals endorsed by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is the need to transform the primarily bilateral strategic arms control relationship inherited from the Cold War into one that places greater emphasis on multilateral frameworks.