Nonproliferation News - November 3, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
NKorea threatens to expand nuclear arsenal
AP by Jae-Soon Chang

Iran’s Politics Stand in the Way of a Nuclear Deal
NYT by Michael Slackman

Iran’s Military Power Subject to New U.S. Study Used for China
Bloomberg by Viola Gienger

Mixed Signals From West About Trusting Russia
NYT by John Vinocur

EAST ASIA
1. North Korea says it has produced more fuel for nuclear bombs
Channel News Asia by AFP
North Korea announced Tuesday it has produced more plutonium for its atomic weapons programme, a day after threatening to "go its own way" unless Washington agrees to direct talks on the nuclear standoff.

2. North Korea Presses U.S. to Agree to Bilateral Talks
NYT by Choe Sang-Hun
North Korea has again pressed the United States for a decision about starting bilateral talks, with a diplomat warning Monday that the North was “ready to go our own way” with its nuclear weapons program.

3. NKorea threatens to expand nuclear arsenal
AP by Jae-Soon Chang
North Korea issued a veiled threat Monday to increase its nuclear arsenal if U.S. officials do not quickly agree to the one-on-one talks that the communist regime is demanding.

4. 'China Delinks N. Korea’s Nuclear Issue From Bilateral Ties'
Korea Times by Kang Hyun-kyung
China walked a fine line between North Korea's nuclear ambition and bilateral relations in the wake of the North's provocative acts this year, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) report.

MIDDLE EAST
5. ElBaradei asks Iran for quick response on nukes
AP by Michael Astor and George Jahn
The head of the U.N. nuclear agency urged Iran on Monday to clarify its response to a U.S.-backed proposal that would have Tehran ship most of its nuclear material abroad for processing.

6. Clinton tells Iran to adhere to plan
WP by Thomas Erdbrink
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday urged Iran to stick to an agreement to ship low-enriched uranium abroad for processing for use in a Tehran research reactor, after a senior official Iranian official said his country wants to instead purchase nuclear fuel.

7. Britain, Russia, others urge Iran to respond to uranium proposal
CNN
Britain, Russia and their international partners want a "prompt response" from Iran on a uranium enrichment proposal, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Monday.

8. France warns Iran: Avoid delay tactics
YNet by Reuters
France will not accept any delaying tactics by Iran over a UN-brokered proposal to enrich its nuclear fuel abroad, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Monday.

9. Iran wants new nuclear fuel talks
Reuters by Sylvia Westall
Iran wants more talks on a U.N.-drafted nuclear deal and to import atomic fuel rather than send its own uranium abroad for processing, a Iranian diplomat said, suggesting terms world powers are likely to rebuff.

10. Iran’s Politics Stand in the Way of a Nuclear Deal
NYT by Michael Slackman
Iran’s leadership has once again equivocated after agreeing to a deal that would ease its nuclear standoff with the West. But this time, that may be as much a product of the nation’s smoldering political crisis as it is a negotiating tactic, political analysts and Iran experts said.

11. Iran nuclear program: Clock is ticking as uranium collects
CSM by Peter Grier
Iran's steady production of low-enriched uranium is a clock that is ticking away as Tehran develops its nuclear program.

12. Iran’s Military Power Subject to New U.S. Study Used for China
Bloomberg by Viola Gienger
Iran’s military will be subject for the first time to the kind of U.S. assessment reserved for China’s expanding forces as lawmakers seek a more accurate analysis of the Persian Gulf oil power’s strengths and strategy.

SOUTH ASIA

RUSSIA/FSU
13. Russian-US nuclear talks to resume next week: Moscow
AFP
Negotiations on replacing a key Russian-US nuclear disarmament treaty that expires in a little over a month will resume on November 9, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday.

14. Moscow says too soon to scrap nuclear weapons
RIA Novosti
Russia has no plans to completely abandon nuclear weapons, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

15. Mixed Signals From West About Trusting Russia
NYT by John Vinocur
How much trust do — or should — the Western allies accord Russia in attempting to get its cooperation to stop Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons?

16. Russia to contribute $6.5 million to global nuclear security
RIA Novosti
Russia is planning to contribute $6.5 million to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund (NSF) in 2010-2015, Russia's envoy to the UN said.

EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS

OPINION
17. Tehran risks overplaying its hand in nuclear talks
Financial Times by Roula Khalaf
"Yes in general but no on every detail" is how Iran responded to a United Nations-backed deal on its nuclear programme that world powers were hoping would buy them time to settle, more permanently, the whole dispute.

18. When No Means No
WSJ by Bret Stephens
Now it's the turn of the Obama administration to play the guy who won't take a hint. And it falls to the Islamic Republic of Iran to be the girl who's hard—actually, impossible—to get.