Nonproliferation News - October 13, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
U.S., Russia must lead on arms control
Politico by Brent Scowcroft, Joseph Nye, Nicholas Burns, and Strobe Talbott

Iran will enrich uranium further if talks fail
AP by Ali Akbar Dareini

Amid Missile Tests, North Korea Agrees to Talks
NYT by Choe Sang-hun

Russian FM: 'considerable' progress on arms treaty
AP

EAST ASIA
1. Amid Missile Tests, North Korea Agrees to Talks
NYT by Choe Sang-hun
North Korea agreed to hold talks with South Korea later this week, officials said here Tuesday, even as the North was reported to be preparing to test more missiles following a barrage of five short-range missiles that it launched on Monday.

2. Q+A-Thinking behind North Korea's missile launches
Reuters by Jon Herskovitz
North Korea's launch of short-range missiles underscored security concerns and helped push Seoul shares lower on Tuesday. The North may be preparing for additional launches, a report said, after the secretive state fired a barrage of five short-range missiles on Monday. Here are a few questions and answers about the North's launch plans.

3. 'No intention' of relaxing N.Korea sanctions: Clinton
AFP
The United States has absolutely no intention of relaxing sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear drive, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday after talks in Moscow.

4. Asian leaders call for fresh N.Korea nuclear talks
AFP by Marianne Barriaux and Harumi Ozawa
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea on Saturday called for the quick resumption of talks on ending North Korea's nuclear drive, with Beijing saying the door was open to making real progress.

5. Trilateral Summit Shows Subtle Differences Over NK Nukes
Dong-a Ilbo
The leaders of South Korea, China and Japan have agreed to seek early resumption of the six-party nuclear talks, but show subtle differences on how to achieve this goal.

6. Chinese Premier Calls for Dialogue Between U.S. and North Korea
NYT by David Barboza
China’s prime minister called Saturday for the United States and North Korea to engage in a “conscientious and constructive dialogue” aimed at reviving multilateral talks over the North’s nuclear weapons program.

MIDDLE EAST
7. Iran will enrich uranium further if talks fail
AP by Ali Akbar Dareini
Iran warned Saturday it will enrich uranium to a higher level needed to power a research reactor if talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog and world powers fail to help Iran obtain the fuel from abroad.

8. Diplomacy in the lead on Iran nuclear issue -- for now
LA Times by Greg Miller and Julian E. Barnes
Agreement to open Iran's hidden nuclear complex to inspection has reduced talk of military action and put diplomacy back on track -- at least for a while. But even as the U.S. tries to build international pressure, emerging details suggest it might already be too late for an armed strike.

9. Iran Seeks Deal for Reactor
Washington Post by Glenn Kessler
Iran four months ago discreetly contacted the United Nations-affiliated agency for nuclear energy to outline a worrisome situation: A research reactor in Tehran that produces medical isotopes that detect and treat the diseases of about 10,000 patients a week will run out of fuel by the end of 2010. Iran also had a request: Can you help us find a country that will sell us new fuel?

10. New Iran sanctions could strengthen Rev. Guard
AP by Tarek El-Tablawy
Tougher sanctions against Iran that the U.S. and its allies are considering to pressure it over its nuclear program might only strengthen its hard-line president and the Revolutionary Guard, boosting the elite force's economic and political muscle, experts warn.

11. U.S. Treasury would ask banks for help on Iran
Reuters
The U.S. Treasury Department will turn to banks for more help if it decides to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its nuclear ambitions, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing David Cohen said on Monday.

SOUTH ASIA
12. Security of Pakistan nuclear weapons questioned
AP by Chris Brummitt and Pamela Hess
An audacious weekend assault by Islamic militants on Pakistan's army headquarters is again raising fears of an insurgent attack on the country's nuclear weapons installation. Pakistan has sought to protect its nuclear weapons from attack by the Taliban or other militants by storing the warheads, detonators and missiles separately in facilities patrolled by elite troops.

13. Clinton: U.S. Confident in Pakistan's Control Over Nuclear Weapons
Washington Post by Mary Beth Sheridan
Top U.S. and British officials said Sunday they believed that Pakistan's nuclear weapons were secure, after a stunning insurgent attack on the South Asian country's army headquarters.

14. Japan urges Pakistan to sign NPT
Daily Times
Japan expressed concern on Monday over the Abdul Qadeer Khan’s “network”, and urged Pakistan to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

15. PM-Obama meet in mind, India and US move on n-fuel talks
Indian Express by Pranab Dhal Samanta
India has shared with the US the broad contours of setting up a dedicated national reprocessing facility to handle US-origin nuclear fuel. This is a key step forward towards concluding discussions on reprocessing before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Washington in November.

16. India warned against another nuclear test
Pakistan Observer by AFP
An influential US newspaper Monday urged India to resist domestic pressures to test a nuclear weapon as its 1988 tests were a “fizzle”, saying it would be a huge setback for New Delhi-Washington ties, the war on terror and halting the spread of atomic weapons.

RUSSIA/FSU
17. Clinton visits Russia to discuss Iran, nuclear treaty
AFP
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a mission to Russia on Tuesday to advance negotiations for a new US-Russian nuclear arms treaty and seek Moscow's help in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.

18. Russian FM: 'considerable' progress on arms treaty
AP
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the U.S. and Russia have made "considerable" progress toward reaching agreement on a new strategic arms treaty.

19. Clinton: US and Russia to collaborate on missile defense
Russia Today
At a joint press conference with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Hillary Clinton stated that America would like to see the US and Russia collaborate closely on missile defense.

20. Russian FM: threat of sanctions counterproductive
AP by Matthew Lee
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that the threat of sanctions against Iran would be counterproductive, resisting U.S. efforts to win agreement for measures if Iran fails to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

EUROPE
21. UK places trade restictions on two Iranian firms
AFP
The government has ordered financial companies to stop trade with two Iranian firms, Bank Mellat and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, amid alleged nuclear links, a minister said on Monday.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS
22. US wants bunker-buster fast, denies Iran is reason
Washington Post by Anne Gearan (AP)
The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete.

OPINION
23. U.S., Russia must lead on arms control
Politico by Brent Scowcroft, Joseph Nye, Nicholas Burns, and Strobe Talbott
The United States faces the urgent challenge of using the year ahead to limit the risks of nuclear proliferation and to lower the level of nuclear weapons in the world. The U.S. and Russia must lead the world in reducing the risks associated with nuclear weapons. Since they possess 96 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, they can, together, significantly lower the global stockpile while at the same time setting an example for other states and catalyzing progress on multilateral agreements.

24. Obama’s nuclear agenda
Daily Times by Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
A new arms-reduction agreement would improve the US-Russian relationship, and that, in turn, could translate into a more constructive Russian position on Iran in the Security Council

25. ANALYSIS-North Korea thaw hides hard nuclear realities
Reuters by Jon Herskovitz
China has likely persuaded North Korea to return to nuclear talks but may have also given ruler Kim Jong-il enough backing for him to keep vexing the world with his pursuit of atomic weapons.

26. U.N. shifts strategy for nuclear arms control
LA Times by Michael D. Gordin
Attempts to control or reverse nuclear proliferation come in two flavors: Either one tries to control nuclear material (uranium, centrifuges, superfast switches) or one tries to control nuclear information (blueprints, schematics, scientific expertise). For most of the last half a century, the world has shunned the material approach in favor of controlling information. The most crucial issue now is to bring the attention squarely and permanently back on materials.

27. Just Say No
NYT
Indian nuclear scientists are trying to bully their government into testing a nuclear weapon. That would be a huge setback — for India’s relations with Washington, for the battle against terrorists, and for global efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.