Nonproliferation News - October 26, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL
Korean Envoy Meets with U.S. Official
Chosun Ilbo

Both Iran and West Fear a Trap on Deal
NYT by David E. Sanger

UN inspectors visit once-secret Iranian site
AP by Ali Akbar Dareini

Turkish PM exposes nuclear rift in Nato
Guardian by Robert Tait

EAST ASIA
1. A sneak peek at next week's North Korea talks
Foreign Policy (The Cable) by Josh Rogin
When North Korea's lead nuclear negotiator Ri Gun (left) makes his tour of the United States next week, all eyes will be on the State Department, which is planning to make the first face-to-face, government-to-government contact with Kim Jong Il's regime in quite a long time.

2. Lee enlists support for 'Grand Bargain'
Korea Herald by Hwang Jang-jin
President Lee Myung-bak yesterday explained the core aspects of the "Grand Bargain" deal he plans to offer North Korea in return for denuclearization and also once again urged Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arms programs.

3. N.Korean Envoy Meets with U.S. Official
Chosun Ilbo
A U.S. diplomat has held a rare face-to-face meeting in New York with a North Korean envoy, fueling hopes for progress on stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

4. Nuclear meet fails to yield concessions
The National by Sunny Lee
Analysts are guarding against optimism about the outcome of the weekend meeting between the deputy representative of North Korea’s nuclear negotiations with Sung Kim, the US special envoy to the six-party nuclear talks.

5. Gates urges Japan to relax arms policy
UPI
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has asked Japan to relax its ban on arms exports and ship advanced missile interceptors to allies, sources say.

MIDDLE EAST
6. Both Iran and West Fear a Trap on Deal
NYT by David E. Sanger
Just before international inspectors on Sunday were guided for the first time into an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant whose existence was a state secret until recently, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament warned his countrymen to beware of American efforts to “cheat” Iran out of the nuclear fuel that has become the country’s currency in reasserting its power.

7. Iran says two nuclear fuel options still on table
AFP by Aresu Eqbali and Farhad Pouladi
Iran said on Monday it could ship out some of its low-enriched uranium to be upgraded abroad or buy the fuel directly, as a UN team was due to carry out further checks on a newly-revealed atomic plant.

8. UN inspectors visit once-secret Iranian site
AP by Ali Akbar Dareini
U.N. inspectors entered a once-secret uranium enrichment facility with bunker-like construction and heavy military protection that raised Western suspicions about the extent and intent of Iran's nuclear program.

9. Saudi-Iranian hostility hits boiling point
Asia Times by M.K. Bhadrakumar
Conventional wisdom suggests that the terrorist strike by Jundallah in southeastern Iran on Sunday might have had the backing of the United States or Britain. But Jundallah today holds "fatal" attraction for a number of foreign powers that are interested in disorienting Iran's policies.

10. US says it can wait 'a few days' for Iran nuclear response
AFP
The United States can wait a few days for Iran's response to a UN-brokered deal on its nuclear program, President Barack Obama's administration said Friday, signaling it would not wait indefinitely.

11. Top Iran official says West's nuclear plan a coverup for theft
LA Times by Borzou Daragahi
The powerful speaker of Iran's parliament Saturday derided a Western-backed proposal to transfer the bulk of the country's enriched-uranium stockpile abroad as a trick meant to rob Iran of its nuclear fuel.

12. Iranian site prompts U.S. to rethink assessment
WP by Joby Warrick
Early Sunday, if all goes as planned, U.N. nuclear inspectors will travel to a military base near Qom, Iran, for a first look at one of the country's most closely guarded nuclear secrets. Inside bunkers dug into the side of a mountain, the visitors will be escorted through a nearly completed uranium plant that Iran's president has termed "very ordinary."

13. Bunker buster bomb carries goal of deterring Iran
McClatchy by Scott Canon
Even as Washington emphasizes walking softly to pry Iran away from its nuclear ambitions, the Pentagon is speeding the manufacture of its own big stick.

SOUTH ASIA
14. US spying on Pak nuclear programs for years: Report
Thaindian News by ANI
A website report has revealed that there are sufficient evidence to prove that the US is secretly keeping a close watch on Pakistan’s nuclear programme, and confirmed that American diplomats and officials were spying on Kahuta, one of the major nuclear establishments of the country, for years.

15. India comes under pressure to sign CTBT
Headlines India by IANS
The East Asia Summit today sought to pressure India into signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

RUSSIA/FSU
16. Russia, US aim for nuclear arms deal by December: Kremlin
AFP
Russia and the United States hope to have a legally binding document renewing a key agreement on limiting their nuclear arsenals by the beginning of December, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

17. In phone call, U.S., Russian presidents discuss Iranian nuclear fuel request
CNN
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday discussed Iran's request for nuclear fuel for a research reactor and other security issues, the White House and the Kremlin said.

EUROPE
18. Turkish PM exposes nuclear rift in Nato
Guardian by Robert Tait
The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has exposed divisions in Nato by accusing the west of treating Iran unfairly over its nuclear programme and describing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, its vehemently anti-western president, as a friend.

19. 'Iran is our friend,' says Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Guardian by Robert Tait
With its stunning vistas and former Ottoman palaces, the banks of the Bosphorus – the strategic waterway that cuts Istanbul in half and divides Europe from Asia – may be the perfect place to distinguish friend from foe and establish where your country's interests lie.

20. New German government to seek removal of US nuclear weapons
Deutsche Welle
Foreign Minister-designate Guido Westerwelle has renewed calls for a withdrawal of US nuclear weapons based in Germany, saying he would hold talks with the Obama adminstration on the issue.
 
21. Trident replacement plan no longer credible, says former foreign secretary
Guardian by Richard Norton-Taylor
The decision to replace an unaffordable Trident missile system calls into question Gordon Brown's stated commitment to nuclear disarmament, a former Labour foreign secretary says.

22. Czechs Accept Modified Missile Shield Role
NYT by Peter Baker
The Czech Republic agreed on Friday to host elements of the reformulated American missile defense system after Vice President Joseph R. Biden flew here to patch up relations damaged when President Obama canceled plans to deploy a sophisticated radar station on Czech soil.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS
23. Obama may face fight on treaties
Boston Globe by Bryan Bender
President Obama’s vision of global cooperation - symbolized by his surprise Nobel Peace Prize - is in for a crucial test in the months ahead when he begins sending a series of treaties to the US Senate, where skepticism among Republicans and some Democrats will make approval exceedingly difficult, according to government officials and specialists.

OPINION
24. On Nukes, Obama Plans Hands-On Approach
Atlantic by Marc Ambinder
President Obama plans to take a more active role in preparing America's nuclear weapons strategy, helping to ensure that the final document, due out next year, reflects his priorities, rather than just the institutional views of his government, administration officials said.

25. What's Behind Iran's Nuclear Delaying Tactics
Time by Andrew Lee Butters
Why the delay? Iran's leaders may simply be engaging in brinksmanship in search of further concessions over the amount of uranium transferred or the rate of deliveries.

26. To succeed with Iran, push a nuke-free zone
Philadelphia Inquirer by Hans Blix
A broadening of the agenda for discussion has been suggested. Iran has said it is ready to take up the subjects of nonproliferation and disarmament. These items could offer new openings. Even the subject of a Mideast free of weapons of mass destruction could be broached. That idea could be expanded to an area free of uranium enrichment and plutonium production. All countries in the region have supported the concept, but for Israel it has always been a very remote possibility.

27. Why increased U.S. sanctions on Iran don’t work
The Hill by Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
Fifteen years of sanctions on Iran have taught us one important lesson: They have not produced the intended results. More sanctions are unlikely to produce results now. In fact, additional sanctions, while satisfying some, are more likely to produce results that we do not intend. If we impose increased sanctions, we will likely strengthen President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hand and risk snuffing out the emerging democracy movement in Iran.

28. Russia Violating Treaty By Developing Missile
Philadelphia Bulletin by Bill Gertz
The argument of Mr. Kyl and others concerned with the administration's rush to conclude a new treaty is over how a new agreement can be reached when there is evidence that the Russians failed to abide by the old one.