Nonproliferation News - January 5, 2010

FISSILE MATERIAL

US says door still open on Iran nuclear issue
AFP by Christophe Schmidt

G-8 Summit Could Focus on Nonproliferation
Global Security Newswire

U.S. Navy Juggles Ships To Fill BMD Demands
Defense News by Christopher P. Cavas

Israel balks at U.S. arms deals with Arabs
UPI

Holding Firm on Iran
The Nation by Robert Dreyfuss

EAST ASIA

1. FM spokeswoman: China supports DPRK-U.S. dialogue
Xinhua News
China on Tuesday said it supported contacts and dialogue between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States.

2. S. Korean ministry to step up N. Korea monitoring, defector support
Yonhap News by Sam Kim
The South Korean ministry overseeing ties with North Korea plans to step up its monitoring of the communist neighbor and expand programs designed to support defectors from it, an official said Tuesday.

3. Expert views on North Korea issues are bright
The Hankyoreh
The 2010 outlook on the Korean Peninsula is a somewhat bright one. As we recall, last year started off with tensions high and a possibility of a military clash between North Korea and South Korea. We are astonished at how much has since changed.

4. Korean Reunification 'Will Cost $5 Trillion'
Chosun Ilbo
Estimates about the cost of Korean reunification vary wildly. The government and South Korean and foreign think tanks have so far estimated that it would cost between US$5 million and $1.5 trillion to recover the devastated economy of North Korea (US$1=W1,155). But others say it will cost much more.
 
MIDDLE EAST

5. US says door still open on Iran nuclear issue
AFP by Christophe Schmidt
The United States said Monday "the door is still open" for Iran to meet world demands on its nuclear aims, but warned it was discussing with allies the "next steps" which could include sanctions.

6. Israeli Nuclear Whistle-Blower Detained Again
Global Security Newswire
Israeli nuclear whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu was placed under house arrest last week on suspicion of disobeying a prohibition against contact with foreigners, Reuters reported (see GSN, Sept. 23, 2008).

7. Brazil, Japan, Turkey, Kish Island are potential sites for nuclear fuel swap
Tehran Times
Brazil, Japan, Turkey, and the Iranian island of Kish in the Persian Gulf are among the potential sites for exchanging nuclear fuel if the West agrees with Iran’s proposal for a fuel swap in stages, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Monday.

8. Obama must speak out on Iran, ex-adviser says
CNN
U.S. President Barack Obama must speak out and declare that some of the behavior of the clerical regime in Iran is unacceptable, former Obama administration official Ray Takeyh said Monday.
 
9. Majlis backs administration’s ultimatum to the West: MP
Tehran Times
Majlis Deputy Speaker Mohammad Hassan Abu Torabi has said that the Majlis supports the administration’s in setting a deadline for the West to provide Iran with the 20 percent enriched uranium.

10. Israel balks at U.S. arms deals with Arabs
UPI
Even as Israel's military ponders a possible pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear program, its planners seem to be having second thoughts about the sale of advanced U.S. weapons systems to Arab states that Washington says were intended to bolster an alliance against Tehran.

SOUTH ASIA

11. India planning major expansion of its nuclear-power capacity
Yahoo! News India by ANI
Reports indicate that India is planning a major expansion of its nuclear-power capacity. According to a report in Nature News, Srikumar Banerjee, head of the India's Atomic Energy Commission, said that the country is planning to increase nuclear power generation to 60 gigawatts by about 2035, from the current 4.7 gigawatts produced from 18 reactors.

12. Two committees probing BARC fire: chairman
Thaindian News by IANS
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has set up two committees to look into the cause of the fire in one of its chemistry labs that killed two young scientists, BARC chairman S. Banerjee said here Monday.
 
RUSSIA/FSU

13. Russia says arms talks at risk
UPI
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that Washington's designs to build a weapons defense system could strain talks between the United States and Russia on replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

14. Kazakhstan takes top spot in 2009
World Nuclear News
Kazakhstan has laid claim to being the world's top uranium producing country in 2009. Provisional figures show that its uranium output leapt over 60% last year to reach some 13,900 tonnes, surpassing both Canada's and Australia's forecast production.

EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

15. G-8 Summit Could Focus on Nonproliferation
Global Security Newswire
Canada is considering placing nuclear nonproliferation and controlling the materials needed to produce radiological weapons as the leading agenda items for this summer's meeting in Ontario of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meeting, the Canadian Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 7, 2009).

MISCELLANEOUS

16. U.S. Navy Juggles Ships To Fill BMD Demands
Defense News by Christopher P. Cavas
No sooner did the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system become operational in 2008 than U.S. combatant commanders started asking for BMD-equipped ships to begin patrolling their areas.
 
17. Progress Made on Blue Grass Chemical Weapons Disposal Plant
Global Security Newswire
Significant progress has been made on construction of the primary chemical weapons disposal facility at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported last week (see GSN, Oct. 27, 2009).

OPINION

18. Time for a new nuclear era
JoongAng Daily editorial
South Korea is poised to demand revision of an atomic energy agreement with the United States, after having won from the United Arab Emirates a multibillion-dollar contract to build third-generation nuclear reactors in the Middle East.

19. Holding Firm on Iran
The Nation by Robert Dreyfuss
With the start of the new year, pressure is building on the White House from assorted hawks, hardliners, neoconservatives, and pro-Israel lobbyists for President Obama to abandon his policy of engagement and dialogue with Iran in favor of a confrontational strategy.

20. US Nuclear Umbrella and the GCC: From Prevention to Protection
Khaleej Times by Dr Mustafa Alani
We are now in the beginning of 2010. The deadline set for Iran to agree to the international community’s demands regarding opening its nuclear programme to inspections and embracing transparency measures, including complete cooperation with the IAEA, is approaching fast.
 
21. A False Nuclear Start
WSJ editorial
The Obama Administration continues to negotiate with the Russians over a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), but one big question is whether it can get the result through the U.S. Senate. A group of Senators is telling the White House that it will have little or no chance of success unless it also moves ahead with nuclear-warhead modernization.