Nuclear Policy News – January 26, 2010

FISSILE MATERIAL
Report says Al-Qaeda still aims to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S.
WP by Joby Warrick

A Failure to Imagine the Worst
Foreign Policy by Graham Allison

North Korea may be readying missile test - S.Korea TV
Reuters

Intelligence from Tehran Elevates Concern in the West
Der Spiegel by Dieter Bednarz, Erich Follath and Holger Stark

EAST ASIA
1. North Korea may be readying missile test - S.Korea TV
Reuters
North Korea has declared a no-sail zone off its west coast, indicating it may be readying to test-launch missiles in the area, South Korean news broadcaster YTN on Tuesday quoted a military official as saying.

2. U.S. calls on N. Korea to return to 6-way talks to discuss sanctions: State Dept. 
Yonhap by Hwang Doo-hyong
The United States Monday reiterated that it will not discuss lifting sanctions or signing a peace treaty unless North Korea returns to the six-party talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.

3. North Korea Urges Lifting of UN Sanctions Before 6-Party Talks
Bloomberg by Sungwoo Park
North Korea reiterated that it is unwilling to return to multilateral nuclear disarmament talks while the country is subject to United Nations sanctions.

4. DPRK, U.S. must build confidence before denuclearization
Xinhua
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States should build confidence before realizing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, DPRK's official daily said Tuesday.

MIDDLE EAST
5. Intelligence from Tehran Elevates Concern in the West
Der Spiegel by Dieter Bednarz, Erich Follath and Holger Stark
The West has long been suspicous of Iran's nuclear program. SPIEGEL has obtained new documents on secret tests and leadership structures that call into question Tehran's claims to be exclusively interested in the peaceful use of the technology.

6. Iran nuclear talks still possible: China
AFP
China said there was still time to reach a diplomatic resolution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme after France urged its European partners to ready new sanctions against Tehran.

7. EU wary of slapping Iran with new nuclear sanctions
Deutsche Presse Agentur
European Union foreign ministers on Monday backed away from threatening Iran with fresh sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, saying that the bloc should only bring in new restrictions if the United Nations Security Council asked.

8. Top Iranian security official's visit to Russia called off
RIA Novosti
The reported visit to Russia on Tuesday of Iran's top security official and chief nuclear negotiator has been postponed indefinitely, the ISNA news agency reported on Monday.
 
SOUTH ASIA
9. Nuclear war between India, Pak could spell climate disaster : Report
Press Trust of India
A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could cause severe "climate cooling" and may have a devastating impact on agriculture worldwide, says a report jointly produced by Japan and Australia on nuclear-non proliferation and disarmament.

RUSSIA/FSU/EUROPE
10. U.S. says arms talks with Russia to resume next week
Reuters
Talks on a landmark treaty between the United States and Russia to cut Cold War nuclear arsenals will resume in Geneva next week after a break for the holiday period, the U.S. mission said on Monday.

MULTILATERAL ARMS CONTROL AND NONPROLIFERATION
11. Pakistan Rejects Atom Bomb Material Cut - Off Talks
Reuters
Pakistan, citing a "clear and present danger" from its nuclear-armed rival India, ruled out on Monday global negotiations to ban the future production of material to make atomic bombs.

U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS STRATEGY AND POLICY
12. Report says Al-Qaeda still aims to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S.
WP by Joby Warrick
When al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called off a planned chemical attack on New York's subway system in 2003, he offered a chilling explanation: The plot to unleash poison gas on New Yorkers was being dropped for "something better," Zawahiri said in a message intercepted by U.S. eavesdroppers.

OPINIONS
13. A Failure to Imagine the Worst
Foreign Policy by Graham Allison
In his first speech to the U.N. Security Council, U.S. President Barack Obama challenged members to think about the impact of a single nuclear bomb. He said: "Just one nuclear weapon exploded in a city -- be it New York or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris -- could kill hundreds of thousands of people." The consequences, he noted, would "destabilize our security, our economies, and our very way of life."

14. Stop Rushing START
National Review Online by Henry Sokolski
Sometimes, coming late is just as bad as not arriving. Consider the Obama administration’s effort this week to conclude a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Moscow.

15. Global Insights: Where Is the Post-START Treaty? 
World Politics Review by Richard Weitz
For weeks, U.S. and Russian government representatives have stated that they expect a new nuclear arms control treaty to be signed imminently. Nevertheless, the negotiations continue to drag on.

16. Interview: Mohamed ElBaradei
Foreign Policy by David Kenner
In an exclusive interview with Foreign Policy, ElBaradei opens up about the state of a grand bargain between the United States and Iran on the nuclear issue, his conflicts with the Bush administration, and the conditions under which he will pursue the presidency. ElBaradei also discloses that he will be returning to his native country in the third week in February.