Nonproliferation News - November 18, 2009

FISSILE MATERIAL

North Korea's nuclear plans cloud Obama in Seoul
WP by Jon Herskovitz and Patricia Zengerle

Iran rejects sending uranium abroad, considers swaps
Reuters

Secrecy shrouds Iran's contingency centers
Asia Times by Gareth Porter

Why China Isn't Willing to Get Too Tough on Iran
Time by Bill Powell

EAST ASIA
1. North Korea's nuclear plans cloud Obama in Seoul
WP by Jon Herskovitz and Patricia Zengerle
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for talks that will focus on how to tempt North Korea back to nuclear disarmament talks and a delayed trade pact between Seoul and Washington.

2. Pyongyang must be willing to abandon nuclear arms before deal: official 
Yonhap by Byun Duk-kun
North Korea must be ready to completely give up its nuclear ambitions before talking of rewards under Seoul's "grand bargain" that seeks to denuclearize the North in a single step, a senior South Korean official said Wednesday.

MIDDLE EAST
3. Iran Says UN Watchdog Has Cleared Nuclear Program
NYT by AP
Iran's nuclear envoy denied Tuesday that the U.N. inspectors' tour of its recently revealed uranium enrichment site has turned up any evidence that the Islamic republic is seeking nuclear weapons.

4. US says time 'very short' for Iran on nuclear deal
Reuters
Iran faces a "very short" window to submit its formal response to a U.N.-brokered deal meant to allay suspicions that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.

5. Iran rejects sending uranium abroad, considers swaps
Reuters
Iran's foreign minister was quoted on Wednesday as saying that Tehran would not send its enriched uranium abroad for further processing but would consider swapping it for nuclear fuel within its borders.

6. Iran's Ahmadinejad seen backing nuclear deal
Reuters by Parisa Hafezi
Despite his hardline image, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to favor a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel proposal as a way to shore up his own power and legitimacy five months after his disputed re-election.

7. IAEA revisits Syria reactor in uranium traces probe
Reuters
U.N. inspectors revisited a Damascus nuclear research reactor on Tuesday to take more swipe samples after judging Syria's initial explanation for uranium traces found there to be doubtful.

8. US wants 'credible explanation' for Syrian uranium
AFP
The United States on Tuesday said it hopes for a reasonable explanation from Syria on how traces of uranium were found at a nuclear research reactor in Damascus.

SOUTH ASIA
9. Nuclear installations safe: Manmohan
The Hindu
A day after nuclear installations were put on high alert following inputs that terrorists might target them, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh allayed fears about their safety.

RUSSIA/FSU
10. Senate gives Obama team time to finish START follow on
Foreign Policy (The Cable) by Josh Rogin
In addition to moving along the Kerry-Lugar foreign-aid reform bill Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also approved legislation that would give the administration time to complete a new nuclear treaty with Russia -- a treaty that is the center piece of Washington's efforts to "reset" relations with Moscow after the tensions of the Bush years.

EUROPE

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
11. IAEA: Claims of secret nuclear talks with Iran 'entirely baseless'
Haaretz
The United Nations nuclear watchdog has vehemently denied a report in the British newspaper The Times that it had been holding clandestine talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

MISCELLANEOUS

OPINION
12. Secrecy shrouds Iran's contingency centers
Asia Times by Gareth Porter
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published new evidence on Monday that Iran had been building "contingency centers" in the event of a United States bombing attack as early as 2002, years before it began building the second enrichment facility at Qom.

13. Why China Isn't Willing to Get Too Tough on Iran
Time by Bill Powell
President Hu Jintao doesn't have the luxury of deferring action on the increasingly urgent global concerns over nuclear developments in Iran and North Korea. A U.S. push for harsher sanctions against Iran won't be welcomed in Beijing.

14. Windfall From Iranian Fray
Moscow Times by Mac Broderick
To the surprise of many, the Russian government last month decided against supporting sanctions on Iran. But despite President Dmitry Medvedev’s posturing, Russia’s current opposition should not be so surprising.

15. Is Iran dropping Russia for Turkey?
Guardian by Meir Javedanfar
The Iranian government has decided to take the initiative and to look for a new partner to replace the Russians. Judging by the recent flurry of visits between Tehran and Ankara, it seems that Khamenei has found a willing partner in Turkey.

16. Why Russia is stalling progress on Iran nuclear plant
CSM by Fred Weir
Russia may be starting to lose patience with its wayward Middle Eastern partner Iran, with delays mounting in the delivery of long-established contracts to provide sophisticated weaponry and civilian nuclear technology to the Islamic Republic.

17. Would Russia really use nuclear weapons against neighbors?
CSM by Fred Weir
The Kremlin is drafting a new military doctrine, due by year's end, that may authorize the armed forces to use nuclear weapons not only to counter a massive conventional attack but even to launch a preemptive strike against a small regional adversary – such as neighboring Georgia or Ukraine – that might be deemed a threat to Russia.

18. U.S. Ports Still Wide Open to Nukes, Report Says
Huffington Post by Jeff Stein
Over $3 billion and seven years since U.S. intelligence discovered al Qaeda kingpin Osama Bin Laden was seeking a nuclear bomb, terrorists can still drive a radioactive truck through the holes in America's border defenses, a government watchdog agency suggested Tuesday.