NORTH KOREA
North Korea threatens to scrap armistice ending war
Jack Kim and Louis Charbonneau, Reuters – March 5, 2013
North Korea threatened on Tuesday to scrap an armistice that ended the 1950-53 civil war and sever a military “hotline” with the United States if South Korea and Washington pressed on with two-month-long war games. It was a notable sharpening in the North’s often bellicose rhetoric and followed word from U.N. diplomats that the United States and China had struck a tentative deal on a draft U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution that would punish North Korea for its third nuclear test, which it conducted last month.
IRAN
Kerry sees “finite” time for Iran nuclear talks to bear fruit
Arshad Mohammed and Angus McDowall, Reuters – March 4, 2013
Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday there was “finite” time for talks between Iran and world powers on its disputed nuclear program to bear fruit, but gave no hint how long Washington may be willing to negotiate.
Obama is “not bluffing” on stopping Iran’s nuclear drive: Biden
Reuters – March 4, 2013
Vice President Joe Biden told America’s biggest pro-Israel lobbying organization on Monday that President Barack Obama is “not bluffing” about the United States’ determination to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. “The president of the United States cannot and does not bluff. President Barack Obama is not bluffing,” he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in a speech to its annual policy conference.
IAEA head calls for Iran to grant military base access
Agence France-Presse, Global Post – March 4, 2013
The head of the UN atomic agency called Monday on Iran to grant access to a military base where Tehran allegedly conducted nuclear weapons research, without waiting for an elusive wider accord. “I request Iran once again to provide access to the Parchin site without further delay, whether or not agreement has been reached on the structured approach,” Yukiya Amano told an International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting.
RUSSIA
Disarmament in exchange for missile shield – Sergei Ivanov
Alexei Lyakhov and Andrey Fedyashin, Voice of Russia – March 5, 2013
Moscow is not ready for a new round of nuclear arms reduction and sees no chances of reaching a compromise with Washington on U.S. plans for a missile shield in Europe, the head of the Russian presidential administration and former defense minister Sergei Ivanov told “Komsomolskaya Pravda”.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Lockheed Beats Out Challengers, Retains Aegis License
Christopher P. Cavas, Defense News – March 4, 2013
Lockheed Martin has withstood a challenge from Boeing and Raytheon to take over management of the U.S. Navy’s vaunted Aegis combat system, and was rewarded Monday with a $100 million contract as the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA). The award climaxed the first major competition for the Aegis system, which was developed by the Navy and Lockheed in the 1970s and managed by the company ever since.
