IRAN
U.N. atom talks with Iran fail, no new meeting set
Fredrik Dahl, Reuters – Feb 14, 2013
U.N. inspectors returned on Thursday from talks in Tehran with no deal on access to Iran’s nuclear sites and no date for new talks, failing to produce even a small signal of hope for wider big power diplomacy aimed at averting a war.
UN inspectors see new centrifuges at Iran nuclear site: diplomat
Reuters – Feb 14, 2013
U.N. nuclear inspectors have seen a small number of advanced centrifuges at an uranium enrichment plant where Iran has said it will install and operate them, a diplomatic source said on Thursday.
KOREAN PENINSULA
North Korea nuclear test prompts stern warnings from neighbors
Ju-min Park and Kiyoshi Takenaka, Reuters – Feb 14, 2013
South Korea sent a stern warning to North Korea on Thursday, two days after the North tested a nuclear bomb, saying it could strike the isolated state if it believed an attack was imminent as it deployed a new cruise missile to drive home its point.
Seoul struggles with N.K. deterrence
Song Sang-ho, The Korea Herald – Feb 14, 2013
Skepticism is growing over the South Korean military’s ongoing efforts to counter North Korea’s escalated nuclear threat amid increasing calls for a major revamp of its ineffective deterrence strategies and weapons systems. After the North’s third atomic test on Tuesday, Seoul’s Defense Ministry vowed to accelerate the processes of building the “Kill Chain,” a preemptive strike system, and deploying strategic ballistic missiles, which can cover the whole area of North Korea.
Seoul pushing China to back sanctions against nuclear N. Korea: S. Korean FM
Yonhap News – Feb 14, 2013
South Korea has been striving to persuade China to take an active part in possible international sanctions against North Korea for its latest provocation of conducting its third nuclear test, Seoul’s top diplomat said Thursday. “China’s participation (to impose sanctions against North Korea) is crucial, and China has also expressed its firm opposition to the North’s nuclear test,” Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said during the interpellation session of the National Assembly.
N.K. nuclear brinkmanship puts U.S. in quandary
Shin Hyon-hee, The Korea Herald – Feb 14, 2013
North Korea’s fresh round of brinkmanship is poised to throw the U.S. into a double bind: lead a global movement for stronger penalties while reengaging the regime as part of nonproliferation efforts.
JAPAN
INTERVIEW: Japan defense chief could have pre-emptive strike ability in future
Reuters, Asahi Shimbun – Feb 14, 2013
Japan has the right to develop the ability to make a pre-emptive strike against an imminent attack given a changing security environment although it has no plan to do so now, the defense minister said on Feb. 14, days after North Korea conducted a third nuclear test.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Ballistic Missile Target Intercepted Over Pacific Ocean On US Flight Test
RTT News – Feb 14, 2013
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie (CG 70) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in the intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IA guided missile.
Focus on Defense Deals as PM Meets French President
India West – Feb 14, 2013
India and France on Thursday concluded negotiations on the Short Range Surface to Air Missile, a deal worth nearly $6 billion, during talks between French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two leaders also discussed the $10 billion deal for Rafale fighter aircraft, with Singh saying the talks were “progressing well.”
