North Korea
SE Asia diplomats hope summit offers venue for discussions on resuming North Korea nuke talks
Associated Press, Washington Post – June 30, 2013
Southeast Asian diplomats have not abandoned hope that this week’s annual Asian security summit will provide a chance for North Korea and its neighbors to discuss restarting long-dormant disarmament talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, according to a joint statement released Sunday.
Kerry Hails China Moves in Urging North Korea to Denuclearize
Daniel Ten Kate and Sangwon Yoon, Bloomberg – Jul 1, 2013
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed China’s efforts to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, saying such a move would help spur normal relations between Kim Jong Un’s regime and the region.
North Korea to discuss nuclear talks in Moscow – report
Reuters – June 29, 2013
North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator will meet senior Russian officials in Moscow next week, state media reported, amid signs of a new push to get Pyongyang to re-join protracted talks over ending its atomic program.
Nuclear Theft
UN atomic agency chief says much nuclear theft may go undetected
Associated Press, Washington Post – July 1, 2013
The head of the U.N. nuclear agency says that well over 100 cases of nuclear theft and related incidents are reported to his agency each year but many more may go undetected.
Iran
President-Elect of Iran Says He Will Engage With the West
Thomas Erdbrink, New York Times – June 29, 2013
Iran’s president-elect, Hassan Rouhani, said Saturday that he would engage with the West and fulfill his electoral promises to allow more freedom for the Iranian people.
Iranian official signals no early scaling back in nuclear work
Alissa de Carbonnel, Reuters – June 28, 2013
Iran will press ahead with its uranium enrichment program, its nuclear energy chief said on Friday, signaling no immediate change of course despite the victory of a relative moderate in the June 14 presidential election.
Opinion: Why D.C. is wrong to discredit Iran’s new president
Trita Parsi, Reuters – June 28, 2013
Iranians wanted hope and change and they went to the ballot boxes to obtain it.
Congress
House, Senate Differ On Effort To Lock Down Domestic Dirty Bomb Material
Douglas P. Guarino, Global Security Newswire – June 28, 2013
Senate appropriators are looking to place a higher priority than their House counterparts on locking down domestic materials that terrorists could use to make a radiological weapon.
Nuclear Weapons
Opinion: Nuclear weapons lose their relevancy
Ira Lechner, Washington Post – June 28, 2013
…Today, nuclear weapons absorb scarce defense dollars without providing much “defense” in return. Mr. Obama is right to refocus our resources on more useful defenses.
