News Story: Moon says dialogue with N. Korea 'impossible'

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile launch on Friday, saying dialogue with the communist nation is "impossible in a situation like this" and warning that the South is capable of destroying the North "beyond recovery."

Moon made the remark during a National Security Council meeting he presided over after the North fired a ballistic missile over Japan again earlier in the day, just days after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions for its sixth nuclear test.

"Flouting the international community's condemnations and warnings and the U.N. Security Council resolution, North Korea again fired a ballistic missile," Moon said at the start of the meeting. "I sternly condemn and express anger at this series of provocations by the North."

Moon said dialogue with the North is out of the question if Pyongyang engages in such provocative acts.

"Dialogue is impossible in a situation like this," Moon said. "International sanctions and pressure will further tighten to force North Korea to choose no other option but to step forward on the path to genuine dialogue."

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Report: North Korea Test-fires Another Missile Over Japan

Brian Padden

SEOUL — North Korea launched another missile over Japan early Friday, just days after the United Nations imposed additional sanctions on Pyongyang for conducting its sixth nuclear test.

The missile was launched from the Sunan district in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, and flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, said.

"We absolutely cannot accept these repeated provocations by North Korea and we strongly protest to North Korea and convey to them the nation's strong anger in the strongest words possible,” Suga said.

Warning announcements about the missile blared around 7 a.m. local time in the northern Japanese town of Kamaishi, according to footage from national broadcaster NHK.

South Korea's military reported the missile reached an altitude of about 770 kilometers and flew 3,700 kilometers, far enough to reach the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

News Story: What War With North Korea Would Look Like - 20K NK Dead A Day

By ROB GIVENS

Relatively few Americans know many details about how a war between North Korean, the US, South Korean and United Nations force would look. One of them is Rob Givens, who served as the deputy assistant chief of staff for operations of U.S. Forces Korea and as special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He shares the outlines of what would be a grim struggle, with tens of thousands dead or wounded each day on both sides — and that’s well before anyone who might go mad and use a nuclear weapon. Here’s some of what Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are likely to tell lawmakers on Wednesday. Read on. The Editor.

We often hear war with North Korea is “unimaginable,” but, as North Korea presses ahead with its nuclear and missile tests, the unimaginable is becoming more possible. Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Trump’s top uniformed military advisor, described the potential conflict as, “horrific.” So what would this no-longer-so-unimaginable war look like?

Without getting into the important questions of how the war would start — which would certainly change key aspects of how combat operations proceeded — the basic aspects of conflict are predictable.

Thousands of aircraft will wage an epic battle across the entire Korean Peninsula. The two American Air Force fighter wings—100-plus fighter aircrafts permanently stationed there — accompanied by our South Korean partners would fight the opening minutes, striking against the North’s aged, but plentiful air forces while also bombing Kim Jong-un’s missiles and artillery.

If the North gains the initiative, we will have to accept higher risk going after targets before establishing our air superiority — meaning we will suffer higher losses. In short order, the air forces in South Korea would be joined by U.S. Navy, Marine, and Air Force fighters from Okinawa and Japan. U.S. bombers from around the globe would also be called in. Every square foot of North Korea would be in range.

Read the full story at Breaking Defense

News Story: N.K. threats call for 'game-changing' missile defense system - U.S. lawmaker

Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system

WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Yonhap) -- A Democratic lawmaker urged the Pentagon Monday to boost its missile defense system before North Korea develops the capability to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons.

In a contribution to The Hill, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) underscored the urgency of tackling North Korea's missile and nuclear threats with action, not words.

"President Trump's lack of a comprehensive strategy and reckless war of words with North Korea has sent the world into a panic," he wrote. "But all the provocative talk in the world won't change the fact that the Hermit Kingdom is a nuclear power and will soon have the nascent capability to strike the U.S. mainland. We need to dramatically shift our thinking as to how to tackle this new reality."

North Korea test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July, claiming the entire U.S. mainland is within its range. Earlier this month, the regime also threatened to launch ballistic missiles towards the U.S. territory of Guam.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

USA: U.S.-Australia Hold Counterproliferation Dialogue in Canberra

The United States and Australia held their sixth annual Counterproliferation Dialogue in Canberra on August 2-3. The annual meeting is one of several exchanges held by the United States and Australia each year to strengthen bilateral cooperation to address the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery, and sensitive dual-use technologies.

Interagency experts from both sides met to discuss a range of counterproliferation and strategic trade control challenges, and to identify avenues to best address those challenges. The 2017 Dialogue placed special emphasis on U.S. and Australian efforts to promote effective third country implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions concerning North Korea, opportunities to improve enforcement of strategic trade controls, and the upcoming Proliferation Security Initiative Exercise Pacific Protector, which Australia will host in September 2017. Both sides agreed to meet again next year.

US State Department

News Report: Defector - DPRK Drones Can Hit Seoul With Biochemical Attack in One Hour

A high-level North Korean detector has ominously claimed that the DPRK military has hundreds and hundreds of attack drones capable of carrying biological and chemical agents to attack Seoul within a single hour.

The individual was interviewed by Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo under the alias Jin-myeong Han. A former diplomat to Vietnam, he defected from the DPRK in 2015. 

While an enormous amount of attention has been paid to North Korean missile tests, which have greatly increased in frequency and visibility in the past few months, Han argues that the threat of drones from Pyongyang could be just as urgent.

According to Han, the DPRK has been developing their drone delivery system since the 1990's. Han, who claims to have once served in the North Korean air force, said that he helped develop radio communication for the attack drones.

"My guess is that [North Korea] has 300 to 400 drones," he said. They are stored underground and frequently moved between sites to avoid detection by foreign reconnaissance satellites.

"I was surprised to see that people from the Korean Workers' Party came and mounted something that appeared to be biological and chemical weapons on the drones," said Han. "They conducted an experiment to spray chemical or biological agents over the mountains and fields nearby. I went to the mountain afterward to check and found all animals dead, although plants survived.

News Report: You're the 'Terrorists' - North Korea Vows Attack on Enemy Intelligence Agencies

Tensions have yet to cool down on the Korean Peninsula: On Friday, the North Korean Ministry of State Security threatened to attack South Korea and the US in the wake of reports that agencies of the countries had conspired to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with biochemical weapons.

“We will ferret out and mercilessly destroy the last one the terrorists of the US CIA,” the North’s KCNA official news outlet reported.

Some of Pyongyang’s security officials believe terror cells sponsored by the CIA and South Korea’s National Intelligence Service have seeped through the country’s borders with plans to kill North Korea’s leader with biological weapons.

Friday’s accusation was of a slightly different flavor than that of the saber-rattling that’s occurred between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington in recent weeks. The North Korean Security Ministry alleged that a North Korean native working in Russia as a lumberjack was “bribed,” Yonhap reports, by the CIA and NIS to kill Kim Jong-un. 

News Report: Chemical Weapons Could Be Used Against India in War, Indian Army Chief Warns

Indian Army chief becomes second person in military establishment to talk of possible chemical or biological weapon attack.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Army chief has asked Indians to be prepared for chemical and biological weapons in the event of aggression by either Pakistan or China. This is the second time that such a senior person in the military establishment has warned of biological and chemical weapons.

"Although chemical weapons have been banned by the United Nations, it could be used by an adversary," Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said at an event where the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) handed over the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) and medicines to the Indian Army.

Earlier, India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar had also expressed concern over possible use of these weapons in a limited war. "In southern and northern parts of Afghanistan, I have seen photographs of local population suffering from blisters. At this moment, I don't have confirmation on this, but the photos were quite disturbing," Parrikar had said.

News Report: S Korea to Get Tough on North’s Biochemical Weapons in Talks With US, Japan

South Korea will take a hard line on North Korea for illegally storing biological and chemical weapons, at the upcoming talks with the United States and Japan, South Korean officials told local media Saturday after a highly toxic liquid was confirmed to have killed the half-brother of the North Korean leader.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Malaysian police said Friday that a nerve agent called VX had been used to kill Kim Jong Nam, known to disapprove Kim Jong Un's policies, raising suspicion of Pyongyang’s involvement.

"The government will bring up the issue of North Korea's biochemical weapons programs when top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the United States and Japan meet in Washington on Monday, as well as during various multilateral talks," a Korean official told the Yonhap news agency.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry voiced its dismay on Friday over the use of what it described as a UN-banned chemical weapon in the suspected assassination. Seoul said this was a blatant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Malaysia has been investigating the case alone after it rejected assistance from North Korea, which also demanded for the body of the deceased 45-year-old to be handed over to it. No evidence has been revealed that would prove Pyongyang’s role in his death.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Report: China Bans Dual-Use Exports to North Korea - Commerce Ministry

China has imposed a ban on dual-use technology exports to North Korea, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Thursday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — The measures are being introduced under the UN Security Council Resolution 2321, adopted following North Korea's massive nuclear test in September, the ministry said in a statement.

Banned exports include dual-use materials and technologies that could be used in weapons manufacture, including in the production of nuclear weapons, warheads, biological and chemical weapons. The ban also covers some software programs which could be used in missiles and drones, as well as metals used in producing multilayer plates, high speed cameras, various telecommunication devices, laser systems, sensors, avionics and air navigation equipment.

On September 5, 2016, Pyongyang launched three ballistic missiles in the direction of the Sea of Japan. Several days later, it conducted a successful test of a nuclear warhead, which is believed to be the fifth and largest blast since Pyongyang began pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The UN Security Council responded with some of its toughest sanctions yet against the country, prohibiting UN members from buying North Korean coal, iron and iron ore, as well as nickel, copper, silver, zinc and monuments, as well as prohibiting the supply of items included in a dual-use list, also obliging members to suspend various forms of cooperation and to restrict the movement of North Korean officials on their territory.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Report: New Delhi Prepares for War, Plans Underground Bunkers Against WMD Attacks

India's government is expected to approve the creation of underground communication and data control rooms in major Indian cities, to be used for protection against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)

New Delhi (Sputnik) – Responding to the perceived vulnerability of important communications and data networks in the case of airborne attacks in the capital city of India, Delhi Police have planned the creation of a control room that could secure data and communication against an attack using WMDs such as nuclear, chemical and biological.

Delhi Police identified two locations in India’s capital for the first phase of the initiative. Sources in Delhi Police say that senior officials and concerned departments are in the process of preparing the initial plan for setting up an underground data control room, which will be submitted for government approval soon.

News Report: China Plots ‘Decapitation’ Strike on Kim Jong-Un Regime in North Korea – Reports

A leading Chinese professor Zhe Sun said at a security forum in Washington that Beijing has already begun contemplating ‘decapitation’ strikes against the dictatorship in North Korea after Kim Jong-Un’s regime conducted two nuclear tests in less than a month.

According to a report by the Korea Times, Professor Zhe Sun told a security forum in Washington that Chinese leaders are debating the best way to deal with an increasingly unhinged North Korean regime that has escalated its march towards fielding a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the mainland United States.

"Some Chinese scholars and policy makers began to talk about supporting ‘surgical strikes’ and decapitation’ by the US and South Korea as one policy option," said the esteemed professor. "More radical proposals indicate that China should change the leader, send troops across borders and station in DPRK, force DPRK into giving up nuclear and beginning opening up and reforming."

News Story: Singapore hosts navy exercise

Singapore (VNA) – Singapore kicked off the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise “Deep Sabre 2016” on September 27 at the Changi Command and Control Center. 

This year’s navy exercise, held from September 27 - 30, involves more than 800 military personnel from 21 countries such as Australia, Canada, France, US, Germany, Japan and Russia. 

Participating countries will exercise various maritime security activities, including a simulated interdiction of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) delivery and proliferation. 

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: UN chief calls for eradicating weapons of mass destruction "once and for all"

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday stressed the need to seriously refocus attention on nuclear disarmament, and called for the eradication of the weapons of mass destruction "once and for all."

Addressing an open debate of the UN Security Council on "non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," the secretary-general noted that eliminating weapons of mass destruction was one of the founding principles of the United Nations and it was in fact the subject of the first resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly.

"I call on all States to focus on one overriding truth: the only sure way to prevent the human, environmental and existential destruction these weapons can cause, is by eradicating (these weapons) once and for all," Ban said.

"We -- the international community -- must ensure the disarmament and non-proliferation framework is universally and completely implemented, and is resilient and versatile enough to grapple with the changing environment," he said.

The success in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction offers some comfort and that multilateral treaties, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention, and instruments, including Security Council Resolution 1540, are "robust and tested," Ban said.

Adopted in 2004, Resolution 1540 affirms that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery constitutes a threat to international peace and security.

The challenges to the disarmament and non-proliferation architecture are growing, the secretary-general said, adding that technological advances have made means of production and methods of delivery of these weapons easier and more accessible.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: China calls for integrated solution to enhance WMD non-proliferation - envoy

UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the UN on Monday called for an integrated approach to enhance the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

"Prevention of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is of critical importance to regional and global security," said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN at a Security Council meeting.

The 15-member UN body held open consultations on the Comprehensive Review of the 1540 Committee on Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Wu warned that non-proliferation remains of serious international concerns.

"Historical grievance, territorial disputes, ethnic clashes, security concerns as well as terrorism, have compounded the complexity and difficulty for the search of a solution," he said.

The envoy stressed that all parties should adopt "an integrated approach in addressing both the symptoms and root causes of the question."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: China Seen As Threat in Flournoy Paper

Michèle Flournoy (Image: Wiki Commons)

Wendell Minnick

Flourney Expected to be Next DoD Secretary Under New Administration

TAIPEI — Michèle Flournoy, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), which is based in Washington, DC, and has issued a new report, “Nine Lessons for Navigating National Security.” The report examines 70 years of US national security policy and processes, and makes recommendations for the next president as they build the next national security team.

Few periods in modern world history have been as complicated and tumultuous as the one the next US administration will confront. A long list of international problems will compete for the next president’s attention upon taking office, including:

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Editorial: Evolution of the US-ROK Alliance - North Korea Threat Profile

By Leon Whyte

The DPRK threat ensures that the original purpose of the alliance remains relevant.

This is the fifth article in a series on the U.S. alliance with South Korea. Previous articles can be found in The Diplomat’s Koreas section.

Although the alliance has changed substantially since its Cold War origins, it is still grounded in protecting the ROK from DPRK attacks or invasion. While most U.S. Cold War adversaries have abandoned communism, or in the case of the PRC an ideological commitment to conflict with imperial powers, North Korea has not changed its ideology or hostile stance to the outside world. Even while North Korean citizens suffer from hunger and privation, the Kim regime spends an estimated 22.9 percent of its GDP on defense, the highest percentage in the world. In addition, despite North Korea’s relatively small size, it has one of the largest military forces in the world, with an estimated 1,190,000 troops in 2012, as compared to the 639,000 ROK troops. While it is true that many North Korean troops are less well nourished, trained, or equipped than their ROK or U.S. counterparts, North Korea maintains a 100,000+ large detachment of Special Operations forces trained to infiltrate into South Korea, attack strategic infrastructure, carry out assassinations, and potentially act as a delivery mechanism for a biological or chemical attack against the ROK. Making the DPRK threat more acute, the DPRK has positioned most of its forces and artillery south of Pyongyang and in close proximity to the DMZ, meaning that a DPRK attack could occur with little warning.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

Editorial: Myanmar Inks Global Arms Treaty

By Prashanth Parameswaran

The government ratifies the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Myanmar has ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and will become the 191st member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the global watchdog announced Thursday.

The move represents another step in the country’s ongoing reform process. Since a new quasi-civilian government took power in 2011 after five decades of military rule, the country has been reviewing Myanmar’s participation in international legal instruments including disarmament related conventions. In that vein, Myanmar signed the additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency in connection with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2013 and became a state party to the Biological Weapons Convention following ratification in December 2014.

Read the full story at The Diplomat

USA: Australia Group Celebrates 30th Anniversary

The annual plenary meeting of the Australia Group chemical and biological weapons nonproliferation regime will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the group’s founding, June 1–5, in Perth, Western Australia. Created initially to staunch the flow of precursor chemicals and materials used to make the chemical weapons used during the Iran-Iraq War, the Australia Group has set the international standard for responsible dual-use export controls in the chemical and biotechnology sectors and has played an important role in impeding the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons worldwide. In addition to celebrating this milestone, the event will provide biological and chemical experts the opportunity to continue to discuss ways to counter these types of weapons.

The United States greatly appreciates the resources and leadership Australia has put into this important multilateral nonproliferation mechanism.

The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s (ISN) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Vann Van Diepen will lead the U.S. delegation to these meetings.

US State Department

Editorial: If North Korea Collapses, What Happens to Its WMDs?

By 38 North / Robert J. Peters

Securing and eliminating North Korea’s nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons could be an insurmountable challenge.

North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) pose a number of challenges, particularly how to find and secure those weapons if the regime collapses. This paper will look briefly at 1) North Korea’s nuclear, chemical and biological programs; 2) activities coalition forces might conduct in a collapse scenario; and 3) challenges posed by an operation to eliminate the North’s WMD.

The North Korean Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons Programs

North Korea‘s WMD programs date back decades and are believed to have produced significant stockpiles of weapons. According to open sources, North Korea likely has upwards of 10-16 weapons today and potentially up to 100 by the end of the decade. While it is hard to know the degree of their sophistication, it is a safe assumption that they are low-yield (about 10 kilotons), non-boosted, first generation weapons. Few outside of North Korea have a sense of where the warheads and fissile material are stored, given the scarcity of intelligence information coupled with North Korea’s proclivity to develop hardened and deeply buried facilities and storage depots. This lack of understanding about the locations of nuclear weapons storage will make finding them before they can be employed or moved in a collapse scenario enormously challenging.

The same intelligence limitations apply to the North Korean chemical weapons (CW) program. While our knowledge about North Korea’s CW stockpile remains limited, it is safe to assume that the North has been producing first generation blister, choking, and nerve agents, and conceivable that they have a limited number of more advanced binary agents such as VX or GB. Moreover the North Koreans probably have CW-armed artillery shells and possibly bulk agent positioned north of the demilitarized zone (DMZ). It is also possible that such shells and bulk agent are located elsewhere in the country, which would further complicate any foreign military movements deep into North Korean territory. While it is impossible to ascertain with confidence how much CW Pyongyang has produced, a reasonable guess would put the North’s annual production capability in the low tens of thousands of metric tons of material.

We know next to nothing of the North Korean biological weapons (BW) program, but they could well be producing BW—or even keeping large stockpiles of agent, as did the Soviets. South Korean officials in recent years have speculated that North Korea could produce anthrax or smallpox but there is little evidence that these statements are anything more than speculation.

Read the full story at The Diplomat