News Report: US - Nuclear Ban Treaty Undermines International Security

Lisa Schlein

GENEVA — A senior U.S. arms control official said Friday that Washington would never become a party to the treaty banning nuclear weapons because the accord undermines international security and does nothing to resolve threats posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is set to open for signature at the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week. If 50 countries sign it, the treaty will go into force.

The U.S. permanent representative to the Conference on Disarmament, Ambassador Robert Wood, said at a news conference Friday that he considered the treaty a bad idea. He said prohibiting nuclear weapons would not make the world a safer place or reduce stockpiles by even one weapon.

He warned that the treaty would exacerbate divisions that already exist in the nonproliferation and disarmament communities.

"We are now facing the greatest nuclear challenge that we have faced for quite some time in North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its ballistic missile activities," he said. "And, the ban treaty does nothing and cannot do anything to impact and improve the situation with regard to that challenge that we face."

News Report: Russia Advocating Conciliatory Approach to North Korea

Brian Padden

SEOUL — Russia is increasingly advocating an arms control strategy to accept North Korea as a nuclear state, disagreeing with the United States and its allies, and even to a degree with China, which all support applying sanctions to force Pyongyang into denuclearization talks.

While meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday again urged for dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, and said whipping up military hysteria around the North Korean crisis was counterproductive and could trigger a global catastrophe. He also said it is not possible to resolve the North Korean crisis with sanctions and pressure alone.

A different approach

Echoing the sentiments of the Russian leader, Alexander Nikitin, the head of an academic institution run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, told an international defense forum in Seoul Thursday that the time has come to stop seeking the “immediate denuclearization of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and instead pursue "realistic and verifiable” arms controls talks.

News Report: Russia Calls on North Korea to Return to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime

Russia calls on North Korea to scrap nuclear and missile programs and to return to non-proliferation regime, within the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said Saturday.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted the resolution tightening the sanctions imposed on North Korea. The document implies prohibition of imports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead and seafood from the Asian nation by the UN member states.

"The ballistic missiles, which were launched without warning from North Korea, are posing major risk to marine and air transport in the region as well as to the lives of ordinary civilians. We call on North Korean government to end the banned programs and to return to the NPT non-proliferation regime and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] oversights, as well as to join the Chemical Weapons Convention," Nebenzya said at the UNSC session during the discussion of the adopted resolution.

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

News Report: US Urges Nuclear Suppliers Group Members to Back India Membership

The administration of US President Donald Trump has urged the 48 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to support New Delhi's long-pending application, but the move is really a reiteration of the country's old stand, not a real turnaround in India's chances of getting into the 48-member elite club that controls the nuclear trade.

New Delhi (Sputnik)-Experts question whether Washington has the wherewithal to pull its weight and bring China on board to favorably settle the issue of India's membership, and are less than hopeful. India's road to the NSG goes via Moscow, say experts, as it is Russia that is better placed to take New Delhi's case up with Beijing.

The US Defense and State Departments in a joint report submitted to Congress as required under the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2017 reaffirmed their support for India's membership in the Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime, in addition the NSG. India is already a member of the MTCR and subscribed to the Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation in June 2016.

News Story: UN set to adopt treaty outlawing nuclear weapons

By Carole LANDRY

A global treaty banning nuclear weapons is set to be adopted at the United Nations on Friday despite opposition from the United States, Britain, France and other nuclear powers that boycotted negotiations.

Supporters describe the treaty as a historic achievement but the nuclear-armed states have dismissed the ban as unrealistic, arguing it will have no impact on reducing the global stockpile of 15,000 nuclear weapons.

Led by Austria, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and New Zealand, 141 countries have taken part in three weeks of negotiations on the treaty that provides for a total ban on developing, stockpiling or threatening to use nuclear weapons.

Advocates hope it will increase pressure on nuclear states to take disarmament more seriously.

"This will be a historic moment," Costa Rica's ambassador, Elayne Whyte Gomez, the president of the UN conference on the treaty, said on the eve of the adoption.

"The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years," she said, calling it a "response for humanity."

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Uranium mining ultimatum in Western Australia sparks nuclear debate

SYDNEY, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A nuclear debate is heating up in Western Australia on Thursday, after the state government informed three uranium mining companies that their approval licenses will expire if their sites are not operational within five years.

The newly formed State Government's clarification on its policy has followed on from an election promise to ban uranium mining in the State for environmental concerns.

But prior to their victory in the vote, under the former State Government, three companies at four separate sites were given the go ahead to develop projects.

Vulnerable to legal action from the operators, the Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, on Wednesday told local media, "everyone knows our position is we are not very happy about these approvals, so the mining companies need to be aware that they have a potential deadline heading at them in five years from now."

"Bear in mind five years is a long time, I mean they've already had eight years of getting a project approved and another five years to develop it, that's a pretty reasonable length of time for them to get a project up," McGowan said.

"If they can't do that, then that's not our problem, that's their problem."

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: China in Touch With Russia on India's NSG Bid but Position Unchanged

China on Tuesday said it is in touch with Russia over India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group even as its position on India's bid remained unchanged. Experts in India said a change in China's stance is unlikely until India relents on Pakistan's membership in the group.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — China on Monday said India's bid for NSG membership had become more "complicated". The same day, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said New Delhi will reach out to Beijing's friendly nations, including Russia, to convince it on the issue. "Russia feels that India should be part of NSG and since it has good relations with Beijing it can always use its good offices to talk on the issue," she said.

"China and other members, including Russia, have maintained close communication and we have also maintained that we should act in accordance with the principles of NSG," PTI quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying as saying.

Hua, however, said that Beijing will not change its position on New Delhi's bid for NSG membership during the upcoming plenary meet in Berne later this month. China will again oppose India's entry and stress on its "two-step" method, Hua said.

News Report: India Unlikely to Get NSG Membership as China Reluctant to Soften Stand

China looks set to foil India’s bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership again as Beijing has hinted that its position on the admission of non-NPT members remains unchanged.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India is again going to face stiff opposition for its NSG membership bid as China has not changed its position on allowing the entry of non-signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) into the elite nuclear club.

"China's position on the non-NPT member's participation in the NSG has not changed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We support the NSG following the mandate of the 2016 Seoul plenary session and following building consensus as well as inter-governmental process is open and transparent to deal with the relevant issue in a two-step approach," Hua Chunying added.

News Story: Japan calls for strengthening NPT regime amid growing N. Korea threat

VIENNA (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called on the international community Tuesday to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime, citing the growing threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and missiles development programs.

Taking part in the preparatory committee for the 2020 review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in Vienna, the first Japanese foreign minister to do so, Kishida also urged cooperation between nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states to prevent the spread of nuclear arms.

"North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and launched more than 30 ballistic missiles since last year. Its nuclear and missile development has reached a new level and is posing a real threat to the region and beyond in the international community," Kishida told the preparatory committee.

Kishida, a veteran House of Representatives lawmaker from Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bombing in 1945, condemned North Korea's aggressive pursuit of nuclear development as posing a "challenge" to the disarmament and non-proliferation regime under the NPT.

The efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons should be "carried out in a realistic manner, while taking into account the security environment that is becoming increasingly severe, including that of North Korea," Kishida said.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Report: Trump Says He'd Be 'Honored' to Meet With North Korean Leader

US President Donald Trump

Steve Herman

WHITE HOUSE — Just days after reiterating that military options for dealing with North Korea are under consideration, President Donald Trump said he is willing to meet its leader Kim Jong Un.

The potential dramatic shift in the U.S. posture toward the Asian adversary comes as Pyongyang continues to conduct ballistic missile launches and is believed poised to conduct its sixth underground nuclear test.

"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," the president said of Kim in an interview Monday with Bloomberg News.

"Most political people would never say that, but I'm telling you under the right circumstances I would meet with him. We have breaking news." The remark was made during a wide-ranging 30-minute interview in the Oval Office that occurred as a U.S. Navy carrier strike force is off the Korean peninsula.

In a television interview aired Sunday on the CBS News program Face the Nation, the president also expressed admiration for Kim being able to secure power over the totalitarian country he inherited from his father in his late 20s, calling him a "pretty smart cookie."

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer faced questions Monday about Trump's comments.

"The president understands the threat that North Korea poses and he will do whatever is necessary, under the right circumstances, to protect our country from the threat that they pose," said Spicer, who noted that as far as any meeting between Trump and Kim, "clearly conditions are not there right now."

News Report: US Official- North Korea Is Biggest Threat to Nuclear Weapons Treaty

Lisa Schlein

GENEVA — A senior U.S. official is warning that the North Korean regime poses the greatest threat to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT). The U.S. position on the treaty was released in advance of next week's meeting in Vienna of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT review conference.

Robert Wood, the U.S. ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, said his main goal at the two-week NPT PrepCom would be to get the international community to stand together in condemnation of North Korea's provocations, threats and actions.

News Story: SCO members agree to enhance int'l nuclear non-proliferation regime - FMs

ASTANA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) agreed here Friday that their countries should work to enhance international nuclear non-proliferation regime and to promote cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear power.

In a statement issued at a foreign ministers' meeting in the capital city of Kazakhstan, the senior diplomats said the SCO members should be committed to the regulations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, push forward the process of nuclear disarmament, strengthen the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and boost equal and mutually-beneficial cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear power.

On the Syrian crisis, the ministers said the international efforts toward a peaceful settlement are very important, and stressed that the only correct path to ending the conflict in the Middle East country is through talks based on trust and mutual understanding.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: This is What Can Prompt China Not to Defend N Korea in the Event of War

Recently, there have been a growing number of suggestions by Chinese diplomatic and military commentators that Beijing is not obliged to defend Pyongyang in the event of a military attack, an article in the South China Morning Post read.

The assumption comes as senior officials in the United States have warned of a strike against North Korea.

In particular, Washington has positioned two destroyers in the region that can deploy Tomahawk missiles, according to what intelligence officials told NBC News, along with heavy bombers stationed in Guam that could provide support should such a strike should take place.

"North Korea is a problem, the problem will be taken care of," US President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday.

Chinese media outlets and even some official websites have recently published articles saying that in the current situation there are fewer options to find the peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.

News Story: Japan faces tight spot in talks on nuclear weapons pact & Japan says it will not take part in nuclear ban treaty talks without nuclear powers & Nuke ban treaty talks unrealistic without nuke 'haves' - minister

Japan faces tight spot in talks on nuclear weapons pact

Japan's decision to take part in talks on the Nuclear Weapons Convention, a proposed pact that would outlaw nuclear arms, is partly designed to avoid a backlash from survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or hibakusha. During negotiations, however, the Japanese government hopes to reflect its opposition to the pact.

The talks will be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from March 27 to 31. Japan plans to stress that there are problems with the convention's viability without the participation of nuclear powers. But if it merely voices opposition, then doubts will arise about Japan's enthusiasm for nuclear disarmament overall. Tokyo is therefore likely to find itself in a tight spot.

According to Japanese government sources, Japan's participation in convention negotiations was spurred by Foreign Minister and Hiroshima native Fumio Kishida.

At an October 2016 meeting of the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security, Japan defied widespread predictions and voted against launching talks on the pact. This sparked a stream of criticism from hibakusha and others in Japan and abroad who suggested that the country, protected by the United States' "nuclear umbrella," was taking a negative stance toward nuclear disarmament. As a result, the government judged that it needed to participate in negotiations and stress its position within the scope of the talks.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

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Japan says it will not take part in nuclear ban treaty talks without nuclear powers

NEW YORK -- Japanese Ambassador to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament Nobushige Takamizawa said on March 27 that Tokyo would not take part in negotiations on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons because the world's nuclear weapons states would stay away from the talks.

Takamizawa said the participation and cooperation of nuclear powers in the negotiations is indispensable to achieve nuclear disarmament. "Regrettably, given the present circumstances, we must say that it would be difficult for Japan to participate in this conference in a constructive manner and in good faith," Takamizawa said during the opening segment of the conference at the United Nations in New York.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at a news conference in Tokyo on March 28, "It has become clear that the conference does not satisfy our assertions. After stating Japan's views, we decided not to take part in future negotiations."

Read the full story at The Mainichi

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Nuke ban treaty talks unrealistic without nuke 'haves': minister

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, explaining Tokyo's decision not to take part in U.N. talks on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons, said Tuesday that such talks are unrealistic without the participation of major nuclear weapon states amid the growing nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

The decision by the government triggered criticism and disappointment from the survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who saw the first-ever U.N. talks on the treaty to abolish nuclear weapons as a step toward pursuing a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The negotiations that began in New York overnight "not only do not realistically help create a world without nuclear weapons but could also further deepen the rift between nuclear and non-nuclear-weapon states and cause an adverse effect," Kishida told reporters.

Japan, the world's only country attacked with nuclear bombs, has said it aspires to a world free of nuclear weapons, but had been vague about whether it would join the U.N. talks, reflecting its reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent for protection. During Monday's conference, a Japanese envoy announced Tokyo's stance on the treaty negotiations.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

News Report: Trump Administration Reviewing What Role US Nuclear Weapons Should Play

Steve Herman

WHITE HOUSE — The United Nations begins negotiations Monday on a legally binding treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons.

This comes as the United States commences a review of what role its nuclear weapons should now play.

“Shortly after taking office, the president directed a new Nuclear Posture Review to ensure that the United States nuclear deterrent is modern, robust, flexible, resilient, ready, and appropriately tailored to deter 21st century threats and reassure our allies,” White House senior assistant press secretary Michael Short told VOA Friday. “The review is underway and is being led by the secretary of defense.”

Those around the world yearning for a planet free of nuclear weapons are likely to be disappointed with the outcomes both at the United Nations and the White House.

“I personally support a world without nuclear weapons,” said Steven Pifer, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs. “But I would also admit it would be very hard to get there.”

News Story: Russia to Help India to Get NSG Membership

Russia is negotiating with China on behalf of India to get membership for the Nuclear Suppliers Group which India needs urgently.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — “Yes I came to know that Russia is helping out India for its bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group membership,” former External Affairs Minister and presently Member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor told Sputnik.

Shashi Tharoor further added that, “India has no choice but to seek the help of Russia as in spite of our consistent efforts we could not be able to convince China. Russia is our old friend and Russia being a close ally of China can be of great help to India to convince China.”

“If I would be have been the Foreign Minister, I would have done the same,” Shashi Tharoor told Sputnik in and exclusive interview.

Indian lawmaker D Raja also echoed the same sentiment when he said that, “It’s a back channel diplomacy. In fact, Russia is keen so that India gets the membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group. Russia has no qualms about India’s non-signatory status on NPT.”

India wants to be a member of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group but China has blocked India’s membership bid despite support from the majority of NSG members. China is objecting NSG membership on the grounds that India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

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

News Report: Trump Uncertainty Fuels South Korea Nuclear Talk

Brian Padden

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Some South Korean conservatives are citing President Donald Trump’s past statements on reducing U.S. security commitments in Asia to argue that their nation must now prepare its own nuclear option to defend against the growing North Korean nuclear threat.

“I’m not saying we should develop nuclear weapons overnight. I’m saying that if there are the right conditions, then we should go nuclear,” said Lee Choon-kun, a researcher with the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy, at an event sponsored by the East Asia Foundation in Seoul Tuesday.

Following his presidential election victory in November, Trump and his security advisers have reassured officials in Seoul and Tokyo that Washington would maintain strong regional military alliances and continue to pressure the Kim Jong Un government in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.

The U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to visit Japan and South Korea next week, and he is likely to highlight the importance of these key U.S. Asian alliances.

News Report: India Seeking NSG Membership on Non-Proliferation Record, Not as 'Gift'

Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said that India is not seeking to gain Nuclear Suppliers Group membership as a "gift," as suggested by China, but on the basis of its non-proliferation record.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – India is not seeking to gain Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership as a "gift," as suggested by China, but on the basis of its non-proliferation record, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs' spokesman, Vikas Swarup, said on Thursday.

"Our views on India’s membership of the NSG are clear and have been stated on many occasions before. India is not seeking NSG membership as a gift. India is seeking it on its non-proliferation record. I of course cannot speak for other applicants," Swarup said at a press conference.

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said NSG membership cannot be the US administration's "farewell gift" to India, adding that a country which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) cannot become a member of the NSG.

India is seeking to join the NSG, a group of 48 countries, founded in 1974, that trade in civil nuclear technology and want to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials. Membership in the group would allow India to build nuclear power plants in partnership with Russia, the United States and France, and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

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

News Report: Kim - North Korea Close to Developing Long Range Missile

North Korea’s leader says his country is in the final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Kim Jong Un made his remarks Sunday in a televised New Year’s speech.

North Korea conducted two nuclear tests this year, undeterred by international rebukes and increased sanctions.

New arms race?

Beyond the existential threat to the world posed by permitting the unpredictable and repressive North Korean state to possess these weapons of mass destruction, analysts say giving in to Pyongyang’s demand to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) it signed in the 1980s could also spark a new global arms race.

News Report: New Draft Proposal Opens Opportunity for India to Join NSG

A new draft formula for the entry of non-NPT countries into the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) may open a window of opportunity for India to join while leaving out its bête noire Pakistan. But it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will enthusiastically back India’s case.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Expectations in India about membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) have risen following reports of a draft proposal circulated among the elite group's members in early December. Its outcome, however, remains uncertain as a new administration takes over in the US next month.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the former chair of NSG, has prepared a draft membership formula for countries like India and Pakistan, which are unwilling to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but want to join the NSG. The proposal, reportedly first obtained by Bloomberg, suggests several general commitments that non-NPT countries could fulfill to get the maximum benefits of nuclear trading.