U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly (right) and North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan at a banquet in Beijing today after the second day of high-level multilateral talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis. Both countries have offered proposals for ending the standoff (AFP Photo/Greg Baker). U.S., North Korea Exchange Nuclear Proposals, Hold Bilateral Meeting in Beijing U.S. and North Korean diplomats held a bilateral meeting today in Beijing to study proposals put forth by each side yesterday at six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis, Reuters reported (see GSN, June 23). Negotiators met for two hours this afternoon, the second day of talks, according to South Korean officials. The United States presented a seven-page plan yesterday that would allow other nations to provide North Korea with energy aid and provide for the lifting of some U.S. sanctions and a “provisional security guarantee” to Pyongyang, according to the New York Times. ..Full Story

Senate Backs Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons Plans By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — With the passage of the $447 billion fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill yesterday, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in approving almost all of the Bush administration’s nuclear weapons and missile defense requests (see GSN, May 21)...Full Story

Bolton Expects IAEA to Report Iran to U.N. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton is expected to tell the House International Relations Committee today that the International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to report Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council, according to the New York Sun...Full Story

	Thursday, June 24, 2004

British House of Commons Security Plan Includes Measures to Protect Against WMD Attacks A new security plan presented today to British parliamentary staff includes several measures for responding to a terrorist attack involving biological or chemical agents, according to the London Evening Standard (see GSN, May 24). During a security briefing to House of Commons staff members, Parliament Sergeant at Arms Michael Cummins said that there is “no specific threat to Parliament at this time.” In a worst-case scenario involving the contamination of London with biological or chemical agents, the new security plan calls for Parliament to be evacuated to a secret location outside of London. The last time British lawmakers convened outside of the capital was in 1681, according to the Evening Standard. The new security plan also orders lawmakers’ staff to remain in place to prevent additional contamination if they open mail containing a biological agent, the Evening Standard reported. Special security measures for the House of Commons chamber, to be detailed later, are expected to include sealing the door of the chamber in the event of a biological attack (Joe Murphy, London Evening Standard, June 24). Back to top

Bolton Expects IAEA to Report Iran to U.N. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton is expected to tell the House International Relations Committee today that the International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to report Iran’s nuclear program to the U.N. Security Council, according to the New York Sun. “We are working closely with our friends and allies to urge an IAEA Board of Governors resolution that declares Iran in noncompliance with its IAEA safeguards obligations and reports that noncompliance to the U.N. Security Council. It is not a question of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ the IAEA board will report that noncompliance,” Bolton says in his prepared testimony before the committee, a copy of which was obtained by the Sun. Bolton also is expected to say that he believes Iran has developed an offensive biological weapons capability. While saying in his prepared remarks that he cannot “prove beyond a shadow of a doubt” that Iran has an offensive biological weapons program, Bolton also says that “the intelligence I have seen suggests that this is the case.” In his prepared testimony, Bolton also says that Iran is working to develop long-range ballistic missiles capable of targeting Israel and eventually Western Europe and the United States, the Sun reported (see GSN, Nov. 5, 2003; Eli Lake, New York Sun, June 24). Back to top       Irish Military Preparing for Possible WMD Attack A senior Irish military official said that the Irish Defense Force is considering the possibility that its troops may be the target of a WMD attack and is using such considerations in future equipment purchases, the Irish Times reported yesterday (see GSN, May 20, 2002). In response to the possible threat, the military is purchasing a large amount of respiratory equipment to aid soldiers in dealing with the aftermath of a WMD attack, Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Jim Sreenan said yesterday. He also said that preparations were being made to ensure that both the Defense Forces and its reserves could respond to terrorist attacks. “The clothing, equipment and training standards of all elements will be raised, and it is intended that the reserve will be a significant resource to counter the threat of terrorism and to alleviate the possible consequences of a terrorist attack,” Sreenan stated in the Defense Forces report for 2003 (Conor Lally, Irish Times, June 23). Back to top

U.S., North Korea Exchange Nuclear Proposals, Hold Bilateral Meeting in Beijing U.S. and North Korean diplomats held a bilateral meeting today in Beijing to study proposals put forth by each side yesterday at six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis, Reuters reported (see GSN, June 23). Negotiators met for two hours this afternoon, the second day of talks, according to South Korean officials. The United States presented a seven-page plan yesterday that would allow other nations to provide North Korea with energy aid and provide for the lifting of some U.S. sanctions and a “provisional security guarantee” to Pyongyang, according to the New York Times.  In return, Pyongyang would be required within three months to provide complete details of all its nuclear activities, disable its nuclear weapons and allow inspections. The proposal is based on a draft presented to the United States by South Korea earlier this month and modified by Washington, U.S. officials said (Joseph Kahn, New York Times, June 24). For its part, North Korea offered to freeze its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program and allow verification inspections, in exchange for massive energy aid (Kim/Ueno, Reuters, June 24). Japan for the first time announced it would provide energy aid to the impoverished North in exchange for a nuclear freeze, Agence France-Presse reported. “Our country is prepared to join international energy assistance at the six-party talks if North Korea’s freeze satisfies such conditions as strict disclosure of information,” said Japan’s chief delegate to the talks, Mitoji Yabunaka. He added that the freeze must cover “all nuclear programs” and that it should cover a “short period of time,” with the final goal being nuclear disarmament, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse, June 24). Back to top       Senate Backs Missile Defense, Nuclear Weapons Plans By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — With the passage of the $447 billion fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill yesterday, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in approving almost all of the Bush administration’s nuclear weapons and missile defense requests (see GSN, May 21). The Republican majority in preceding days voted down Democratic amendments to cut or condition missile defense program deployment funding and cut funding for nuclear weapons initiatives for researching a high-yield earth penetrating weapon, researching and developing other “Advanced Concepts” nuclear weapons capabilities. The Senate authorized $27.6 million for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator study, $9 million in other Advanced Concepts Initiative work, $29.8 million for a Modern Pit Facility, and $30 million for the Enhanced Test Readiness program, which would shorten the preparation time anticipated for conducting a nuclear test. The Senate, like the House, authorized the military to spend about $10.2 billion on ballistic missile defense research, development and procurement, including approval to field elements of the system this year and for initial production of an additional 10 interceptor missiles for Alaska, which would bring the total to 30 by the end of 2007.  The Senate bill differs though, by appearing to reject money for initial work on yet another 10 missiles — numbers 31 through 40 — and constructing a third interceptor base. That intent was contained in the Senate Arms Services Committee Report accompanying the bill, which said the Missile Defense Agency first needed to determine where that base would be located. “It still goes to conference and anything is possible in conference,” said John Isaacs, president of the Council for a Livable World arms control advocacy group, referring to the process for reconciling the House and Senate bills. Also following the House’s lead, the Senate authorized early funding in fiscal 2005 for developing a space-based interceptor, a version of the so-called Kinetic Energy Interceptor, scheduled for flight-testing early next decade. Separately, the House Appropriations Committee cut about $500 million from the administration’s $10.2 billion missile defense request for the 2005 defense appropriations bill. The Senate Appropriations Committee did not. Back to top       U.S.-Made Device Found at Possible Iran Nuclear Site A U.S.-made radiation detection device sold directly to Iran in the early 1990s was seen at a bulldozed area in Tehran suspected to be a former nuclear research site, Reuters reported (see GSN, June 23). The “whole body counter” — used to measure radiation contamination in humans — was produced by Connecticut-based Canberra Industries Inc., according to a Western diplomat and an independent nuclear expert close to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “There is no doubt that the whole-body counter came from Canberra Industries and under a legal export,” said the nuclear expert, who has analyzed satellite imagery of the razed Lavizan site, suspected by the United States of having been a nuclear weapons-related facility (see GSN, June 18). The device was sold to a university or hospital in Iran in the early 1990s, the sources said. An industry source familiar with the equipment said that, while the device was designed for peaceful activity, it could be modified to detect plutonium or other substances. “Very theoretically speaking, all kinds of things can be done,” said the source. Nuclear weapons experts said the presence of the device does not necessarily indicate weapons-related activity. “The presence of the whole body counter there is weird and out of place, but it doesn’t prove that there was any weapons activity going on at Lavizan,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, one of the organizations that provided the satellite photos of the razed site. “We need to know how it got there (from the hospital or university) and why,” he added (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, June 23). Back to top       Bulgarian Nuclear Experts May be Attracted by Rogue States, Terrorists, Foreign Minister Says Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy said yesterday that he was concerned that rogue states and terrorists might attempt to recruit Bulgarian nuclear experts (see GSN, Dec, 29, 2003). Passy expressed his concerns during a Vienna meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which he chairs, according to the Associated Press. Bulgarian nuclear experts might be attracted by offers from rogue states or terrorists once Bulgaria shuts down its two nuclear reactors as part of an agreement to join the European Union, Passy said (Karl Peter Kirk, Associated Press, June 23). Back to top       United States Conducts Successful Minuteman 3 Test The U.S. Air Force yesterday successfully tested an unarmed Minuteman 3 ICBM (see GSN, Sept. 10, 2003). The missile was fired from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to a target in the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands (U.S. Air Force release, June 23). The Air Force has about 500 Minuteman 3 missiles armed with nuclear warheads at silos in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming (Lompoc Record, June 23). Back to top       U.S. Air Force Considers New Strategic Bombers The U.S. Air Force is exploring the possibility of developing two new long-range bomber types, Defense Daily reported today (see GSN, April 16). The service issued a request last month for information from the aircraft industry to explore what capabilities could be produced. Air Force officials are seeking airplanes able to carry payloads including nuclear weapons and systems designed to counter hard and deeply buried targets, according to Defense Daily. “We don’t know what technology leaps can be found, so … we probably have to produce a bomber in 15, 20 years based on today’s technology,” said Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hal Hornburg. “But then if you take a look at what technology offers and promises in the future, it’s also prudent to look — as we look at a next bomber — a future bomber even after that,” he added (Lorenzo Cores, Defense Daily, June 24). Back to top

Chemical Alarm Sounds at Aberdeen Proving Ground An alarm yesterday morning in a chemical storage structure at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland indicated the presence of mustard vapor inside the building, the U.S. Army said (see GSN, June 8). Ongoing monitoring outside the structure has not indicated the release of any chemical agent, the Army said in a written statement. The Army’s Technical Escort Unit is working to determine what caused the leak and how much agent was released within the building, officials said (U.S. Army press release, June 23). This is the first container leak in the proving ground’s history, according to spokesman George Mercer (Patrick Tyler, Baltimore Sun, June 24). Back to top

Toxic Attack on Cows Not Reported to Feds for Days Ten dairy cows in Washington state were painted June 5 with a sticky red substance, later identified as chromium, that caused welts, oozing sores and internal bleeding, an incident that was not reported to federal officials for 10 days, USA Today reported (see GSN, Feb. 24). The motivation for the attack remains unknown, but early news reports said the incident may have been part of a labor dispute. The reporting delay is unacceptable given concerns about possible bioterrorism attacks involving the country’s food supply, said local and national officials. “Any time something like that happens, we want to find out about things as soon as possible,” said Robert Brackett, U.S. Food and Drug Administration director of food safety. “People want to make sure that they’re not giving a false alarm and causing disruption when it’s not needed. But now with the increased awareness, everybody has a role to play in securing the country,” he added. “Since Sept. 11, we just have to start thinking about things in a new way. And we’re not very good at it yet,” said Kate Sandboe of the Washington state Agriculture Department. “Our minds don’t run to (potential bioterrorism) immediately,” she added. Three of the cows died and seven are recovering from the attack, according to USA Today (Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, June 24). Back to top

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