South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young (right) shakes hands with head North Korean delegate Kwon Ho Ung at a press conference today. The two sides agreed during talks this week to seek a peaceful end to the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program (Getty Images/Jung Yeon-je). North, South Korea Pledge to Seek Peaceful Resolution to Nuclear Standoff North and South Korea pledged today to seek a peaceful end to the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, but did not set a date for another round of six-nation talks, CNN reported (see GSN, June 22). “The South and the North have agreed to take real measures for peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue through dialogue as the atmosphere is created with the ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in a statement...Full Story

U.S. to Target Companies that Aid Proliferation U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to give the Treasury Department authority to seize assets of companies suspected of helping Iran, Syria and North Korea build their nuclear weapons programs, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, Sept. 3, 2003)...Full Story

Republicans Tell White House Bolton Will Not be Confirmed Without Additional Documents Senate Republicans are urging the White House to turn over documents requested by Democrats in connection with the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today (see GSN, June 22)...Full Story

	Thursday, June 23, 2005

Republicans Tell White House Bolton Will Not be Confirmed Without Additional Documents Senate Republicans are urging the White House to turn over documents requested by Democrats in connection with the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today (see GSN, June 22). Republicans said Bolton would not be confirmed unless these documents are released. “I hope the president will take a very hard look at the documents,” said Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). “Unless we resolve this dilemma quickly, Mr. Bolton is not going to be the U.N. ambassador.” The White House “should understand we’re at an impasse. It may be more important to preserve the doctrine of separation of powers than to have John Bolton in the U.N.,” Alexander said. White House spokesman Scott McClellan again the Bush administration would not give additional documents to Democrats. Administration officials have said that the information contained in the papers is irrelevant to Bolton’s nomination, the Inquirer reported. Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Bolton’s name should be withdrawn in the White House does not want to disclose the documents. “This is not about executive privilege; this is not about classified information that would endanger people's lives,” Lott said. “It may be about a thin reed of a principle about redacting names. I'm sort of blas‚ about it.  If they don't want to give the information, if they're scared it might set a precedent, fine: Withdraw Bolton and come up with somebody else. That's the only option they now have” (James Kuhnhenn, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 23). Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) said a vote on Bolton could go forward following release of the documents, Reuters reported yesterday. “If the president turns over the information — not part of it or a summary of it — but turns over all the information requested, the White House will get their up or down vote on Mr. Bolton,,” Reid said. Reid added that he would prefer to see Bolton’s nomination withdrawn. Bolton “has shown outright disdain for the international system and the institution for which he was nominated to serve,” Reid said. Some Senate Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with what they characterize as Democratic unwillingness to compromise on the nominee, Reuters reported. “The goal post is now outside the ball field,” said Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who said he attempted to be an “honest broker” between Democrats and the White House. The Bush administration has not ruled out a recess appointment for Bolton, which would allow him to serve as ambassador until 2007 (Reuters/New York Times, June 22). Back to top

North, South Korea Pledge to Seek Peaceful Resolution to Nuclear Standoff North and South Korea pledged today to seek a peaceful end to the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, but did not set a date for another round of six-nation talks, CNN reported (see GSN, June 22). “The South and the North have agreed to take real measures for peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue through dialogue as the atmosphere is created with the ultimate goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said in a statement. The joint statement was issued following meetings this week between officials from the two nations.  It did not detail the “practical steps” the nations would take on the nuclear issue. A South Korean spokesman said the delegation from Seoul “hadn’t heard a definite answer” from Pyongyang on when nuclear talks would resume. South Korea agreed to provide humanitarian aid to the North, according to the statement, and pledged to work with Pyongyang on joint agriculture ventures. Both sides agreed to meet for another round of inter-Korean talks in September (CNN, June 23). South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reported yesterday that the North Korean delegation did not comment on a request from Chung to resume six-party talks in July. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was expected to meet today with members of the North Korean delegation, including chief negotiator Kwon Ho Ung. Pyongyang said Kwon was not acting as an envoy for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (Chosun Ilbo, June 22). Meanwhile, in a move the Bush administration said was unrelated to the nuclear standoff, talks, the United States said yesterday it would provide 50,000 metric tons of food to North Korea this year, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 20). “We've been a big supplier of food to the North Korean people and the president has said that he does not believe that food should be used as a diplomatic weapon,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “We have always had concerns, though, that that food is getting to the people who need it — the people who are starving, the people who are hungry,” McClellan continued. “We want to make sure there are assurances that that food is going to those who need it — not to the government and not to the military in North Korea.” State Department spokesman Adam Ereli also said the donation was not related to negotiations. The United States donated 50,000 metric tons of food to North Korea last year, and 100,000 tons the year before (Associated Press/Albany Democrat-Herald, June 23). The offer of food aid is unlikely to be happenstance, said Joseph Cirincione, nonproliferation director at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “It’s hard to believe the timing is just coincidental,” he said (Reuters/New York Times, June 23). U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said in a statement today that he would like to meet with Kim, the Associated Press reported. “I’m more than willing to meet with Chairman Kim Jong Il and hope to meet him,” Hill said in the statement (Burt Herman, Associated Press/Washington Times, June 23). Elsewhere, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry played down reports that Chinese President Hu Jintao might visit North Korea early next month to press for the resumption of six-party talks, Reuters reported. “I haven’t heard of such a thing,” said spokesman Liu Jianchao. Back to top       U.S. to Target Companies that Aid Proliferation U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to give the Treasury Department authority to seize assets of companies suspected of helping Iran, Syria and North Korea build their nuclear weapons programs, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, Sept. 3, 2003). The authority would be much like powers used against companies suspected of financially supporting terrorists. The presidential order would initially affect fewer than 12 companies, some of which are believed to be fronts for the nations. Other targets are engaged in direct trade with Syria, Iran or North Korea, according to the Journal. Under existing powers, the government can bar federal agencies from making purchases from businesses thought to be supporting WMD programs (Carla Anne Robbins, Wall Street Journal, June 23).  Back to top       Iranian Bushehr Plant Could Soon Get Nuclear Fuel Russia could send nuclear fuel to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in a matter of months, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 22). “The site is 84 percent finished and will be completed towards the end of 2006,” said Assadollah Sabouri, deputy chief of Iran’s atomic energy organization. “The fuel is in Russia and ready to be transported, and it will be delivered soon but the exact date will remain confidential,” he said. “God willing, in a few months.” Sabouri reiterated Tehran’s stance that Bushehr would operate only for peaceful purposes. The United States believes the plant is part of a suspected Iranian nuclear weapons program. “Bushehr is entirely under the supervision of the [International Atomic Energy Agency]. The fuel will be verified before it is sent to Iran and IAEA inspectors will be here to open the seals,” Sabouri said. The United States has been arguing “on a daily basis” that Moscow should halt involvement in Iran’s nuclear program, Russian diplomats said. Russia has required that Iran return spent nuclear fuel, but has otherwise maintained the connection, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 22). Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said today he believes the potential threat posed by Bushehr is being overstated. Russia installed only low-grade nuclear equipment at the facility, which is set to use light-water reactors that are not best for producing plutonium, he told Swedish public radio. “It is possible, but it is very difficult. The way you would usually go is to have a research reactor,” Blix said. While he expressed concern about Iran’s uranium enrichment capability, Blix said it would be years before the country could produce a nuclear weapon (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar, June 23). Iran’s nuclear program was expected to be a major topic of discussion today during a meeting in London of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight nations, the Associated Press reported (Ed Johnson, Associated Press/ABC News, June 23). Back to top       U.S. Defense Official Confirms Chinese Missile Test A U.S. defense official has confirmed the recent test by China of a submarine-launched long-range ballistic missile, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 20). The range of the Ju Lang 2 is believed to be up to 6,000 miles, outstripping all other missiles carried by Chinese submarines. The missile would be capable of reaching U.S. territory from the western Pacific Ocean.  The test is an indication that China is continuing to move toward deployment of the missile, the official said. It would also expand the nation’s nuclear capability beyond land sites and aircraft. China has also been developing a new nuclear-missile submarine, AP reported. It was not known if the missile was launched from the new Type 094-class vessel (John Lumpkin, Associated Press/Tucson Citizen, June 22). Back to top

Llama Blood Could Help Develop Bioagent Sensors A researcher at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in Texas has discovered that the blood of llamas, sharks and camels contain an antibody that could be used to detect biological agents, the San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday (see GSN, March 3). Andrew Hayhurst said small devices could be coated with these antibodies, then set to continuously take air samples to determine the presence of anthrax, smallpox or other biological agents. “I like to call it a bionic tongue,” Hayhurst said. “We're talking about a fusion of biology and mechanics.” Hayhurst and Ellen Goldman at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. have received $150,000 for a two-year project to develop the sensors. The sensors are expected to last longer and be more stable than existing detection methods, Hayhurst said. Scientists are working to make sensors more efficient and able to detect a range of biological agents, said Jean Patterson, Southwest Foundation virology chairwoman. “We always need increased sensitivity and specificity. We need sensors that can deal with anything that could be out there, not just an anthrax machine or tularemia machine, but anything that could be out there,” Patterson said (Cindy Tumiel, San Antonio Express-News, June 21). Back to top

Russia to Increase Funding for CW Destruction Russia expects to increase funding for its chemical weapons destruction program by nearly $105 million in 2006, ITAR-Tass reported today (see GSN, Feb. 7). Funding for Russia’s antiterrorism program and a program for restructuring ammunition and missiles is also expected to double. Finally, Russia plans to increase by more than $160 million funding for its border security program (Natalia Slavina, ITAR-Tass, June 23). Back to top       Jordan Plotters Sought to Spread Toxic Chemicals Across Country, Expert Testifies at Trial Suspects in the foiled chemical attack in Jordan had hoped to spread toxic agents far beyond the sites of their planned attacks, a chemical expert testified at trial yesterday (see GSN, June 16). “They sought to disperse poisonous gases which would have caused death, illnesses and blindness,” said Col. Najeh al-Azam of Jordan’s General Intelligence Department. Nine suspects are in court, while senior al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and three others are being tried in absentia for the alleged plan to attack the intelligence agency headquarters in Amman, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. Embassy in Jordan’s capital and the prime minister’s office have also been reported as targets for the strikes. Authorities seized plastic containers of hydrogen peroxide from the suspects, Azam said. The defendants planned to combine the substance with “ground black cumin” to create “an explosive substance stronger than TNT,” he testified. Suspects were also found with oxygen, sulfuric acid and nitroglycerin, Azam said. Such “extremely volatile” materials could be used in chemical weapons, Andy Oppenheimer of Jane’s Information Group told AP (Jamal Halaby, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 22). Back to top       New Jersey to Ban VX Shipments on Turnpike New Jersey plans to block the shipment of VX nerve agent on its turnpike following a spill at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana, the Courier-Post reported today (see GSN, June 23). State officials have opposed efforts to treat wastewater from Newport VX neutralization at a DuPont plant in New Jersey. “New Jersey’s position has been reinforced by the recent announcement that on-site treatment of the VX nerve agent and its byproducts is technically practicable in Newport,” wrote acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey in a letter to Army Secretary Francis Harvey (see GSN, May 3). Codey has ordered the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to work with state police and other relevant state agencies to block VX shipments (Lawrence Hajna, Courier-Post, June 23). Back to top

Another Bush Nominee Could Face Democratic Hurdle Questions over Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith’s role in promoting the existence of ties between al-Qaeda and prewar Iraq could hold up efforts to appoint a successor to the departing Pentagon policy head, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Jan. 27). The Bush administration has nominated career diplomat Eric Edelman to take the Defense Department post following Feith’s planned departure this summer. However, ranking Senate Armed Services Committee Democrat Carl Levin (Mich.) said he might block Edelman’s appointment if he does not receive additional documents regarding Feith’s assessment of connections between former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s regime and the terrorist organization. Levin has accused Feith of overstating the link in the buildup to war, while the White House said his work was reasonable analysis. The Pentagon has cited confidentiality and legal issues in withholding some documents requested by Levin, the Post reported. “This should not be necessary,” Levin said. “But the Senate is entitled to these documents, and I don’t know any other way to get them.” Senate Democrats have so far successfully halted the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador over the issue of withheld documents (see related GSN story, today.) “It’s happening too many times around here — putting holds on nominations. It’s a pity this is the way the Senate has to deal with this administration,” Levin told the Post. Levin said he could take action following a confirmation hearing scheduled next week for Edelman. A Defense Department spokesman said the Pentagon has cooperated with Levin’s requests. “We have provided Senator Levin significant volumes of documents already and are working with Senator Levin and the committee to determine what additional information Senator Levin is interested in,” said spokesman Lawrence Di Rita. “Many of the same issues Senator Levin is interested in have been considered in some detail by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which thus far has found no cause for concern with the policy shop in reviewing prewar intelligence on Iraq” (Bradley Graham, Washington Post, June 23).                       Back to top

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