U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill (left) and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan attended a welcoming banquet in China today before beginning a formal round of nuclear negotiations tomorrow (Getty Images/Greg Baker). U.S., North Korean Officials Meet on Eve of Six-Party Talks U.S. and North Korean negotiators met today, just one day ahead of a new round of six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 22). The two sides were “just trying to get acquainted, review how we see things coming up and compare notes,” said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy...Full Story

Iran Continued to Advance Nuclear Work Up to Freeze Deadline Last Year, Official Says Iran built a “considerable” number of uranium enrichment centrifuges before its suspension of sensitive nuclear activities went into effect last November under an agreement with the European Union, an Iranian official said in comments published Saturday (see GSN, July 22)...Full Story

Critics Question Uranium Sales to China Australia and Canada are considering uranium sales to China that, while legal under international law, could pose proliferation dangers, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday (see GSN, July 22)...Full Story

	Monday, July 25, 2005

No Known Threat Against U.S. Transit, Officials Say There is no known specific threat against U.S. mass transit systems, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said yesterday in the wake of the twin attacks this month on London’s subway trains and buses (see GSN, July 8). “Obviously we’re concerned about it,” Gonzales said on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. “We know we have an enemy that’s very patient and very diabolical.” Al-Qaeda appears to be behind the July 7 attacks in London that killed 52, the apparently failed strike two weeks later in London and the bombings Saturday that killed scores in an Egyptian resort area, Gonzales said. There has been “credible but not specific” intelligence on possible attacks on transit systems, a senior U.S. intelligence official said earlier this month, according to USA Today. Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said a major fear is the use of biological weapons by a terror cell made up of U.S. citizens. “The greatest fear that people combating terrorism have is that people committing terrorism could be citizens of your own country,” he said. Terrorists are not believed to possess the capability to develop nuclear weapons, Ridge said. Some analysts believe al-Qaeda is seeking that capability, while others believe it is just an “idle wish” for terrorists, a senior official affiliated with the National Intelligence Council told USA Today. “Al-Qaeda’s WMD is a wish-list so far. They don’t have a significant enough sanctuary to receive, develop, construct and deploy a WMD yet, and I say ‘yet’ advisedly,” a U.S. intelligence official said by e-mail (John Diamond, USA Today, July 25). Back to top

U.S. Army Group to Train Against Unconventional War The U.S. Army is organizing a group of soldiers to receive training against biological weapons, radiological “dirty bombs,” suicide bombers and other unconventional threats they might face in present and future conflicts, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, July 8). The Asymmetric Warfare Group is recruiting 300 soldiers, who would receive annual training at a new training complex at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. Personnel from other military branches are also expected to undergo training at the site. The group is expected to begin operating by next January, AP reported (Associated Press/Daily Press, July 22). Back to top

U.S., North Korean Officials Meet on Eve of Six-Party Talks U.S. and North Korean negotiators met today, just one day ahead of a new round of six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 22). The two sides were “just trying to get acquainted, review how we see things coming up and compare notes,” said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the U.S. envoy. Individual meetings between Chinese, Japanese, North Korean, Russian, South Korean and U.S. officials took place in Beijing. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, met yesterday and “agreed to come up with a framework to realize denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman (Bo-Mi Lim, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 25). Japan, South Korea and the United States are considering a two-stage plan that would include a second negotiation session, perhaps in September, Reuters reported. The session that begins tomorrow would be aimed at agreeing on a set of “final goals,” including Pyongyang relinquishing its nuclear weapons programs and addressing both its missile program and human rights issues. Providing security guarantees for North Korea would also be on the list, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted sources close to the talks as saying (Reuters, July 25). The three allies plan to offer a written security guarantee to North Korea and hold out the possibility of normalized relations with Tokyo and Washington, the Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday (Yonhap, July 23). Washington last month discussed the possibility of a liaison office in Pyongyang to normalize relations, the Kyodo news agency quoted diplomatic sources in Beijing as saying. Such an offer was also mentioned in the 1994 Agreed Framework, according to Kyodo (Reuters/Yahoo!News, July 24). Japan plans to offer energy aid to North Korea if Tokyo sees significant progress toward North Korean disarmament at this week’s talks, Kyodo reported. The move is likely to stir controversy, however, because lawmakers in both ruling and opposition parties in Japan believe Tokyo should hold out for resolution of the standoff over Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang during the Cold War, according to Kyodo. South Korea’s offer of 2 million kilowatts of electricity to Pyongyang is believed to rest on the assumption that other countries would provide fuel oil to Pyongyang until Seoul establishes the electricity supply (Kyodo/Japan Times, July 23). Japan will bring up the abduction issue during the talks but should not risk damaging the nuclear negotiations by doing so, said a former Japanese official. “I think Japan will bring up this issue,” Taku Yamasaki, former vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said yesterday. “But it depends on the circumstances. If we destroy these talks, we can’t resolve both these problems, the nuclear issue or the abductions” (Hans Greimel, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 24). Some experts said the negotiations will hinge on whether the parties can agree on the sequence of disarmament steps and rewards. “The question is sequencing,” said Bonnie Glaser, senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “What has to be done first?  We have to see the political will on both sides.” “North Korea is worried that once the U.S. achieves denuclearization, it may not be interested in the peace treaty or the normalization process. They want to remind the United States the discussion of the peace treaty issue is an integral part of the denuclearization process,” said Paik Hak-soon, a North Korea expert at the Sejong Institute in South Korea. Others said normalization of North Korea-U.S. relations cannot be among the first steps because Washington remains unsure of Pyongyang’s promises to give up its nuclear arsenal. “The fundamental question is whether North Korea’s decision to return to the table is a strategic decision, that they are prepared to abandon their nuclear program. Or if it’s a tactical choice, to put off growing pressure and moves to the U.N. Security Council and seek as many inducements as possible,” said Gordon Flake, executive director of the Mansfield Foundation (Ching-Ching Ni, Los Angeles Times, July 25). Other experts and diplomats said North Korea is unlikely to permanently renounce its nuclear weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “North Korea is unlikely to give up its main bargaining chip, the nuclear weapons program, only for aid,” said Laure Paquette, an expert in Northeast Asia at Lakehead University in Canada. “It has shown itself in the past unfortunately willing to let its people suffer rather than accept aid,” said Paquette. “I do not expect the Kim regime ever to completely give up its nuclear weapons capability,” said a Western diplomat. “Kim will happily continue to accept economic aid from South Korea, but he will not promise to end his nuclear weapons program without security assurances from the United States. In any case, Kim’s promises are worthless,” said the diplomat (Martin Parry, Agence France-Presse/Hindustan Times, July 24). Pyongyang has said it is ready to receive visits by senior U.S. officials to normalize relations, AFP reported. North Korean officials told their U.S. counterparts in New York between late June and early July that Pyongyang was prepared to receive U.S. President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, Kyodo quoted diplomatic sources as saying. The U.S. officials told the North Korean envoys that senior officials from Pyongyang would also be received in Washington, according to AFP, but the North Korean delegation then expressed doubts about whether Washington was willing to issue the necessary visas (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, July 23). Back to top       Iran Continued to Advance Nuclear Work Up to Freeze Deadline Last Year, Official Says Iran built a “considerable” number of uranium enrichment centrifuges before its suspension of sensitive nuclear activities went into effect last November under an agreement with the European Union, an Iranian official said in comments published Saturday (see GSN, July 22). “Today, the number of centrifuge machines manufactured and ready to function is considerable,” chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani told the conservative daily Kayhan. Rohani added that Iran “continued to manufacture and assemble centrifuge machines” until the freeze took effect, according to Agence France-Presse. Meanwhile, Tehran has made efforts to reassure the European Union that its nuclear policy will not change under hard-line President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. “With the change of government … the attitude of the Islamic republic with regard to the nuclear issue and our strategic objectives will not change and the next government will continue the same policy,” Asefi said. He warned, however, that European nations should not use “the language of threats” against Iran, in response to French President Jacques Chirac’s remarks last week indicating that Iran’s case could be referred to the U.N. Security Council if a permanent solution is not achieved in negotiations (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 23). Asefi also confirmed that Rohani presented a letter to the British, French and German foreign ministers ahead of a pending EU proposal for Iran, Reuters reported. “We clarified to the Europeans that if the minimum requirements expected by the Islamic republic are not taken into account, we will not accept their proposals,” Asefi said. He added that by “minimum requirements” Tehran meant the “right to a peaceful nuclear technology” (Reuters/Yahoo!News, July 23). Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad made his first visit to the Isfahan uranium conversion facility, the Associated Press reported Friday (Nasser Karimi, Associated Press, July 22). Back to top       Critics Question Possible Uranium Sales to China Australia and Canada are considering uranium sales to China that, while legal under international law, could pose proliferation dangers, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday (see GSN, July 22). Australia restricts nuclear exports to nations that pledge not to use the uranium for weapons or to export the material to another country, said Ian MacFarlane, Australian resources minister.   Canberra now plans to add China to the list of 36 nations that have signed the bilateral agreement, the Telegraph reported. Canada, meanwhile, has a long-standing nuclear cooperation agreement with China, according to the Telegraph. Critics have said Beijing could divert the material to its nuclear weapons program, or even transfer it to North Korea. “There will be people in Washington who will be very upset about this, just as they were when the Israeli government was negotiating to sell arms to China,” said Tom Grunfeld, a China specialist at Empire State College in New York. The State Department has not publicly criticized the potential sales, but officials have said privately that they would watch to make certain that the appropriate controls are in place, according to the Telegraph (Peter Goff, Daily Telegraph, July 24). Back to top       U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Could Scuttle Chances of India-Pakistan Missile Test Agreement Next Week The U.S. decision to consider lifting nuclear sanctions on India could ruin chances for an agreement on advance notification of missile tests between Pakistan and India at a summit next week, the Hindustan Times reported Saturday (see GSN, July 19). Islamabad intends to review the nascent India-U.S. agreement before moving ahead on cooperation with New Delhi, Pakistani officials said. The next round of missile talks is scheduled to begin Aug. 5 (Hindustan Times, July 23). Back to top       Honduras Signs IAEA Additional Protocol The Republic of Honduras earlier this month signed the Additional Protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, the agency announced last week (see GSN, May 5). Honduras is the 100th nation to sign the protocol, which allows for more intrusive monitoring by the U.N. nuclear watchdog (International Atomic Energy Agency release, July 19). Back to top

FDA Extends Authorization for Anthrax Vaccinations The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow voluntary vaccinations of military personnel to continue at least until early 2006, FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford stated Friday (see GSN, July 7). The agency’s emergency use authorization for Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed is to be maintained for the duration of the Defense Department’s emergency declaration, Crawford wrote in a letter to Assistant Defense Secretary William Winkenwerder Jr. The declaration is scheduled to expire on Jan. 14, 2006. Winkenwerder requested the extension on July 11 “for such time as necessary pending the upcoming FDA re-determination of the licenses use of AVA for protection against inhalational anthrax.” The agency to date has certified the vaccine as effective only for use against anthrax infection contracted through skin contact. The voluntary program began after a federal judge ruled last year that the Pentagon could not require military and civilian personnel to be vaccinated (U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Lester Crawford letter, July 22). Back to top       Acambis Begins Phase II Trial of Smallpox Vaccine The U.S.-U.K. pharmaceutical company Acambis earlier this month began a phase II trial of its experimental MVA 3000 smallpox vaccine (see GSN, May 6). The trial will test the safety and production of immunity of three different dose levels of the drug, the company said in a press release. Results will enable Acambis and partner Baxter Healthcare SA to choose a dose of the vaccine for continued clinical testing. The trial will involve 700 volunteers at 10 U.S. locations, the company said. The modified virus Ankara vaccine would be used for people who could suffer reactions to the existing vaccine.  That includes patients with suppressed immune systems or those with the skin condition eczema (Acambis release, July 14). Back to top

Anniston Begins Destroying 105 mm Artillery Shells The Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama began Saturday to incinerate 105 mm artillery shells filled with the nerve agent sarin (see GSN, July 18). The facility has already destroyed the depot’s stockpile of M55 rockets, 8-inch shells and 155 mm shells containing sarin, according to a press release. Elimination of the 105 mm shells is expected to continue through the year. Work on M55 rockets containing VX nerve agent is set to begin in spring 2006, following a maintenance and retooling period (Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility release, July 25). Back to top       Six U.S. Army Depots Expected to Meet Chemical Weapons Destruction 2012 Deadline The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon and five other U.S. Army facilities are on track to meet a 2012 international treaty deadline for destroying U.S. chemical weapons stockpiles, the East Oregonian reported Friday (see GSN, July 22). The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah, for example, has completed destruction of its sarin and VX stockpiles, while Pine Bluff, Ark., is incinerating weapons at a “rate that’s really extraordinary,” said Dale Ormond, a deputy assistant secretary of the Army. Chemical weapons neutralization facilities have yet to be built at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado. It is less likely that those two sites will meet the deadline, Ormond said (Hal McCune, East Oregonian, July 22). Back to top

Japan May Begin Early Missile Defense Deployment Deployment of Japan’s missile defense system could begin a year ahead of schedule, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, July 22). The desire to speed up deployment to March 2006 arises from concerns about ballistic missile programs in North Korea and China, the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted Japanese officials as saying. Patriot Advanced Capability 3 surface-to-air missiles were initially expected to be fielded in late fiscal 2006-2007, which ends in March 2007, according to Yomiuri. One of four Aegis destroyers in the Japanese fleet was scheduled to be equipped with Standard Missile 3 missiles by the end of 2007. Four missile defense-equipped Aegis destroyers and three PAC-3 units would be deployed in all by the end of fiscal 2010-2011, according to the plan. However, because certain components must be purchased from the United States, the timing of the deployment remains uncertain. “Due to contractual issues, there is a possibility that it could be hard to drastically bring forward PAC-3 or SM-3 that need to be bought from the United States,” Yomiuri quoted a Defense Ministry source as saying (Reuters, July 24).     Back to top

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