Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh, shown in March, agreed today to allow a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference to proceed (Samuel Kubani/Getty Images). Agenda Compromise Resolves NPT Meeting Impasse Iran today agreed to a compromise agenda for a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference in Vienna, but just four days remain to a planned 10-day meeting, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7). From day one, Iranian diplomats blocked passage of a proposed agenda that included language “reaffirming the need for full compliance” with the treaty.  ..Full Story

North Korea Uncertain About Money Dispute’s End A senior North Korean official said there is no way to know when there might be resolution to the money matter that Pyongyang has linked directly to its willingness to begin denuclearization, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 7)...Full Story

U.S. Seeks New Strategy to Deter Nuclear Terror The Bush administration has wrestled to establish a new deterrence policy that would encourage other nations to ensure that nuclear weapon materials on their soil does not fall into terrorist hands, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2006)...Full Story

	Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Agenda Compromise Resolves NPT Meeting Impasse Iran today agreed to a compromise agenda for a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference in Vienna, but just four days remain to a planned 10-day meeting, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7). From day one, Iranian diplomats blocked passage of a proposed agenda that included language “reaffirming the need for full compliance” with the treaty.  The diplomats argued that the language unfairly targeted nations with emerging nuclear technology and failed to address the disarmament obligations of nuclear-weapon states. South African diplomats proposed a compromise Friday that suggested adding a statement that “all provisions” of the treaty should be observed. To the surprise of most delegations, Iran accepted that compromise today, according to AP. “My government can accept the proposal by South Africa,” said Iranian delegation leader Ali Asghar Soltanieh. His announcement and the agenda’s formal adoption spurred brief applause in the meeting room, AP reported. About 130 nations are attending the annual meeting intended to prepare for the treaty’s 2010 review conference. The compromise solution — and the original Iranian objection — were unnecessary, said U.S. delegation head Christopher Ford.  The original language addressed all treaty obligations, he said. “It’s been disappointing that as a result of Iranian obstruction of procedure, it has taken so long to get to the point of beginning substantive discussion,” he said.  The new language was a “restatement of the obvious,” he added (Associated Press/New York Times, May 8). Back to top       North Korea Uncertain About Money Dispute’s End A senior North Korean official said there is no way to know when there might be resolution to the money matter that Pyongyang has linked directly to its willingness to begin denuclearization, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 7). “I don’t think anyone can predict about when,” Kim Myong Gil, North Korean deputy chief of mission at the United Nations, told the Yonhap News Agency.  “We just hope that it will be resolved soon.” Pyongyang agreed in February to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allow international inspectors back into the country in exchange for fuel oil and related aid from other nations in the six-party talks.  However, it has demanded that it first collect $25 million from Banco Delta Asia in Macau, money the United States had linked to illicit financial activity such as counterfeiting. North Korea apparently has yet to find a bank willing to accept the money, which is seen as tainted and could draw unwanted U.S. attention. “Our position has been consistent all along,” Kim said.  “If (this) problem is solved, then we can enter into the implementation of the agreements.” The Stalinist government would then continue disabling its nuclear program, as required by the February deal, he said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 8). North Korea would like to transfer the funds through a U.S. bank, in hopes of ensuring renewed access to the international financial system, the Associated Press reported today. “The North Koreans’ real intentions are finally coming to the surface,” an official told AP. A Treasury Department decision on the North Korean request could be made by Thursday.  If it allows the transfer, the money ultimately would end up at an institution in Russia or another country, the official said (William Foreman, Associated Press/Daily Comet, May 8). Back to top       U.S. Seeks New Strategy to Deter Nuclear Terror The Bush administration has wrestled to establish a new deterrence policy that would encourage other nations to ensure that nuclear weapon materials on their soil does not fall into terrorist hands, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2006). Officials from the CIA, the FBI, the Defense and Energy department have been meeting weekly to try to craft a new policy. One hurdle facing U.S. officials is the problem of “nuclear attribution,” or the ability to identify the source of a nuclear weapon after it has exploded.  Some nations, such as North Korea, could probably be fingered easily because there is extensive data about their nuclear materials following years of International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, the Times reported. Less is know about other nations’ materials, however, and that knowledge gap could make it difficult for the United States to threaten retaliation if it cannot pinpoint the source of nuclear blast. Another problem is deciding what type of threat to make.  Threatening nuclear retaliation may be a clear-cut strategy against nations that might deliberately supply nuclear material to terrorist groups, but such a response could be inappropriate for nations that lose material unintentionally, officials and analysts said. “We need to distinguish between the leakage problem, where it would be inadvertent, and the provider problem, where it would be an intentional act,” said Robert Litwak of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “To the provider we should say, ‘Don’t even think about it,’ and this more explicit declaratory policy can get us traction because these regimes value their own survival above all else,” he added.  “For the leakage problem, we don’t want to be trapped into a question of how we retaliate against Russia or Pakistan.  But through calculated ambiguity, we can create incentives for the Russians and the Pakistanis to do even more in the area of safeguarding their weapons and capabilities.” After North Korea tested a nuclear device in October, U.S. President George W. Bush issued a strong warning, threatening that the “transfer of nuclear weapons or material” to other nations or terrorist groups “would be considered a grave threat to the United States.” North Korea would be held “fully accountable,” Bush said (Sanger/Shanker, New York Times, May 8). Back to top       Radiation Detectors Installed at Canadian Port Canada has installed eight radiation detectors at the Port of Montreal to scan the roughly 1,200 containers that pass through the facility daily for potential weapons material, the Canadian Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 23). The Canadian government plans to deploy 36 of the $200,000 portal monitors around the country.  Detectors have already been installed at St. John in New Brunswick (see GSN, Dec. 14, 2005), and placement is under way in Halifax and Vancouver.  Equipment is also slated for the port at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The technology “sends a signal to those who may be planning or who think they can get away with planning something like importing certain materials that may be dangerous that they will be detected,” said Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.  “So this is a deterrence measure.” The former Liberal government in Canada designated $155 million for marine security following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States (Canadian Press/Canada.com, May 7). Meanwhile, testing of U.S. radiation detectors continues at Port Qasim in Pakistan, Dawn reported today.  Devices are being tested in Honduras and Pakistan under the $60 million Secure Freight Initiative, which calls for deployment of detection and communications technology at six foreign seaports to block U.S.-bound shipments of nuclear or radiological material (see GSN, April 12). “We have reviewed operations at Port Qasim, one of our first ports testing the new integrated scanning system, and are very encouraged by the results,” said Secure Freight Initiative chief Allen Gina.  “Data signals from both the first and second radiation portal monitors and the X-ray imaging system were received at the National Targeting Center in the United States.  Alarms were tested and the first container was processed, which did not activate alarms.  No notification issues were raised.  We now begin ramping up capabilities to scan all U.S.-bound containers” (Dawn, May 8). Back to top       Ukraine to Receive Airport, Border Security Aid Canada yesterday pledged to provide $4.5 million to help Ukraine increase airport and border security, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 23). “To prevent nuclear terrorism, it is essential to upgrade security systems and address the legacy of risks left in countries of the former Soviet Union.  The last opportunity to detect and deter the movement of these materials is often at international borders,” Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement. The money is being provided through the Group of Eight Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.  Canada has agreed to provide around $900 million over 10 years to the effort to secure and eliminate WMD material in Russia, Ukraine and other nations (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 7). Back to top       Nuclear Terrorism Drill Set for Indiana Thousands of emergency responders and military personnel in Indiana are scheduled Thursday to begin a drill involving the mock detonation of a nuclear weapon, The Indianapolis Star reported (see GSN, May 1). The drill is scheduled to last four days at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Jennings County, which is taking the role of Indianapolis in the nuclear scenario. The response to the fake disaster is set to include 4,000 personnel — police, firefighters and National Guard troops from Indiana, along with U.S. Northern Command personnel and National Guard members from other states.  Their job would be to treat and evacuate survivors of a terrorist nuclear strike. The exercise is intended to strengthen communication and collaboration between different agencies at different levels of government, the Star reported. “These times require us to be prepared for all contingencies,” said Marion County Public Safety Director Earl Morgan.  “I always say it is genuinely in your best interest to exchange business cards before you have to.” The exercise is also expected to provide useful practice to emergency workers on responding to an earthquake, tornado or other natural disaster, said Eric Dietz, executive director of the Indiana Homeland Security Department.  In any such incident, “you’re pulling victims from debris fields,” he said (Will Higgins, The Indianapolis Star, May 8). Back to top       Iran Might Release Former Nuclear Diplomat A former Iranian nuclear diplomat could be released on bail soon following his April 30 arrest, Iranian Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie said today (see GSN, May 3). Hossein Mousavian, a senior member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team until it was replaced in 2005, was arrested as part of a “security” investigation, Ejeie said.  Earlier media reports indicated he is suspected of spying. “I think the judge will soon switch his detention writ to bail,” Ejeie said Mousavian has made critical comments of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s nuclear rhetoric in recent months, Agence France-Presse reported (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 8). Back to top       Bush, Singh Discuss Nuclear Trade Deal Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday discussed the continuing negotiations to complete the two countries’ planned nuclear trade deal, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 4). The two leaders praised the progress made in a Washington meeting last week, said White House spokesman Tony Snow (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 7). Meanwhile, a senior Sri Lankan official warned yesterday that a rebel group in his country posed a threat to Indian nuclear facilities, Reuters reported. The insurgent Tamil Tigers have an air force consisting of two to five small propeller planes that have been used to drop bombs, Reuters reported (Reuters/The Peninsula, May 8). Late last month a Tamil aircraft dropped four bombs on two oil facilities near Colombo, the Pakistani Daily Times reported (Daily Times, April 30). “There is an air threat which has a range of 200-300 nautical miles, and this range brings within it not only cities within Sri Lanka, shipping in the Indian Ocean, but also the nuclear installations of India,” Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona told reporters yesterday. “We are talking about a terrorist organization that did not hesitate to murder the prime minister of our neighbor,” he added, referring to the suspected Tamil Tiger role in the 1991 assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.  “So the possibility is always there.” Sri Lanka has been seeking greater Indian support in fighting the rebels, according to Reuters (Reuters). Back to top

Kazakhstan Nears Biological Treaty Ratification Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a bill approving the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, April 17; Interfax, May 7). Back to top       U.S. Firm to Prepare Biodefense Drugs The U.S. Defense Department has issued three contracts to an Oregon biopharmaceutical firm for production of drugs that could provide protection for victims of bioterrorism, the company announced yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 18, 2005). AVI BioPharma is set to receive a total of $7.1 million under the Pentagon contracts, which were funded through a 2006 budget allocation.  The contracts provide $2.66 million for development of treatments for Ebola virus infection, another $2.66 million for Marburg virus drugs, and $1.78 million for treatments to counter anthrax and ricin infection. The drugs would involve “antisense compounds,” which the company describes as “synthetic polymers that mirror a critical portion of a disease-causing organism’s genetic code, which bind to specific portions of the target genetic sequence. “Like a key in a lock, NeuGene compounds are designed to match up perfectly with a specific gene or pathogen sequence, blocking the function of the target gene or pathogen,” the company said (AVI BioPharma, May 7). Back to top

U.K., France Add Support for Russian CW Disposal France and the United Kingdom are working together to provide additional support for constructing Russia’s chemical weapons disposal site at Shchuchye, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, April 12). France has agreed to contribute more than $8 million for development of a second weapons disposal line at the plant.  The United Kingdom is managing that project. Paris has already pledged another $8 million for environmental monitoring at the site, while London is managing international efforts to develop an electric power system in the area. The two countries plan to work closely with Russia and other governments involved in building the plant, including Canada, the European Union and the United States (Interfax, May 7). One-seventh of Russia’s chemical arsenal is stored at the Shchuchye site, Arms Control Today reported this month.  Sarin, VX and other agents are contained in 1.9 million artillery shells and 600 missile and rocket warheads. The roof of the storage site is pocked with holes and buildings are sinking, former Senator Sam Nunn told U.S. lawmakers last month, following a visit to the site.  The United States has been the major international contributor to the disposal plant, but the project has been stalled by funding and labor problems and by disputes over construction bids submitted by Russian subcontractors.  That matter has seemingly been resolved, and Nunn called for quick progress on finishing the facility. Under the new agreement, Moscow would more directly deal with contracting bids, rather than Washington, congressional sources said.  However, U.S. officials want to continue to exercise oversight and inspections at the site, which could be an obstacle to approval of the deal. Russia initially anticipated beginning operations at the plant in 2006.  It is now likely that it would miss the revised schedule to open the facility in 2009, according to Arms Control Today (Daniel Arnaudo, Arms Control Today, May 2007). Back to top       Lawsuit Filed Against VX Waste Transport Residents of Indiana and Texas today filed a federal lawsuit intended to stop the transport of VX nerve agent disposal waste, the Chemical Weapons Working Group said in a press release (see GSN, May 7). The U.S. Army is shipping wastewater produced by VX nerve agent neutralization at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana to a private incineration facility in Port Arthur, Texas.  The plant ultimately is scheduled to burn 180,000 gallons of hydrolysate. Opponents of the plan argue that the material remains unsafe and should be treated at Newport.  The Army counters that the shipments and incineration pose no threat to the public or the environment. The shipments constitute a violation of the federal Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act and are “an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health and the environment,” according to the complaint filed in federal court in Terre Haute, Ind.  The law allows for suits to be filed against the federal government or any other party to prevent such suspected endangerment, the release states. Plaintiffs also argue that the waste shipments violate:  the National Environmental Policy Act, Indian hazardous waste laws, additional RCRA regulations, a federal rule against shipping such material across state lines, and a federal rule barring disposal of such material before it is “detoxified or made harmless to man and his environment.” “Shipping VX-containing material to Texas to burn is in breach of so many laws and regulations that we are asking the court immediately to stop these activities until we can present the full breadth of evidence surrounding our contentions,” Chemical Weapons Working Group head Craig Williams said in the release (Chemical Weapons Working Group release, May 8). Back to top

Thousands of U.S. Radioactive Sources Recovered The Los Alamos National Laboratory has recovered more than 15,000 U.S. radioactive sources, ensuring they are not used in a radiological “dirty bomb,” the National Nuclear Security Administration announced yesterday (see GSN, March 16). “One of NNSA’s top priorities is removing, securing and disposing of materials that pose a national security risk.  It is important that we protect the public from material that could be misused before it becomes a problem,” said acting agency chief Bill Ostendorff in a press release.  “This is a tremendous achievement that illustrates one piece of our comprehensive strategy to keep dangerous material out of the hands of dangerous people.” The sources, collected through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, come from U.S. medical, academic, agricultural, research and industrial entities that no longer need the material.  Collection began in 1999 of sources containing plutonium, americium, cesium, cobalt and other radioactive material (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, May 7).   Back to top

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