South Korean Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang (shown last month) has said his nation plans to begin shipping oil to North Korea before Pyongyang freezes its nuclear reactor (Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images). South Korea to Ship Fuel to North South Korea is preparing to ship the first load of a 50,000-ton pledge of fuel oil to North Korea, which in turn is expected to begin shutting down its nuclear weapons program, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 3). Seoul “is currently working on details related to the provision of heavy fuel oil,” said Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang. “We don’t expect any problem in sending the first shipment before July 14,” he added...Full Story

Group Lists Laboratory Bioagent Accidents A Texas watchdog group on Tuesday released a list of accidents at laboratories that conduct research on potential biological weapons agents, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported (see GSN, July 2)...Full Story

Russia Boosts Budget for Chemical Weapons Disposal Russia would increase funding for chemical weapons disposal to almost $3 billion over three years in its newest draft budget, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, June 15)...Full Story

	Thursday, July 5, 2007

South Korea Ready to Ship Fuel to North South Korea is preparing to ship the first load of a 50,000-ton pledge of fuel oil to North Korea, which in turn is expected to begin shutting down its nuclear weapons program, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 3). Seoul “is currently working on details related to the provision of heavy fuel oil,” said Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang. “We don’t expect any problem in sending the first shipment before July 14,” he added. South Korea expects to provide the entire 50,000 tons, at a cost of $28 million.  The first 6,200 metric tons would be shipped to the Sunbong port in eastern North Korea, Shin said. The fuel is intended to reward Pyongyang for halting operations at its plutonium-producing Yongbyon reactor under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.  It stands to receive another 950,000 tons of fuel oil or related assistance for fully declaring and shuttering its entire nuclear program (Bo-Mi Lim, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 5). The United States expressed no concerns about shipping a limited amount of fuel to North Korea before the reactor is closed, Reuters reported Tuesday. “Our understanding is that the North Koreans have asked for some small portion of the overall 50,000 tons earlier on in the process,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  “From our view, this is … something we don’t oppose” (Chris Buckley, Reuters/Washington Post, July 3). Meanwhile, IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei this week delivered his report on “monitoring and verification by the IAEA of the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear facility and the reactor under construction in Taechon, that were reached between the IAEA team and the D.P.R.K. during their visit last week,” according to an agency press release.  The report was not made public (International Atomic Energy Agency release, July 3). The Financial Times reported that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is to receive a list of closed and sealed sites, and access to those facilities.  It would be allowed to place monitoring technology at the locations. “The agency will be informed in advance if the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea intends to move or remove any nuclear-related equipment or other essential equipment or components from the shut-down nuclear facilities or decommission any of these facilities,” the report states, according to the Times. The schedule for the reactor shutdown remains unknown (Daniel Dombey, Financial Times, July 4). China is working with all other nations involved in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program to resume negotiations, Agence France-Presse reported today. “As for the resumption date for the six-party talks, relevant parties have presented their ideas and proposals,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov indicated that negotiators might meet next week, ITAR-Tass reported (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, July 5). Back to top       China Opposes More Iran Sanctions China suggested yesterday that it would not permit the U.N. Security Council to levy a new set of economic sanctions against Iran despite Tehran’s refusal to heed the council’s call for a nuclear freeze, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, July 3). The council has twice imposed sanctions against Iran in the past six months, but the nation has continued to expand its uranium enrichment program.  Iranian officials have nevertheless shown some flexibility recently by meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei (see GSN, June 25). China’s U.N. envoy yesterday encouraged such talks. “We feel negotiation is the way out of this. ... Also it is my belief that other parties who have a direct interest in finding a solution on this issue should in a way, engage in direct dialogue negotiations with the Iranians," said Ambassador Wang Guangya. Questioned about recent reports that Western powers were drafting a new sanctions resolution, Wang discouraged such action. “If somebody is thinking of circulating a sanctions resolution at this moment, when ElBaradei and Mr. Solana are conducting negotiations, (it) is not helpful,” he said. “It has been China's position that we are always cautious and have reservations on sanctions whenever sanctions are being discussed or imposed,” Wang added. China is one of five permanent council members that have the power to veto any proposed resolution, and it has the rotating presidency of the council this month (Kyodo News/Yahoo!News, July 4). Meanwhile, Russian and Iranian officials disputed the completion date of a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Iran (see GSN, May 25). “Construction will be completed in two months, and we should receive atomic fuel for the launch of the reactor in accordance with the contract with the Russian side," said Mohamed Amiri, head of a group of Iranian nuclear and radiation safety agencies. He said Russia would deliver nuclear fuel for the reactor at Bushehr “at any time.” That assessment, however, was not shared by a Russian official who said that a financial dispute over Iranian contractual payments remains unresolved. “Construction cannot be finished in September," said Irina Yesipova, spokeswoman for the Russian contractor Atomstroiexport.  Furthermore, Iran would need six months to begin operating the reactor after Russia delivers the fuel, she said (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 3). “It’s perfectly clear … that the launch can happen no earlier than 2008,” agreed Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom (Agence France-Presse/Sharewatch.com, July 4). Back to top       Pugwash Returns Home for 50th Anniversary Scientists and diplomats plan to return Friday to Pugwash, Nova Scotia, to discuss the threat posed by nuclear weapons 50 years after a similar group began a series of meetings to urge governments to rein in their nuclear programs, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, and its founder Joseph Rotblat, won the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.  Rotblat died at 87 in 2005 (see GSN, May 1, 2003). Attended by international scientists, the initial 1957 conference warned of the dangers created by growing U.S.-Soviet nuclear arsenals.  This year’s meeting is expected to encourage nuclear states to pursue more vigorous nuclear disarmament programs, AP reported. One original attendee, U.S. scientist Paul Doty, praised the importance of the Pugwash sessions which have continued over the past half century. “The egg was laid — the demonstration that it was possible to have coherent, honest and nonpoliticized discussions about a common danger,” he said.  “And that gave rise to a whole subculture of East-West discussions outside of government meetings.” Doty warned that the threat of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons has surpassed the once-looming danger of a nuclear war between superpowers. “I think we probably will lose a city or two in the next 10 or 20 years," he said.  “One cannot imagine the return of the kind of threat we had in the Cold War, which was the loss of civilization.  What we do look forward to is a much lower-level possibility. The proliferation of terrorist groups and countries that have access to a couple of weapons is growing” (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 3). Back to top

Group Lists Laboratory Bioagent Accidents A Texas watchdog group on Tuesday released a list of accidents at laboratories that conduct research on potential biological weapons agents, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported (see GSN, July 2). The list issued by the Sunshine Project includes incidents dating back to 2003 at eight universities, along with an equipment failure at the Maryland campus of the National Institutes of Health.  Among the mishaps:  a University of New Mexico researcher was poked by a needle containing anthrax in 2003; a Medical University of Ohio researcher became infected with Valley Fever in 2004; and personnel at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2004 violated safety procedures by keeping laboratory and anteroom doors open at a Biological Safety Level 3 facility. “In addition to lab-acquired infections and exposures, other types of dangerous problems have occurred, such as unauthorized research, equipment malfunction and disregard for safety protocols,” the Sunshine Project said in its press release. Other accidents at other institutions might never have been reported, according to the group, which has publicized delays by Texas A&M University in reporting exposure to disease agents.  It called for stronger rules and less research on bioweapons materials. “Reporting requirements, to the extent that they exist, are not well enforced unless (nongovernmental agencies) or the press make a stir — so the labs hide problems and think that accident reporting is for masochists,” said organization director Edward Hammond. There is no great cause for public concern about such incidents, said biosafety consultant Jonathan Richmond, former head of the Health and Safety Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  He said he did not believe that disease outbreaks resulted from any of the more than 5,000 laboratory infections reported in the past five decades, the Star-Telegram reported. “There are a number of institutions who have failed to follow the rules, but that doesn’t mean you need to make more rules,” he said.  “Instead, you need to get people to cooperate and follow the rules that are in place” (R.A. Dyer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 4). The Centers for Disease Control has recorded just 15 potential exposures at laboratories to highly dangerous disease agents since the beginning of 2006, The Dallas Morning News reported yesterday.  These incidents did not cause any infections or illnesses. Infections are “very uncommon,” said Malak Kotb, head of the Mid-South Center for Biodefense and Security at the University of Tennessee.  “There are very strict guidelines about how you handle different organisms, how to transport them, what kind of protection you wear.  You have to go through very rigorous training.” Increased federal funding of biodefense research (see GSN, June 11) is sure to boost the number of exposures and infections, critics say. “There is, naturally, a higher level of risk,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.  Laboratory mishaps “are hard to avoid, no matter how stringent the safety procedures may be. … It raises legitimate questions about these facilities, and the fact that some are located in or near populated areas” (Emily Ramshaw, The Dallas Morning News, July 4). Back to top       Hatfill Seeks Court Order for Anthrax Leak Sources Former U.S. Army scientist Steven Hatfill is seeking the names of law enforcement officials who leaked details of their investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 2). Former Attorney General John Ashcroft designated Hatfill, who had researched infectious diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., as a “person of interest” in the case. Hatfill sued the Justice Department for violating the federal Privacy Act, claiming the agency provided information to the press about the investigation of him.  Hatfill is seeking an undisclosed amount of money from the government. Hatfill’s lawyers asked a judge to order reporters to surrender the names of stories about the investigation.  Lead attorney Charles Kimmet Jr. said Hatfill needs the names of the law enforcement leakers if the lawsuit is to succeed. The reporters have said they are shielded from having to name the officials by First Amendment and common-law protections afforded journalists.  The attorney representing the Washington Post, Newsweek and ABC-TV, said the journalists should be allowed to protect their sources because they were promoting the public interest by covering the case. Arguments began Tuesday before District Judge Reggie Walton and are expected to continue next week before a ruling is issued (Associated Press/Washington Post, July 4). Back to top

Russia Boosts Budget for Chemical Weapons Disposal Russia would increase funding for chemical weapons disposal to almost $3 billion over three years in its newest draft budget, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, June 15). “The funds allocated will allow five chemical weapons disposal facilities to become operational,” a Russian official told Interfax. The budget earmarks $1.1 billion for disposal programs in 2008, $1.1 billion for 2009 and $763 million for 2010, according to the State Duma Defense Committee (Interfax/BBC Monitoring, July 4). The money and new disposal facilities should help Russia comply with its Chemical Weapons Convention obligations, which require the country to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by 2012 (see GSN, April 27). The new three-year budget would allocate almost $1 billion more for chemical disposal programs than the last spending plan, according to a Hudson Institute security expert Richard Weitz (Richard Weitz, Hudson Institute/WMD Insights, June 2007). Back to top       Umatilla Moves Last Sarin Weapons for Disposal Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon have moved the last load of sarin-filled munitions to the site’s chemical agent disposal plant for incineration, the U.S. Army said Tuesday (see GSN, June 22). Elimination of the last 155 mm projectile was expected to occur within one week. “The last of the (sarin) munitions are now safely under engineering controls at the disposal plant,” Army site project manager Don Barclay said in a statement released by the U.S. Army Chemical Weapons Agency. The Army began disposal efforts at Umatilla in September 2004, and to date has transferred more than 155,000 weapons for destruction.  After finishing off the sarin weapons, the plant is expected to undergo a five-month changeover period in preparation for disposal of VX nerve agent weapons.  The facility is subsequently scheduled to burn mustard agent (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, July 3). Back to top       Army Rebuts Chemical Weapons Storage Claims An anonymous letter has charged a U.S. Army depot in Kentucky with negligently storing and managing its stock of chemical weapons, the Richmond Register reported today (see GSN, April 2). The letter, distributed to lawmakers and other recipients, claims that the Blue Grass Army Depot, in Richmond, Ky., possesses no accurate inventory of its stored chemical weapons.  In May, a similar letter charged the Army depot with shoddy safety procedures while transporting materials exposed to chemical agents. The Army rejected the claims. “There are no problems with the inventory,” said Dick Sloan, a spokesman for Blue Grass Chemical Activity.  The letter writer claims the actions by a depot employee have “possibly involved discarding/destroying documents, entering false data, falsifying dates of entries … and entering the inventory computer system by using another employee’s password without that person’s knowledge or consent. Sloan said the author of the letter referred to two weapons inventories conducted annually, one by Chemical Activity employees and the other by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international monitoring organization for the Chemical Weapons Convention (Ronica Shannon, Richmond Register I, July 3). An Army Chemical Materials Agency official acknowledged that some weapons have been moved, but said that agency records match those of the inventory, the Register reported. “There are some things (in the letter) that appear to be credible allegations,” said Chemical Materials Agency spokesman Greg Mahall. Mahall admitted that, because of routine maintenance work in the storage facility, some weapons were not always in their documented location within a storage igloo. “The records were not properly updated to document that move, but it’s not like [the weapon] moved across town,” Mahall said.  “We’ve had issues with water seeping into the igloos and into the wooden pallets and we’ve been re-warehousing.  We can’t just put those weapons out of storage, we have to move them around the [storage] igloo,” he added. In 2005, experts studying the Blue Grass storage sites found that some weapons had been resting on waterlogged wooden pallets for 40 years.  In two phases, 227 pallets were replaced in 20 igloos.  Mahall said this was no clarion call for investigations. “We know what’s there.  The inventory is not distorted or corrupted,” he said (Ronica Shannon, Richmond Register II, July 3). Back to top

Russia Issues Threat Over U.S. Missile Defense Plan Russia yesterday suggested that it might respond to U.S. plans to deploy missile defenses in Europe by deploying new missiles in the western Russia, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 3). Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov urged the United States to accept a Russian proposal for a joint missile defense installation (see GSN, June 19).  He said, however, that repercussions might follow if the United States ignored Russian concerns. “If our proposal is accepted, then we will have no need to deploy new weapons including missiles in the European part of Russia, including Kaliningrad, in order to parry the threats that could arise — and they definitely will arise — if a decision is made to deploy a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland,” Ivanov said in a televised statement. “If our proposal is not accepted, we will take adequate measures,” Ivanov added.  “We are already taking them; an asymmetrical and effective response has been found” (see GSN, May 29; Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, July 5). Plans to place 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic also face strong opposition in the U.S. Congress, the Washington Post reported today. The U.S. Senate next week is expected to approve cutting funds for the project from the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill.  The House has already rejected $40 million that would have been used for construction at the Polish interceptor site. The Senate Armed Services Committee said it favored providing funding for the project only after Washington and Moscow had concluded talks on the matter, the Post reported. The director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency told the committee recently that Iran is expected to have develop a long-range ballistic missile between 2010 and 2015.  U.S. missile defenses in Europe would not be ready until 2011 or 2012. “What we’re trying to do is stay ahead of what we believe to be an emerging threat,” said Lt. Gen. Henry Obering (see GSN, June 22). The Senate committee, in its report on the defense bill, questioned the timeline of the Iranian threat, according to the Post.  Moreover, the panel noted that NATO “has not endorsed or rejected the proposed deployment.”  Washington could end up paying $4 billion through fiscal 2013 for the European system. Talks with the Polish and Czech governments about the system are in the early stages.  “These negotiations may not be concluded before the end of this year, and then would have to be ratified by the parliaments of each nation,” the panel said. Local groups in Poland and the Czech Republic have also decried the antimissile system.  Tomas Klvana, Czech special envoy for missile defense, acknowledged the grass-roots opposition. “We have some catching up to do,” Klvana told reporters in Washington.  “We have given a free ride to the people opposed” (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, July 5). Back to top       Japan Schedules Missile Interceptor Test The first Japanese test firing of a U.S.-made Standard Missile 3 interceptor is scheduled for the end of this year, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 11). The launch is set to occur around December at an unidentified location in the Pacific Ocean from the Aegis destroyer Kongo, now being refitted to carry the missile, according to a Defense Ministry official. Japan has become the chief international partner in U.S. missile defense efforts, in 2006 joining a missile launch test conducted by the U.S. Navy. However, the official denied that Japan planned to conduct a joint missile defense exercise with the United States.  The Yomiuri newspaper had reported that a drill was planned for the Sea of Japan and would involve Aegis destroyers carrying SM-3 interceptors.  The intent would be to practice joint operations in the face of a missile strike by North Korea, according to Yomiuri (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 4). Back to top

U.S. Nuclear Plant Security Upgrades Nearly Complete U.S. nuclear power plants by the end of this year are expected to have largely completed security upgrades intended to help them stave off a terrorist attack, including an airplane impact, the World Nuclear Association reported Tuesday (see GSN, April 27). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered security improvements in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.  Critics have argued that the efforts to date have been insufficient (see GSN, Jan. 30). The commission is presently delivering safety evaluation reports to the 104 operating power plants so that security improvements are not allowed to deteriorate.  Eight have been issued to date, with the rest expected to go out in the next two months (World Nuclear News, July 3).     Back to top

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