South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon has said delays in North Korea’s denuclearization are unlikely to be resolved quickly (Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images). North Korea Slows Fuel Removal North Korea has slowed the removal of nuclear fuel rods from its Yongbyon nuclear facility to less than half the rate needed to disable the site by a deadline agreed to under a six-party denuclearization deal, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Jan. 24). Each day, North Korean workers are now moving about 30 fuel rods from the Yongbyon facility to nearby cooling ponds under U.S. supervision, but they would have to remove roughly 80 rods from the site daily to finish disabling it within the 100-day period specified under the international agreement...Full Story

Security Council to Review Iran Nuclear Sanctions The full U.N. Security Council is expected to take up proposed sanctions today for pressuring Iran to halt nuclear activities that could contribute to a weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 25)...Full Story

Military Leaders Defend Pakistani Nuclear Security Pakistan’s army chief on Friday rebuffed international concerns that terrorists could steal a Pakistani nuclear weapon amid the political chaos that has gripped the country for the last month, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 23)...Full Story

	Monday, January 28, 2008

Russia Accuses World Powers of WMD Espionage “Western and Asian spy agencies” have attempted to uncover Russian technologies for producing weapons of mass destruction at a facility in Siberia, Russia’s FSB security service said in a statement released Friday (see GSN, Sept. 24, 2007). The espionage attempts targeted “enterprises specializing in nuclear energy, biology and nanotechnology work” at Novosibirsk, an research center located about 1,740 miles east of Moscow, Agence France-Presse reported. Several foreign nationals including a Chinese citizen have been deported for their involvement in the spying efforts, local FSB Sergei Savchenkov said according to RIA Novosti (Agence France-Presse/Space War, Jan. 25). Back to top

North Korea Slows Fuel Removal North Korea has slowed the removal of nuclear fuel rods from its Yongbyon nuclear facility to less than half the rate needed to disable the site by a deadline agreed to under a six-party denuclearization deal, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Jan. 24). Each day, North Korean workers are now moving about 30 fuel rods from the Yongbyon facility to nearby cooling ponds under U.S. supervision, but they would have to remove roughly 80 rods from the site daily to finish disabling it within the 100-day period specified under the international agreement. North Korea has so far removed 1,000 fuel rods from the reactor, or more than one-eighth of its total supply, according to a source close to the disablement process. Pyongyang said earlier in January that it has slowed its rate of compliance with the agreement because other participants in the agreement are not fulfilling their obligations quickly enough (Kyodo News/BreitBart, Jan. 26). South Korean efforts to resolve the disablement deadlock have so far been unsuccessful, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon was reported as saying today. “It looks difficult to get a tangible result for the time being,” Song said, according to the Associated Press (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Jan. 28). Meanwhile, nuclear experts say the Bush administration is fighting to suppress internal criticism over its diplomatic strategy for engaging North Korea as delays in its denuclearization continue, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday. "The administration is getting a little nervous," said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s backlash against North Korean human rights envoy Jay Levkowitz for publicly criticizing U.S. policy on North Korea (see GSN, Jan. 18). "What I have seen so far is Bush is committed (to the diplomatic strategy) but they (in the administration) know North Korea has to make some concessions and it's not doing that," he said.  “So the whole process is slowing down … and that's frustrating for the administration because they want to make more progress" as they also contend with "people coming out and trashing it from inside" and outside the administration. Levkowitz’s criticism reflected a broader frustration felt over North Korea within the Bush administration, nuclear analyst Gary Samore said in an article published on the Council on Foreign Relations’ Web site. “He said publicly what a lot of administration officials believe privately — that the North Koreans are certainly not, in the remainder of this year, going to give up their nuclear weapons," said Samore, vice president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "And it looks like they may not even submit a credible declaration, in which case the whole process would stop.  In that case, the next administration would have to pick the whole issue up," Samore said. Jon Wolfsthal, a nonproliferation expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the denuclearization deal still has enough support for the Bush administration to continue to pursue it. "The strength and visibility of the rebuke from Secretary Rice was a clear sign that the dominant view is still one of engagement and working the six-party process," Wolfsthal said.  Vice President Dick Cheney and other hardliners on North Korea have been marginalized for the time being, Wolfsthal added, but he cautioned that “there is a big question … which is how much patience does the Bush administration, particularly President Bush, have?” “If time runs out on the Bush administration are they going to leave a process of engagement for their successor; or in the waning months of the administration will they try to salt the earth so nothing else can grow?” he said. He suggested that the White House may be attempting to keep tensions with North Korea and other nations at a minimum so it can focus its attention on the Iraq war (Lachlan Carmichael, Agence France-Presse I/Google News, Jan. 26). On Saturday, North Korea proposed quickly signing a peace treaty that would formally end the Korean War in order to reduce tensions with the United States. An armistice ended fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War but no peace treaty followed, leaving the United States and the two Koreas technically in a state of war. “It is urgent to replace the armistice agreement with a peace accord because the armistice agreement exists in name only due to the U.S.,” the communist party daily Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary. “The earlier conclusion of the peace accord would help convert the acute belligerent relations between the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. to those of peace and confidence and ensure lasting peace and stability on the peninsula,” the newspaper said. Under the six-party agreement, a formal peace treaty and U.S.-North Korean ties would become possible only after North Korea completely disables its nuclear weapons complex (Agence France-Presse II/Space War, Jan. 26). Back to top       Security Council to Review Iran Nuclear Sanctions The full U.N. Security Council is expected to take up proposed sanctions today for pressuring Iran to halt nuclear activities that could contribute to a weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 25). Approval of the sanctions resolution could take several weeks, diplomats said on Friday, when elements of the package were presented to the 10 non-permanent Security Council member nations. “It is a strong text which shows the continuity of the approach of the international community,” French U.N. envoy Jean-Maurice Ripert said in a statement.  “We are sending a very clear message to Iran and we are stepping up the pressure.” The draft resolution text calls on the international community to “inspect cargos to and from Iran … provided there are reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft/vessel is transporting goods prohibited under this resolution,” AFP reported.  It also calls for a ban on travel by Iranian officials involved in the country’s nuclear and missile programs (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Jan. 26). The draft sanctions also demand “vigilance over the activities of financial institutions in their territories with all banks domiciled in Iran,” emphasizing Iran’s Bank Melli and Bank Sederat, Kyodo News reported.  The draft resolution says that scrutiny of Iranian business is necessary “to avoid such activities contributing to their proliferation sensitive nuclear activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.” The draft also asks for International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei to report on Iran’s progress in disclosing its past nuclear activities within 90 days (Kyodo News, Jan. 26). Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday that the Security Council members should “correct their previous mistakes” by passing a new resolution to absolve their involvement in diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program. At a minimum, the Security Council should wait until the U.N. nuclear watchdog finishes its investigation of Iran’s nuclear past before imposing new sanctions, Mottaki told the Associated Press on Friday. Mottaki also expressed skepticism that U.S.-Iranian ties could improve significantly in the foreseeable future. “Usually we do not look to the individuals in the United States or even to the (political) parties — we look to policies,” Mottaki said.  “Being a realist ... I have to say that I do not see room for the time being for the (establishment) of relations between the Iran and the United States” (Geroge Jahn, Associated Press I/PR-inside, Jan. 26).   Russia Finishes Fuel Delivery Meanwhile, Russia today completed its final shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Eighty-two tons of low-enriched uranium fuel have been delivered to enable the reactor’s startup, according to IRNA. The delivery was confirmed by Irina Yesipova, spokeswoman for the Russian nuclear power plant construction contractor Atomstroiexport.  However, she refused to confirm Iranian claims that the plant is set to begin running at half of its 1,000-megawatt capacity by this summer. “It will be necessary to conduct complex work related to preparations for the launch with security being the top priority,” she said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 28). Also, Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site has manufactured 300 tons of uranium hexafluoride, Javad Vaidi, deputy head of Iran’s supreme national security council, said yesterday. UF6 is a gas used in uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce nuclear weapon materials (Xinhua News Agency, Jan. 27). Back to top       Military Leaders Defend Pakistani Nuclear Security Pakistan’s army chief on Friday rebuffed international concerns that terrorists could steal a Pakistani nuclear weapon amid the political chaos that has gripped the country for the last month, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 23). Pakistan is “capable of safeguarding and securing nuclear assets against all categories of threat,” Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani told military personnel after a test launch of Pakistan’s nuclear-capable Shaheen 1 missile (see GSN, Jan. 25). “Referring to international concerns regarding speculative scenarios, [Kiyani] dismissed such concerns as unrealistic and based on a lack of understanding of Pakistan's command and control mechanisms,” said an army statement.  “He stressed that creating irresponsible alarm by certain quarters would be counterproductive” (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Jan. 25). Pakistan’s political conditions and strict military security measures would prevent religious fundamentalists from taking over the country and its nuclear weapons, the top official in charge of Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile said on Saturday. Khalid Kidwai, a retired general and chief of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, said Pakistan employs 10,000 soldiers to guard its nuclear arsenal with $10 million in U.S. support, the Associated Press reported. “There's no conceivable scenario, political or violent, in which Pakistan will fall to extremists of the al-Qaeda or Taliban type,” Kidwai told international reporters during a news briefing.  “Pakistan's nuclear weapons, fissile material and infrastructure are absolutely safe and secure.” Kidwai said he has no indication that terrorists are targeting Pakistani nuclear sites, but his office has reviewed the threat posed by al-Qaeda and tribal militants following recent attacks on Pakistan’s intelligence and security apparatus. Kidwai said that while Pakistan accepts no U.S. or international investigations of its nuclear security measures, it has implemented various nuclear security “best practices” that the United States provided funding for it to put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Pakistan can launch a nuclear attack or retaliation, but it maintains its nuclear arsenal only for its deterrent capability, Kidwai said.  The authority to launch a nuclear strike rests with Pakistan’s National Command Authority, in which 10 political and military leaders would make such a decision “hopefully by consensus but at least by majority,” he said (Matthew Pennington, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Jan. 26). Back to top       Egypt to Accept Nuclear Construction Bids Egypt is ready to open the bidding for the design and construction of the nation’s first nuclear power reactor, the state-run news agency announced Saturday (see GSN, Jan. 11). The acceptance of bids starting next month follows the 2006 disclosure that Egypt would pursue nuclear power (see GSN, Sept. 20, 2006). “The offer is open to all countries,” said Abdel Mohsen Morsi Metwalli, director of nuclear engineering at Alexandria University.  “The type of reactor and its construction will be chosen according to international safety standards and reputation as well as costs.” The total cost is expected to fall between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion, the Associated Press reported.  The projected is also estimated to need 10 years to complete, said Electricity Minister Hassan Yunis (Associated Press/Google News, Jan. 27). Back to top       Talks Begin on Gulf Nuclear Consortium Talks opened yesterday between six Middle Eastern nations aiming to create a common nuclear fuel source for civilian power production in Gulf states, the Qatar News Agency reported (see GSN, Nov. 5). During its two-day meeting, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council plans to discuss founding a formal nuclear consortium project, review possible applications for peaceful nuclear energy in the region and means to expand the nuclear programs of each of its member states (Qatar News Agency, Jan. 26). Back to top

Russian Officer Cautions Against U.S. Missile Defense Deployments in Eastern Europe A senior Russian military officer last week reaffirmed his opposition to U.S. plans to field missile defenses in Eastern Europe (see GSN, Dec. 20, 2007). “If the U.S. deploys missile defense elements in Europe, it will create a serious problem to strategic stability, both in Europe and in the world in general,” said Russian General Staff chief Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky. The United States has held recent talks with Poland and the Czech Republic to reach agreement to build a missile defense radar and install missile interceptors in those nations (see GSN, Jan. 23).  Bush administration officials have said that the sites are needed to defend against Iranian ballistic missile threats. “We still believe that the U.S. arguments regarding a missile threat from Iran are based on clearly exaggerated and false information,” Baluyevsky said in an interview published in Friday’s Krasnya Zvezda.  “We should not forget that the information about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq turned out to be false too.  The decision made on the basis of it has led not only to the destabilization of the situation in the region, but is having a negative impact on international stability in general.” “The Russian armed forces will not quietly sit by and watch our restrained potential diminish,” he added.  “We will have to take necessary measures in response” (Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama, Jan. 25).   Back to top

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