U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill plans to hold direct talks with his North Korean counterpart this week in Geneva (Tim Sloan/Getty Images). Meeting Set Between U.S., North Korean Nuclear Envoys Top nuclear negotiators from North Korea and the United States hope to rekindle the faltering six-party process during a bilateral meeting this week in Geneva, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 10). North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan is scheduled for talks Thursday and Friday with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the Yonhap News Agency reported.  The two are expected to try to resolve the standoff over the full accounting of Pyongyang’s nuclear program...Full Story

Civilians Aided Iran Nuclear Work, Documents Show Documents provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency by two non-U.S. countries identify a number of civilian Iranian scientists who were possibly involved in what U.N. officials allege was a secret, long-term nuclear research program that operated as recently as 2003, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 11)...Full Story

Blue Grass CW Disposal Site Could Face Delays Construction of the chemical weapons disposal facility at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky could be delayed by questions about the plant’s design, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 20)...Full Story

	Tuesday, March 11, 2008

China Enlists 600,000 Olympic Security “Volunteers” China has recruited more than 600,000 “security volunteers” to help guard the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing against terrorist attacks, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 4). The civilian personnel — who include security guards, students and retired individuals — were brought into efforts to secure the games along with 90,000 police and thousands of border protection officials and military troops, according to the Chinese Public Security Ministry. The Chinese government hopes to boost its political legitimacy by preventing protests and violent disasters at the Aug. 8-24 games, which are expected to draw roughly 22,000 journalists, the Post reported.  Planning officials have expressed confidence they can keep the Olympics secure. “An efficient Olympic security command system is in place,” said organizing committee spokesman Sun Weide.  “We're confident of holding a peaceful and safe Olympic Games.” Chinese state media projected last year that Beijing would spend about $300 million on security at the Olympics, a low figure compared to the $1.8 billion spent on securing the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.  The cost of Chinese security efforts is expected to rise from that early estimate, despite the low compensation provided to Chinese security personnel, according to the Post (Maureen Fan, Washington Post, March 11). Back to top       U.S. Funds University Centers on Antiterrorism The U.S. Homeland Security Department last week funded five new university centers intended to conduct antiterrorism research, the University of Southern California’s Daily Trojan reported (see GSN, Aug. 23, 2004). There are now 13 such centers that have the twin role of conducting research and training a new cadre of antiterror specialists. The University of Southern California opened the first of the sites in 2003, calling it the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events.  The USC facility takes a sweeping approach to examining terrorist threats, while other sites focus more closely on individual concerns, said CREATE spokeswoman Kelly Gribben. One USC project entailed studying the risks of terrorists exploding a radiological weapon at a U.S. port. Graduate student Heather Rosoff researched the question by studying activities at the Port of Long Beach. “I went down to the port and observed it from the perspective of a terrorist,” she said.  “I laid out a potential attack step-by-step in order to see the probability of such an attack, and figure out potential health and economic consequences” (Kevin Gasendo, Daily Trojan, March 10). Back to top

Meeting Set Between U.S., North Korean Nuclear Envoys Top nuclear negotiators from North Korea and the United States hope to rekindle the faltering six-party process during a bilateral meeting this week in Geneva, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 10). North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan is scheduled for talks Thursday and Friday with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the Yonhap News Agency reported.  The two are expected to try to resolve the standoff over the full accounting of Pyongyang’s nuclear program. The declaration is required under a 2007 agreement under which the nation would give up its nuclear sector in return for energy, diplomatic and security benefits.  North Korea said it submitted a list in November, but the United States says the regime has yet to address issues such as suspected uranium enrichment activities (Kelly Olsen, Associated Press I/Washington Post, March 11). China today confirmed the news reports of the planned meeting, according to Agence France-Presse. “I have been informed lately that Hill will hold talks with his D.P.R.K. counterpart,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.  “We’re very glad at this news. … We hope such talks between the United States and D.P.R.K. will be successful” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, March 11). Meanwhile, new South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said today he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at any point to promote nuclear disarmament efforts, AP reported. “We’re doing shuttle diplomacy with Japan.  Why not with North Korea?” Lee, who took office last month, said during a meeting with South Korean Foreign Ministry officials. The ministry said in a statement that it stands ready to carry out Lee’s promise to boost the per-capita income of North Korean residents to $3,000 — once the regime gives up its nuclear efforts.  The South Korean agency also plans to increase regional diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang to issue the nuclear declaration (Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press II, March 11). The Lee administration has nearly finished setting up its new team of negotiators for the six-party talks, which also involve China, Japan, North Korea, Russia and the United States, the Korea Herald reported. The new top negotiator is expected to be Kim Sook, former head of the American affairs office at the Foreign Ministry.  He would replace Chun Young-woo. “The new team is filled with expertise on relations with the United States, which will help better coordinate steps with Washington, but it also poses a new challenge for them, in terms of how to adjust the formerly close cooperation with the host to the negotiations, China,” said Yoo Ho-yeol of Korea University (Lee Joo-hee, Korea Herald, March 11). Back to top       Civilians Aided Iran Nuclear Work, Documents Show Documents provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency by two non-U.S. countries identify a number of civilian Iranian scientists who were possibly involved in what U.N. officials allege was a secret, long-term nuclear research program that operated as recently as 2003, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 11). For years, Iran has barred IAEA inspectors from interviewing some researchers named in the documents while refusing to elaborate on their work, which Western powers suspect could be aimed at nuclear weapons development.  Iran insists its nuclear work is directed only toward power production. Some of the new documents came from inside Iran, according to European officials, and corroborate some details on Iran’s nuclear program obtained from a laptop smuggled out of the country in 2004.  They are believed to show the country’s research into uranium ore processing, warhead adaptation, and a type of precision high explosives detonation that could be used to set off a nuclear weapon. When the U.N. nuclear watchdog confronted Tehran with the new documents, Iranian officials dismissed most of them as forgeries and denied the existence of some of the named researchers. “When the allegations are raised, Iran simply dismisses them,” said a Western diplomat close to a five-year-old IAEA probe of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and intentions.  “It insists that the documents are mostly fakes.” The new documents do not prove that Iran was attempting to build a nuclear weapon, but they confirm Tehran’s efforts to develop nuclear capabilities that could be tapped to either generate electricity or build weapons, U.N. officials said.  None use the word “nuclear,” and IAEA officials say they have no evidence that Iran implemented the plans they address. U.S. and U.N. officials added they cannot back material provided to the Post by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an organization of Iranian exiles, alleging that Iranian universities are now carrying out nuclear design work. “It's not the first time we've seen individuals who seem to wear white hats but are working on very different projects behind the scenes,” said former Energy Department nonproliferation official Leonard Spector, deputy director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.  He said that Pakistan and other countries have used civilian nuclear scientists to conduct military nuclear studies (Joby Warrick, Washington Post, March 11). Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday that European nations were still willing to conduct negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program, a day after Iran said it was open to resuming the talks, Associated Press reported. Solana said the international community hopes to resolve the nuclear standoff diplomatically, despite a new U.N. Security Council resolution enacted against Iran last week.  He said that that Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has not yet contacted him about continuing discussions. “A new resolution has been approved, and at the same time, we want to continue on the negotiating track,” Solana told reporters (Constant Brand, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, March 10). In Doha, the prime minister of Qatar called on Arabs in the Middle East to initiate dialogue with Iran to prevent a regional crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported. “It is very important that we have clear relations, frank relations, with Iran,” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said yesterday. The prime minister said that “each side must respect the other’s thinking and its understanding of security” during negotiations. “It could be that this issue [Iran’s nuclear program] is peaceful and we could benefit from it, and if it is military then we should ask Iran why it is military.  Is it meant for us, the close neighbors, or those further away?” “The most important thing is that we do not enter into an international game in which we will be exploited … and come out as the losers on both sides,” he said (Reuters, March 10). Back to top       India Sets Slow Pace for U.S. Nuclear Deal India’s leadership has indicated it would not seek to implement soon a tentative nuclear trade deal with the United States, the Australian reported yesterday (see GSN, March 10). The deal has been criticized by key supporters of Prime Minister’s Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition, and the critics recently threatened again to force early elections if the trade pact advances, according to the Australian. Singh is under pressure from U.S. officials who fear that the next U.S. president will not support the arrangement, so they have urged India to act quickly. Singh’s foreign minister, however, rejected any U.S. pressure to hurry. “Of course there is a time frame (from the Bush administration) because they have an election process, but so far as India is concerned, we have mentioned to them that it’s not possible for us to work within a specific time frame,” Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said yesterday. “There is no talk of sacrificing the government for something,” he added (Bruce Loudon, the Australian, March 10). Despite the reluctance to move quickly, the government remains committed to the agreement, according to another official. “The deal is not dead,” said a senior figure in the ruling Congress party.  “But we want a few more weeks to get the budget … through.  After that, we will see” (Ravi Velloor, Straits Times, March 11). Back to top       Russian Bomber Flights Draw NORAD Concern The increasing frequency at which Russian strategic bombers are approaching U.S. airspace has led military commanders at the North American Aerospace Defense Command to urge Moscow to provide advance warning of the flights, the Denver Post reported today (see GSN, Feb. 29). In 2007, NORAD dispatched fighter jets to intercept Russian bombers in 46 separate incidents, a significant increase from prior years to levels not seen since the end of the Cold War. The run-ins are unlikely to escalate, but “there’s more of a risk of something accidental happening,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said yesterday, following a meeting with commanders responsible for defending U.S. territory. Russia has been increasing its bomber flights over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in one instance last month buzzing the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz (see GSN, Feb. 12).  The flights have been seen as Russia’s effort to reassert its military strength. “We will clearly watch this evolution,” Mullen said of the Russian flights.  “We’ve got good military-to-military relations with the Russians.  My sense is there's no strategic intent to threaten the United States.” The Russian bombers might be carrying nuclear weapons, although no such armaments are visible on the aircraft, NORAD commanders warned. Russian officials have dismissed U.S. calls for transparency over the flights, NORAD commander Gen. Victor Renuart said. “The Russian approach today is that these are military-training flights in unmonitored airspace and that they are within their rights to fly without an international flight plan.  While that is at a basic level correct, the potential risk to commercial aviation makes it tougher” to accept, Renuart said (Bruce Finley, Denver Post, March 11). Back to top       U.S. Lawmakers to Review Energy Department Budget Two U.S. congressional subcommittees have scheduled hearings this week to discuss the Bush administration’s budget request for Energy Department nuclear weapon and nonproliferation programs, Environment and Energy Daily reported (see GSN, March 7). The House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee is set to meet tomorrow and the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee plans to meet Thursday. On the table is the Energy Department’s $6.6 billion request for maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, including $10 million to keep alive the controversial Reliable Replacement Warhead (see GSN, March 6).  The proposed fiscal 2009 budget would be a $320 million boost from current funding levels. Also at stake is the department’s nuclear security program, which has seen a drop in requested funding to $1.25 billion, a reduction of nearly 7 percent, E&E Daily reported.  Agency officials have said the cut from current funding only reflects the shifting of some programs to other department management areas. The administration is also seeking $219 million to support the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, a program to remove weapon-usable uranium from undersecured nuclear research reactors around the globe (see GSN, Dec. 11, 2007).  The request seeks $26 million more than this year’s funding (Environment and Energy Daily, March 10). Back to top

Lawsuit Filed Against Livermore Biodefense Lab Activists hope a federal lawsuit filed yesterday will force a U.S. biological defense facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to halt operations, the San Francisco Chronicle reported (see GSN, April 12, 2007). Work began at the Biosafety Level 3 facility before mandatory environmental impact statements had been filed, a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the watchdog organization Tri-Valley CAREs said in the lawsuit. Livermore and the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the California laboratory, have not given the public access to three documents on threats posed by a potential failure of containment systems at the site, according to the lawsuit.  Tri-Valley CAREs said further that the public has not been allowed to review and comment on the NNSA finding that operations of the biological laboratory created “no significant impact.”  The group has questioned that claim. It is asking for a temporary injunction on operations at the facility while the lawsuit moves through the court system. The biological defense site includes three laboratories enabling scientists to research detection systems and countermeasures for potential bioterrorism agents such as anthrax, bubonic plague and tularemia.  The work involves live pathogens and the laboratories are equipped with air locks and other safety measures (David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, March 11). Back to top       Boeing, Pentagon Prepare Bioagent Sensor Drone Boeing and a U.S. Defense Department agency have modified an unmanned aerial vehicle to detect and collect airborne biological agents, United Press International reported yesterday (see GSN, June 6, 2006). Boeing and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency have “demonstrated successfully that ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles modified to look for biological warfare agents can effectively intercept, detect and fly through simulated biological plumes or clouds to collect airborne agents,” the defense contractor said in a statement yesterday. “Tests also show that UAVs can successfully collect airborne material and data from a target site that can help U.S. forces combat the threat from biological agents and minimize the danger to friendly forces and civilians,” according to the release. The drone underwent developmental testing in November, followed the next months by checks of its ability to take off and land from a ship.  In January, the drone’s final test demonstration was completed from a U.S. Navy research ship stationed in the Gulf of Mexico. The vehicle’s proven capabilities “would enable U.S. forces to accurately perform, at safe distances, battle damage assessment of plume releases that result from counter-force strikes against facilities dedicated to the research, production and/or storage of biological warfare agents,” Boeing said (United Press International, March 10). Back to top

Blue Grass CW Disposal Site Could Face Delays Construction of the chemical weapons disposal facility at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky could be delayed by questions about the plant’s design, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 20). Construction was scheduled to begin this summer on a facility to eliminate munitions containing 523 tons of blister and nerve agents.  The Defense Department has estimated that weapons disposal would be completed in Kentucky by 2023, but Congress last year set a 2017 deadline for the full destruction of the U.S. chemical arsenal. The Defense Department Explosive Safety Board last week expressed concerns regarding one or more rooms designed to be explosive-resistant.  The specific question revolves around the connection of steel beams that support concrete. The corresponding space in the chemical weapons incinerator at Anniston, Ala., had to undergo large-scale repairs in 1998 following discovery of holes and unfilled sections of wall, AP reported (Jeffrey McMurray, Associated Press/Lexington Herald-Leader, March 10). The rooms are used for removal of explosives from the munitions, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. The Pentagon board is scheduled to meet this spring with representatives from Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass, the firm managing construction of the facility.  Failure to approve plant designs by June could put an indefinite hold on construction, said company spokesman John Schlatter. “We have to go back to them and provide additional information about the design, and why we think it is the right design, to try to resolve their questions and get their approval,” he said. “If we're able to resolve all that by the middle of June, there won't be any impact on the construction," Schlatter added.  “If we're not, we might either have to do some testing to demonstrate that the design is adequate, or we might have to do some redesign.  How long that would take and what it would cost, we don't know at this point. “This board is there for safety reviews, and this is a safety issue, and we're not going to sacrifice safety for schedules.  Safety has to be the first consideration,” he said (Greg Kocher, Lexington Herald-Leader, March 11). Back to top

U.S. Offers Military Upgrade Support to Poland U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday said his administration would support Poland’s military modernization effort, an offer widely seen as linked to U.S. efforts to deploy missile interceptors on Polish territory, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, March 3). The recently installed Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has pressed for access to U.S. air defenses and help in refurbishing its military as part of any missile shield deal. In a joint address delivered at the White House with Tusk, Bush sought to assuage Polish concerns about its aging defenses. “Mr. Prime Minister, before my watch is over, we will have assessed those needs and come up with a modernization plan that's concrete and tangible,” Bush said. Tusk said he and Bush “came to a conclusion … that the missile defense system and the modernization of the Polish forces … come in one package.”  Bush and his aides “understand quite clearly our expectations,” he added. Warsaw has looked into acquiring U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability air defenses, but it was unclear what systems the deal would include. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino refused to characterize Bush’s offer as a missile defense bargain, instead saying the United States would help Poland because it is a NATO member.  “It's certainly not a quid pro quo because, as we would with any ally, we would help them modernize a different part of their defense system,” she said. The plan, though, seemed to move the two nations closer to a deal on the 10 missile interceptors.  Warsaw has been more reticent about the U.S. plan for Europe than the Czech Republic, where the Bush administration wants to deploy an early warning radar. Julianne Smith, head of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that no deal has yet been finalized. “We've gotten past the impasse and started the engines again,” she said.  “It doesn't mean we've got all the details settled, but both sides are moving again” (Peter Baker, Washington Post, March 11). Back to top

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