Iran:  ElBaradei Leaves Today to Push Openness on Nuclear Efforts

International Atomic Energy Chief Mohamed ElBaradei leaves for Iran today to push Tehran to open its nuclear power efforts and prove it is not working on nuclear weapons, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 7).

ElBaradei will meet with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and Iranian nuclear chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh to urge them to sign the Additional Protocol.

Signing the protocol would “generate additional confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” said IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi spoke by telephone today with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and said that Tehran is approaching ElBaradei’s visit with an open mind.

“Tehran is ready to listen to ElBaradei’s views, and we hope that during the negotiations Iran’s concerns and standpoints are also taken into consideration,” Kharrazi said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, July 8).

ElBaradei said yesterday that Iran would have “days or weeks” to respond to his requests (Julian Borger, London Guardian, July 8).

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North Korea:  Seoul, Tokyo Agree to Stop Nuclear Reactor Construction

Japan and South Korea have agreed with U.S. demands to stop construction on a nuclear reactor in North Korea if Pyongyang continues its nuclear weapons development, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, July 7).

Diplomats from the three nations discussed the issue and reached a consensus during talks in Washington in early July.  Officials will reportedly “monitor the situation for another month,” according to the Jiji Press agency in Tokyo.

U.S. officials had previously said that the Washington meeting was “a brainstorming session” that had not produced a specific agreement (Agence France-Presse, July 8).

China, South Korea Wants Talks

China and South Korea agreed to push for multilateral talks with North Korea in an effort to resolve the nuclear crisis.

 “(Chinese) President Hu Jintao and I agreed to make efforts for the early resumption of direct talks among concerned parties in the North Korean nuclear issue,” said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun after two hours of talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart.  “I agreed with President Hu that in order to fully and satisfactorily resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, we must open up channels between all concerned parties as soon as possible, and in order to reach a consensus, all sides need to make relentless efforts,” he added.

Hu said China supports a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the crisis, but North Korea’s fears must be addressed.

“We think we must earnestly consider and resolve the security concerns of North Korea.  This is our principled position,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 8).

Australia Meeting Begins Tomorrow

Meanwhile, Australia will host a meeting tomorrow of 11 countries focused on stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

A senior Australian diplomat said that current international regulations are not sufficient to stop weapons proliferation, particularly from North Korea (Radio Australia/BBC Monitoring, July 8).

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United States I:  Judge Overrules Proposed Energy Department Regulation to Reclassify Wastes

A U.S. federal judge last week rejected a proposed U.S. Energy Department regulation that would have reclassified some of the millions of gallons of radioactive waste currently stored at U.S. nuclear weapons sites in Idaho, South Carolina and Washington, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, April 10, 2002).

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled last week that the department had overstepped its authority in the proposed regulation, which would have sought to reclassify some of the waste at the three sites so it would not have to be removed.  Energy is removing approximately 99 percent of the radioactive waste at the three sites — which is stored in tanks — for processing.  The department’s proposed regulation would have reclassified some of the remaining waste as low-level waste, which Energy then would have encased within the storage tanks and left in place.

The department has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling, which could delay plans to clean up the three sites, Energy spokesman Joe Davis said yesterday.

Winmill’s decision “means the liquid wastes are going to stay in those tanks longer,” Davis said.  “It’s going to create a tremendous burden on the taxpayers and jeopardize our ability to clean up the sites,” he said.

Geoffrey Fettus, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said that Energy’s proposed regulation would have resulted in millions of gallons of dangerous wastes being left behind in aging storage tanks.

“Now, they’ve got to go back and do what everybody thought they were going to do for the last 50 years, which is to clean up the wastes, package them and ship them to a deep repository,” Fettus said.  “It is an egregious example of the Department of Energy and the nuclear industry trying to solve a problem by relaxing regulatory standards, rather than cleaning up the mess,” he said (John Wiley, Associated Press, July 8).

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United States II:  Protesters Criticize Plutonium Pit Production

Seventy protesters traveled from Atlanta to North Augusta, S.C., yesterday to denounce an Energy Department plan that could restart the production of triggers for nuclear weapons at the Savannah River Site (see GSN, July 7).

Energy is considering five sites to produce the triggers, or “pits,” including Amarillo, Texas; Carlsbad, N.M.; Los Alamos, N.M.; the Nevada Test Site; and South Carolina’s Savannah River.  A new plant would begin production in 2020, and the United States says the prospective facility must produce at least 125 pits every year to maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

“I don’t know if there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but we do know there are weapons of mass destruction in the United States,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery.

Georgia state Representative Nan Grogan Orrock (D) said the Savannah River Site has contaminated Georgia’s groundwater for decades (Milo Ippolito, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 8).

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U.S. Response:  Pentagon Pursues New Nuclear Planning

The U.S. Defense Department is pursuing a $200 million, eight-year project to expand and streamline nuclear war planning, according to a Los Angeles Times column published Sunday (see GSN, June 20).

In May, defense contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin received contracts to design the new nuclear planning tools, according to the column, by military analyst William Arkin.  The new tools were first detailed in the 2002 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review and are needed because “the current process has no growth capability to handle the increasing target requests, which are projected to grow tenfold by 2007,” according to military documents.

The new planning will make the military “more flexible and adaptable” in response to an increase in the “number of threat countries,” the documents say.

The eight-year effort will result in “point-and-click” nuclear planning for military and civilian leaders, according to Arkin.  The effort will streamline communications and modernize the system that handles presidential orders to launch a nuclear strike.

After the planning is complete, Defense officials hope to produce systems that will be able to operate following a nuclear attack, Arkin wrote.  As part of the new system, the Pentagon plans to launch up to five $400 million satellites to ensure secure communication between the president and the nation’s nuclear forces.

The new system will also incorporate 69 “transportable terminals.”  Small enough to be operated by one person, the communications terminals are intended to “reliably operate in pre- through post-nuclear environments,” according to a document outlining the effort.

In the event of nuclear war, mobile teams using the communications terminals would transport nuclear weapons to units that are still able to fire them.

“The military is clearly moving quickly to implement the Nuclear Posture Review’s recommendations,” Arkin wrote.  “Let’s hope that in doing so, they don’t also increase the likelihood that the U.S. will initiate a nuclear war,” he added (William Arkin, Los Angeles Times, July 6).

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Pakistan:  Musharraf Reiterates Nonproliferation Stance

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said yesterday that his country’s nuclear weapons program is under strict control and that Pakistan would not aid other countries in obtaining nuclear weapons (see GSN, June 27).

“Pakistan will never proliferate,” Musharraf said during an address at a university near Islamabad.  “Pakistan’s nuclear potential is under very strong custodial control,” he said.

During a visit to the United States last month, Musharraf met with U.S. President George W. Bush, who proposed a $3 billion U.S. economic and security aid package for Pakistan.  Pakistani opposition leaders have charged that Musharraf agreed to reduce Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for the proposed aid — allegations Musharraf has denied, according to the Associated Press (Munir Ahmad, Associated Press, July 7).

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Russia:  Moscow to Destroy RS-20 ICBM Silo today

Russia is expected today to destroy a RS-20 ICBM silo in the Chelyabinsk region, according to ITAR-Tass (see GSN, May 19).

The silo is being destroyed under the auspices of START, the 1991 strategic arms treaty that restricts the United States and Russia to deploying no more than 6,000 strategic nuclear warheads, according to ITAR-Tass.  Under the treaty, the destroyed silo will remain open to U.S. technical observation for 90 days (Vladislav Kuznetsov, ITAR-Tass, July 8).

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Iran:  Tehran Says ElBaradei Visit Shows Cooperation

Iranian officials said they are cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency by inviting IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei for a visit Wednesday, the New York Post reported today (see GSN, July 3).

“Our invitation to ElBaradei to visit Iran is a sign of our serious desire for cooperation with the IAEA,” said government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh.  “The road for confidence-building is a two-way street,” Ramazanzadeh added (New York Post, July 7).

ElBaradei said Tehran should sign the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, which would allow the agency to conduct more intrusive monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities

“I think it’s important that they have to take the first step … a ‘peace offensive’ to show they have done everything to demonstrate transparency,” he said.

ElBaradei left open the possibility that restrictions on Iranian trade in nuclear technology could be relaxed.

“We would like to have Iran sign the Additional Protocol,” he said.  “I’m confident, once they do that, then over time the ban or the sanction applied against nuclear technology will be gradually lifted.  But to create confidence, it takes time,” ElBaradei added (Reuters/Planet Ark, July 7).

Conservative activists within Iran, however, are pushing the government to pursue nuclear weapons, the Beirut Daily Star reported.

“We are calling on the authorities to openly and seriously go for a nuclear weapons program and boost our national pride,” said Ali Reza Saeli, a leader of the Student’s Islamic Association.  “Nuclear weapons will be a deterrence against our enemies,” he added (Beirut Daily Star, July 7).

Japan, meanwhile, might send a top diplomat to Iran to push for transparency in its nuclear efforts.  Before the envoy is sent, Tokyo will send Yukiya Amano, the Foreign Ministry’s director general for arms control, to Tehran Saturday for previously scheduled talks.  Japan wants to close a deal to develop a largely untouched Iranian oil field, but U.S. officials are pressuring Tokyo to not do business with Tehran (Kyodo News Service/BBC Monitoring, July 7).

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North Korea:  Seoul Will Call For Multilateral Talks

South Korea is planning to call on North Korean officials to accept multilateral meetings to defuse the eight-month-old nuclear crisis, a senior South Korea official said today (see GSN, July 3).

Pyongyang has resisted multilateral talks, instead demanding direct negotiations with Washington to resolve the nuclear standoff.  Seoul will make the request during four-day Cabinet level talks, set to start Wednesday.

“It is extremely important for us to keep a channel of communication open with the North at this difficult time,” the official said.

A 32-member North Korean team is expected to arrive in Seoul Wednesday (Yonhap News Agency/BBC Monitoring, July 7).

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is in China, meanwhile, to meet with Chinese leader Hu Jintao, Agence France-Presse reported.

The two leaders will reportedly discuss a peaceful solution to the crisis.

“Everyone believes the peaceful resolution of the (North Korean) issue will safeguard peace, stability and development on the Korean peninsula,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 7).

The meeting is not expected to produce a solution to the standoff, but experts predict the countries will show solidarity in support of a diplomatic resolution, the Korea Herald reported.

“The two countries have been in accord over not tolerating North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, and seeking a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, so they will have no difficulties in reaching an agreement,” said Yun Duk-min, a professor at South Korea’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (Seo Hyun-jin, Korea Herald, July 7).

China is engaging in a strong diplomatic push to resolve the crisis, Reuters reported.

“China feels the U.S. does not have a good understanding of the D.P.R.K.,’ said a Western diplomat in Beijing.  Chinese officials aim to host a second round of talks between Washington and Pyongyang, according to Reuters (Reuters/Planet Ark, July 7).

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U.S. Plans:  Energy Prefers Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Facility

The U.S. Energy Department has ranked the Los Alamos National Laboratory as the most desirable site for a plant that would produce triggers for nuclear weapons, Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 27).

Energy wants to open a plutonium production plant to produce the triggers, or “pits.”  A new plant would begin production in 2020, and the United States says the prospective facility must produce at least 125 pits every year to maintain the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

The Savannah River Site in South Carolina is ranked second by U.S. energy officials.  Officials are also considering sites in Amarillo, Texas, Carlsbad, N.M., and the Nevada Test Site.

A meeting is scheduled soon at the Savannah River Site.  Environmental activists nationwide have criticized the plans, but the facility would be welcomed in South Carolina, AP reported.

“There is no nuclear Department of Energy site in the country whose community supports it more strongly.  I guarantee you we’ll have every mayor within 50 miles there supporting it,” said Mal McKibben, a retired scientist from Savannah River and the director of the pro-nuclear Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness in South Carolina.

Local critics said that Savannah River would be a logical choice for a new facility, but claims the United States does not need more plutonium pits or nuclear weapons.

Savannah River “is all about plutonium.  So I’ve got to say it looks like the logical choice, if you follow that line of reasoning, which we don’t,” said Glenn Carroll of Georgians Against Nuclear Energy (Associated Press/Columbia State, July 7).

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Russia:  Moscow Resumes Strategic Submarine Patrols

U.S. naval intelligence officials have said that Russia resumed strategic missile submarine patrols this month following a year’s hiatus, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, July 1).

“Although the trend in Russian strategic submarine patrols has been downward for a number of years, the Russian Navy has resumed patrols in 2003,” a Navy intelligence official said.

When asked how many submarine patrols have occurred so far this year, a Navy spokesman said, “It is a very small number.”

In 1991, Russian Delta and Typhoon submarines conducted 37 patrols, the Post reported.  In 1993, the number of patrols decreased to 19, and the number decreased again in 2001 to just a single patrol.  In contrast, the U.S. Navy conducts 50 patrols annually with its fleet of 18 Trident ballistic missile submarines, according to the Post (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, July 5).

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CTBT:  Annan Issues Invitation for Conference on Aiding Treaty’s Entry Into Force

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has issued an invitation to all countries to attend a conference on aiding the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the CTBT Organization announced Friday (see GSN, June 25).

The conference, which is meant to examine what requirements have been met for the CTBT to enter into force and to decide on new measures to accelerate the treaty’s ratification, is scheduled for Sept. 3-5 in Vienna.  In his invitation, Annan said he had been requested to convene the conference by a majority of CTBT states and that it is the wish of these countries that the conference be attended by senior officials.

A provision in the treaty says that if it has not entered into force three years after the 30th anniversary of its opening for signature, such a conference may be held.  Similar conferences were held in Vienna in 1999 and in New York in 2001 (CTBT Organization release, July 4).

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North Korea:  U.N. Security Council Divided Over North Korea Rebuke

China and Russia yesterday attempted to delay a U.N. Security Council condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear activities, according to the New York Times (see GSN, July 2).  

The five permanent council members discussed the issue during a meeting yesterday at U.N. headquarters in New York.  The United States, the United Kingdom and France support issuing a council statement because little progress has been made by the diplomatic efforts of China, Japan and South Korea, diplomats said.

“The Americans, British and French are all in favor of a statement” from the Security Council condemning North Korean violations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a council diplomat said.  Such a statement would be “firm about all the violations, at the same time … supporting backing the diplomatic approach,” the diplomat added.

After yesterday’s meeting, Chinese representative Zhang Yishan said he believed there should be more talks among North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and the United States.  Russian representative Gennadi Gatilov said it was “premature” to consider a Security Council rebuke.

“The Chinese have been saying:  ‘The time isn’t right’” for a Security Council statement, arguing that more time is needed for pressure by China, Japan and South Korea, a council diplomat said.  “The U.S., France and the U.K. are saying there is no contradiction between the two efforts; they can be complementary,” the diplomat said.

In addition, a senior North Korean general said earlier this week that if the United States imposed sanctions or a blockade on North Korea, it would be considered a “complete breach” of the truce that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War, the Times reported.

In a July 1 letter, a North Korean army official said Pyongyang would “immediately take strong and merciless retaliatory measures,” warning that “horrible disasters” would befall South Korea if the United States adopted such measures.

The tone of the July 1 letter, in contrast with the tone in recent North Korean communications, has led some diplomats to wonder if there is a dispute within Pyongyang over what mix of conciliations and threats should be used when dealing with the United States and the United Nations, according to the Times.

“The meaning is not clear, because we don’t know if the army is speaking for [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Il,” a senior Asian diplomat said.  “But it is unusual to have the Army communicating with the United Nations,” the diplomat said (Barringer/Sanger, New York Times, July 3).

South Korea Presents Plan to United States, Japan

Meanwhile, South Korea yesterday presented the United States and Japan with a plan aimed at ending the nuclear crisis, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.

While South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck did not provide details about the plan, it is believed to contain proposed measures that both the United States and North Korea would need to implement, according to Yonhap. 

“The United States showed a favorable reaction” to the plan, Lee said after meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Mitoji Yabunaka, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian Affairs Bureau.  The three officials are expected to continue meeting today in Washington (Yonhap/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, July 3).

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Iran:  Tehran Hopes IAEA Talks Will Dispel Suspicions

The head of Iran’s nuclear agency said yesterday that July 9 talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency would clear up any lingering suspicions about Tehran’s nuclear program (see GSN, July 2).

Gholamreza Aghazadeh said he had no objections to international calls for Iran to allow the IAEA to conduct tougher inspections of its nuclear sites.  He did not say, however, if Iran would agree to sign the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, which would allow the agency to conduct more intrusive monitoring of Iran’s nuclear activities.  In addition, Aghazadeh also called on the IAEA to clarify Iran’s obligations.

“It is therefore vital to hold talks with the secretary general of the IAEA on transparency and we will discuss this issue,” Aghazadeh said.  “We want to clarify the IAEA’s guarantees and obligations to Iran. ... The propaganda campaign directed against Iran is incorrect and out of place.  Our activity is perfectly clear,” he said.

The IAEA has asked Iran to provide more information on two undeclared sites that an Iranian opposition group has previously alleged were intended for uranium enrichment purposes, according to Reuters (see GSN, May 27).  A diplomat refused to say if the IAEA planned to visit the two sites when an inspection team arrived in Iran next week.

Russian Aid to Iran

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for pressuring Iran against developing nuclear weapons.  Bush said he thanked Putin during a telephone call “for keeping the pressure on the Iranian government to dismantle any notions they might have of building a nuclear weapon” (Reuters/Planet Ark, July 3).

Aghazadeh said that Russian officials assured him during a three-day visit this week to Moscow that Russia would not delay the construction of the Bushehr nuclear plant as a means of forcing Tehran to sign the IAEA Additional Protocol (see GSN, June 30).

“In talks with my Russian colleagues, I was told that the signing of the (additional IAEA) protocol will not in any way affect the building of the nuclear power station at Bushehr,” Aghazadeh said during a joint press conference in Moscow with Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev.

Rumyantsev said that Russia has called on Iran to sign the Additional Protocol, but refused to say what consequences, if any, Iran would face from Moscow if it did not do so.  “They haven’t violated anything,” he said.

Russia has said it would not begin supplying nuclear fuel to the Bushehr plant until Iran signed a separate agreement to return the spent fuel to Russia.  Rumyantsev said yesterday that such an agreement, long expected, was close to being signed and was only being delayed because of an incomplete ecological analysis of the impact the return of the spent fuel will have on Russia (Jeanne Whalen, Wall Street Journal, July 3).

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India:  Washington No Longer Urging New Delhi to Sign NPT

The United States has stopped pressuring India to adhere to the main components of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime and is expected to relax regulations on the export of dual-use goods to the country by the end of the year, Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said yesterday (see GSN, June 24).

“The U.S. is no longer asking India to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or [to adopt] fullscope safeguards” on its nuclear facilities, Sibal said after a two-day meeting of the U.S.-Indian High-Technology Cooperation Group in Washington.

Although U.S. laws restrict exports of strategic goods to non-NPT members, U.S. officials have said the laws could be relaxed without changing them, Sibal said.  Such a move is expected to occur by November, when the technology cooperation group is scheduled to meet again in New Delhi, he said.

Establishing conditions for creating a strong high-technology trade relationship between the United States and India is a “key component” of the Bush administration’s plans for improved U.S.-Indian relations, U.S. Undersecretary  of Commerce Kenneth Juster said.

“Both sides discussed changes in policy and regulation that can facilitate such trade and strengthen controls on the possible diversion of sensitive items,” Juster said (Times of India, July 3).

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Iran:  Tehran Considering Allowing Greater Nuclear Scrutiny

Iran is conditionally prepared for more intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring of its nuclear activities, a top Iranian official said yesterday (see GSN, July 1).

Tehran “is ready to sign the Additional Protocol to the agreement on nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, but only in an atmosphere of transparency and trust regarding the participants of this document,” said Gholamreza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran’s nuclear agency.

It was not clear what conditions need to be satisfied before Iran agrees to the additional inspections.  According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, however, Iranian officials have already said they will sign the agreement.

“There are plans to sign this protocol in the near future,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said yesterday.  “This has been agreed upon with Iran,” he added (Jim Heintz, Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News, July 1).

Meanwhile, Iran plans to ask Russia to participate in the building of additional nuclear facilities, ITAR-Tass reported today.  Russia is currently building a nuclear plant in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.

“We have plans for building, alongside the Bushehr nuclear power plant, several others having a total capacity of 6,000 megawatts, and we are inviting Russia to take this opportunity,” Aghazadeh said.

He said that Moscow and Tehran were also close to signing an agreement on the return of spent Russian nuclear fuel from Bushehr.

When the new plant is commissioned, Russian technicians will help train Iranian scientists, according to Aghazadeh.  Iran has already sent 700 nuclear specialists to study at Russian nuclear facilities, he said (ITAR-Tass, July 2).

United Kingdom Will Not Attack Iran

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said Monday that there is no chance of the United Kingdom taking part in an attack on Iran.

“No one should ever compare Iran with Iraq in terms of their political systems or their danger,” he said (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Austin American-Statesman, July 1).

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North Korea:  Seoul Faces Heat Over Report on Pyongyang’s Nuclear Weapons

South Korean opposition leaders yesterday called on the government to disclose information that led to a Tuesday New York Times report on allegedly new North Korean nuclear warhead development (see GSN, July 1).

The report identified a North Korean site allegedly used to develop the conventional explosives used to trigger nuclear weapons, according to the Times.

“The New York Times report is shocking,” said Park Jin, spokesman for the opposition Grand National Party.  “The government should not conceal any key information that can seriously affect our national security,” he added.

The National Assembly has directed its intelligence, foreign affairs and defense committees to hold special meetings to look into the report (Charles Whelan, Agence France-Presse, July 2).

“Our government is not in a position to say something (about it),” said an official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

The response from U.S. officials was similarly muted.

“We don’t comment on reports like this that are sourced — allegedly sourced — to intelligence information,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

The development, however, may not represent new information, Yonhap News Agency reported.  In his book on the Korean Peninsula, veteran journalist Donald Oberdorfer said North Korea had tested powerful conventional explosives as a step toward nuclear testing.

“They (North Koreans) did test apparently some non-nuclear high explosive devices which potentially help trigger nuclear explosions,” Oberdorfer said in a 2000 interview (Yonhap News Agency/BBC Monitoring, July 2).

Officials Plan July 9 Meeting

Diplomats from North and South Korea plan to hold three-day cabinet-level meetings in Seoul beginning July 9, the Korea Times reported (Kim Ki-tae, Korea Times, July 2).

South Korea, Japan and the United States are holding talks today in Washington to discuss their approach to North Korea, the Korea Herald reported.

South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly and Japanese Director General of Asian and Oceanic Affairs Yabunaka Mitoji will most likely discuss the future of two nuclear reactors being built in North Korea as part of the now defunct 1994 Agreed Framework.

Japan will probably suggest a temporary halt in reactor construction, the Korea Herald reported.  The United States is pushing for the suspension of the project altogether (Kim So-young, Korea Herald, July 2).

U.S. Unlikely To Attack

Kenneth Quinones, a former U.S. negotiator with Pyongyang, said that a military strike on North Korean nuclear facilities could cause ecological disaster.

“Unfortunately, the surgical strike concept simply cannot function,” said Quinones, who is now the Korean affairs director at the International Center in Washington.  “I don’t think the United States is planning to attack.  They are not really focusing on a military option,” he added.

Quinones cautioned, however, that a small misunderstanding could lead to a larger military conflict.

“As tension increases and the channel of communications declines, the prospect of a small incident exploding into a major one increases,” he said (Shigemi Sato, Agence France-Presse, July 2).

A North Korean official, however, said that Pyongyang might abandon the armistice that ended the Korean War 50 years ago.

Korea is at “the crossroads of war or peace,” said the North Korean military representative at Panmunjom, a border village where representatives from each country meet.

“It is, in fact, hardly possible to preserve the cease-fire in Korea by the unilateral efforts of the Korean People’s Army side,” the representative said (Soo-jeong Lee, Associated Press, July 1).

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United States I:  Review Says Sandia Obstructed Probe Into Security Breach

Sandia National Laboratories managers impeded two internal investigators who were probing various security breaches at the New Mexico facility, according to an independent review (see GSN, June 25).

The investigators were focusing their investigation on an employee who allegedly gained access to sensitive computer files and took photographs of sexual encounters in restricted laboratory areas.

The review — completed by Norman Bay, a former U.S. attorney for New Mexico — noted, however, that managers did not obstruct probes into the loss of a set of master keys to laboratory facilities, videotapes of guards sleeping at work or a security guard stealing computer equipment.

The review also concluded that the investigators did not face any type of retaliation during or following the investigation.

Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sharply criticized the report, calling it “80 to 90 percent pure whitewash.”  The senator said the Bay report was part of a Sandia culture that attempted to cover up problems and “shoot the messenger” (George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, July 2).

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United States II:  Navy Receives Minisubmarine for Use on Converted Tridents

The U.S. Navy has taken delivery of an advanced minisubmarine designed to be installed on converted Trident-class ballistic missile submarines, Defense Week reported Monday (see GSN, June 16).

The Naval Sea Systems Command last week received the first Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS), which is designed to attach to an attack submarine or a converted Trident-class submarine, Defense Week reported.  Currently, two Los Angeles-class attack submarines are capable of carrying the ASDS, which will allow SEAL commando teams to travel further distances while limiting exposure to cold water.

The ASDS completed its operational evaluation in May, but the U.S. Special Operations Command, which will be the final user of the system, is waiting for the final evaluation results before taking delivery of the system.

The ASDS program has faced a number of technical difficulties, such as flawed battery cells and a loud propeller, as well as schedule delays since it was launched, according to Defense Week.  The U.S. General Accounting Office said in a report issued earlier this year that the costs for the program had more than tripled since it began and that it was six years behind schedule (Nathan Hodge, Defense Week, June 30). 

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