Support for CTBT on International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today: Friday August 28, 2010

International Day Against Nuclear Tests - Kanat Saudabayev in The Hill [link]

• On August 29, 2010 there will be festivities in Astana, Kazakhstan, and many other cities around the world marking the first “International Day Against Nuclear Tests.”
• Some rather influential states still abstain from signing and ratifying the CTBT, which gives the recognized nuclear weapon states a possibility to continue nuclear testing and the threshold states a possibility to develop their own nuclear programs with impunity. Today, we must put our efforts together to convince the states, which have not yet signed or ratified the treaty, to do so.
• We hope the U.S. Senate will indeed ratify the treaty as urged by President Barack Obama, which will serve as a critical example for other countries. We also appreciate Indonesia’s decision to ratify the treaty.
• The early entry into force of the CTBT will be one of the key areas of effective implementation of the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the most important document upon which the security of all mankind rests.
• On this August 29, the International Day against Nuclear Tests, we urge the people of good will in all the corners of our fragile planet to join us in working to make that promise [of a world without nuclear weapons] a reality.

North Korea Tells Carter it Wants to Resume Nuclear Talks - Reuters [link]

• North Korea's number two leader has told former President Jimmy Carter that the reclusive state is committed to denuclearizing the peninsula and resuming six-way talks, the North's state news agency said on Friday
• "Kim Yong Nam expressed the will of the DPRK government for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the six-party talks," KCNA said, referring to the meeting of the North's number two with Carter.
• Shortly after Carter arrived in Pyongyang, the North's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, left for ally China on a surprise trip that analysts believe may be to line up Beijing behind his dynastic succession plans.

Senate could sink Obama’s ambitious plan for reducing nuclear arms - John Grula in Pasadena Weekly [link]

• In a remarkable speech delivered very early in his term, Obama clearly articulated a vision for ridding the world of all nuclear weapons.
• Currently, the new START is being considered by the US Senate, which must ratify the treaty for it to enter into force.
• Even though ratification of the treaty has been endorsed by old-guard Republicans such as James Baker and Brent Scowcroft, it is by no means certain at this point there are enough Republican votes to ratify the new treaty.
• Here in California we can be proud that both of our senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, are strong supporters of the treaty.
• However, if the senate fails to ratify the new treaty, then President Obama’s ambitious agenda for ridding the world of nuclear weapons will be dealt a serious blow, and the prospect of nuclear terrorism will loom ever larger.
  

Moldova to Send Seized Uranium to Germany - AFP [link]

• Uranium seized from a suspected group of traffickers in the ex-Soviet state of Moldova will be sent to Germany to pinpoint its origin and degree of enrichment, officials said on Thursday.
• Authorities in Moldova said this week they had seized almost two kilogrammes (around four pounds) of the radioactive substance Uranium-238 from a suspected group of traffickers, including former interior ministry officials.
• "The country has not yet seen such a special operation before," he said. "It was the first time that contraband radioactive materials were intercepted in Moldova."
• Experts have repeatedly expressed fears over traffickers obtaining nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union with the aim of selling them on to rogue groups in the hope of making the so-called dirty bomb.

The Lighter Side

How Vova and Dima Spent Their Summer Vacation - Foreign Policy [link]

• The Kremlin released a steady stream of photos showing Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin frolicking together in Sochi and other resorts, reminding the public of their "friendly" partnership. But this summer, the story is different.
• Medvedev has largely stayed in Sochi, while Putin has traveled alone throughout Russia visiting disaster sites, riding motorcycles, and tranquilizing endangered species, like the whale he's shooting with a crossbow in the below photo.