U.S. Senators Seek to Halt North Korean Aggression

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

Stories we're following today: Wednesday, March 2, 2011:

US Lawmakers Seek End to 'Cycle of North Korean Provocations' - William Ide for Voice of America [link]

• U.S. lawmakers are urging the Obama administration to find new ways to persuade North Korea to change its behavior and end what they say is a "cycle of provocation." Talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been stalled for more than two years and many analysts say that last year was the most dangerous on the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War.
• The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat John Kerry of Connecticut, says the risks of maintaining the status quo toward North Korea are grave.  "North Korea is simply going to build more nuclear weapons and missiles," said Kerry. "It may well export nuclear technology, even fissile material. And the next violation of the armistice could easily escalate into wider hostilities that threaten U.S. allies and interests."
• The Ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar of Indiana, said that although the Obama administration has worked closely with Seoul to respond to Pyongyang's provocations, its strategy for ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program is unclear.
• Campbell testified that although more needs to be done, the United States has had some successes in curbing North Korean proliferation.  "In the last year, a number of states who had previously never been involved in, shall we say interdicting, and helping us with the transfer of illicit cargos from North Korea to sites either in Asia or in the Middle East have assisted us in turning back shipments," said Campbell.

U.S. Plans No Nuclear Weapons in South Korea - Evan Ramstad for The Wall Street Journal [link]

• The U.S. sees no need to redeploy nuclear weapons to South Korea, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday, despite increasing pressure from some ruling-party politicians here. "We have no plan and we have no intention to deploy U.S. tactical or other nuclear weapons in South Korea. Moreover, we don't believe that there is a military need to do so," Robert Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, said to reporters during a visit at South Korea's foreign ministry.
• The pressure comes from politicians worried by North Korea's attacks on the South last year and its continuing nuclear-weapons program, but Mr. Einhorn said U.S. military forces have multiple ways of quickly countering a North Korean nuclear attack on the South.
• The U.S., which has been South Korea's main defense ally for more than 60 years, withdrew its nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991, a move that satisfied neither side in the inter-Korean conflict. North Korea frequently accuses the U.S. and South Korea of continuting to keep U.S. nuclear weapons in the South.
• Putting U.S. nuclear weapons back in South Korea would also likely be a jolt to North Korea's main ally, China, which has thwarted United Nations Security Council discussions of both North Korea's attacks on South Korea and its self-disclosed uranium-enrichment activities.

How We Dodged Libya's Nuclear Bullet - Joe Cirincione in The Huffington Post [link]

• In a stunning trans-Atlantic announcement on December 19, 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush said Libya had agreed, after nine months of secret talks, to publicly disclose and dismantle all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs
• The presence of 250,000 U.S. forces in the region undoubtedly had an impact, but it does not seem that Gaddafi feared a U.S. invasion of Tripoli.
• More likely, Gaddafi had concluded that he needed Western contracts and markets more than he needed chemical or nuclear weapons.
• We will all be better off with Gaddafi out of power. And we will all be better off that this regime change is being effected by the people of Libya, not by a foreign government. The U.S. and British role was to remove the nuclear threat from the nation, no matter who was in control. Thanks to the wise choices of 2003, we have dodged the Libyan nuclear bullet.

Funding Cuts Jeopardize Nuclear Non-proliferation - U.S. Represenatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) for The Hill's "Congress Blog" [link]

• Leaders of both parties and the American people agree that we need to cut the federal budget. With an annual deficit of more than $1.5 trillion and a massive $14.1 trillion national debt, addressing our failed budget policies is a critical national priority.
• However, funding cuts made to protect our financial security must not jeopardize our national security. Unfortunately, the United States House of Representatives recently passed spending reductions to the stop-gap measure designed to fund the government through fiscal year 2011 that would dangerously weaken national security by leaving us more vulnerable to nuclear terrorism.
• The resolution short-changes urgent nuclear non-proliferation efforts under the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) by more than $600 million. This funding is a small fraction of the federal budget, but a vital part of our national security.
• At a time when Al Qaeda seeks to obtain nuclear weapons, this funding is important. Congress should appropriate the necessary resources for these vital and urgent programs to secure, remove, or curb the spread of nuclear materials.

US Launches New Missile Defense Program for Europe - Associated Press 

• The U.S. is sending a special radar-equipped warship to the Mediterranean Sea next week, the first step in the development of a broad anti-ballistic missile system to protect Europe against a potential Iranian nuclear threat, the Pentagon said Tuesday.  The move marks the first of the Obama administration's four-phase plan to put land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in several European locations over the next decade.
• Endorsed by NATO during a summit in Lisbon last Fall, the missile shield has triggered opposition from Russia and set off lengthy negotiations over the future expanded ability to shoot down ballistic missiles in the region.
• John F. Plumb, principal director for Pentagon nuclear and missile defense policy, said Tuesday that the USS Monterey will leave Norfolk, Va., next week, heading to a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean. The ship's mission, he said, will lay the groundwork for the unfolding missile defense plan there.
• U.S. officials are looking for ways to cooperate with Russia, including the possibility of combining sensors and sharing data. A Russian argument to have joint control over the missile defense system has been rebuffed by the U.S.

Iran Seeks Missile Components in Norway - Global Security Newswire [link]

• Norway yesterday said it had thwarted a number of attempts by Iran to obtain from small domestic firms components suited for incorporation in nuclear-armed missiles, Reuters reported.  Entities targeted by Iran deal in "special components that can ... be used in weapons of mass destruction, for building missiles," Norwegian Police Security Service General Director Janne Kristiansen said.
• Iran has focused in the past 12 months on acquiring Norwegian-origin equipment with civilian as well as weapon applications, the Kristiansen said, citing Kongsberg Defense Systems as one producer of such technology.  "There are many (companies in Norway) that supply missile technology," Kristiansen said. "I am not pointing the finger at one company."
• Kongsberg Defense Systems stressed it deals with hundreds of organizations.  "We are a large state-owned company that always follows a strict export regime in our dealing with other nations," spokesman Ronny Lie said. "I would assume Iran knows that. So that's why if they do make approaches it would probably be to small companies."
• After seeking information on benign goods, the Iranian entities would begin expressing interest in weapon-usable equipment "and often make various proposals for transport and financing to circumvent Norwegian export regulations," the analysis says. The document neither identifies firms involved nor includes Kristiansen's assertion that sensitive gear sought by Iranian organizations had missile applications specifically.
• "We have known for some time that Iran has been pursuing high technology around the world and we are naturally concerned, and that's why we work closely with Norway and our other European partners," spokesman Timothy Moore said.