Digests and Blog

With the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Worker’s Party of Korea approaching on Oct. 10, the director of North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) lauded his country’s “shining achievements” in space development in an interview with the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sept. 14 and raised the possibility of another satellite launch in the near future. The unnamed director reported that North Korea is at a “final phase” in the development of a new earth observation satellite, a “peaceful project” pursuant to improving the people of North Korea’s…

In 1996, during the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) negotiations, some states insisted on a complex formula for entry into force. Article XIV of the treaty requires that forty-four specific states with nuclear reactors on their soil, listed in Annex II of the treaty, must ratify to trigger full implementation. In response, other states insisted on a provision that allows for a conference of state parties every two years to exhort holdout states to sign, ratify, and develop a diplomatic strategy to accelerate entry into force. On September 29, the 9th Article XIV Conference on…

Rarely are foreign and security policy challenges characterized by such strong countervailing pressures or outcomes so replete with irony as in the conduct of U.S.-Russian affairs after Moscow’s 2014 military intervention in Ukraine. As Washington policy-makers and politicians try to settle on new guidelines for the bilateral relationship, they should seek a tough-minded but pragmatic diplomacy, realizing that, without U.S.-Russian negotiations, there will be no significant progress on either nuclear nonproliferation or nuclear disarmament. Number One Enemy? Americans now view Russia as the…

On September 22, The Guardian released an interactive news story by Laurence Topham, Alok Jha and Will Franklin showcasing the beginnings and effects of the Nevada nuclear test site titled "Building the atom bomb: the full story of the Nevada Test Site." The piece is interspersed with videos, interviews, and a time-lapse from 1951 to 1992 of all the nuclear tests which occurred at the Nevada test site.

Congressional Review Period Ends The U.S. Congress failed to pass a resolution of disapproval that would block the Obama administration’s ability to implement its commitments under the July 14 nuclear deal with Iran. The sixty-day period for congressional review expired today, Sept, 17, and without the passage of resolution of disapproval, the Obama administration will be able to waive sanctions as required under the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.) A vote earlier today to end debate and move to vote on a resolution of disapproval failed to pass the 60 vote…

Measure to Disapprove Iran Deal Blocked in Senate In a historic vote, the Senate failed to end debate and move to vote on a resolution of disapproval of the nuclear deal with Iran – moving the United States and its negotiating partners a step closer to adoption of the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Yesterday’s vote to end debate did not reach the necessary 60 vote threshold, with 58 senators voting in favor and 42 voting against. Four Democrats, Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Joe Manchin, (W. Va.), and Ben Cardin (Md.) joined the 54 Republicans…

Momentum Is Building Political momentum is building for the Iran nuclear deal, as 34 senators have now publicly announced their support of the July 14 agreement that the United States and its P5+1 partners (China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom) negotiated with Iran. Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Robert Casey (D-Penn.) announced their support for the agreement yesterday, and Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) announced her support today, bringing the count to the 34 votes necessary to prevent Congress from overriding the president’s veto on a resolution of disapproval.…

Although the vast majority of the world’s nations recognize that nuclear explosive testing is no longer acceptable, the failure to sign or ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on the part of a few Annex II states will have delayed entry into force for more than 20 years after the opening for signature of the Treaty in 1996. These states are: China, the United States, Israel, Iran, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea. With enormous challenges ahead to secure the necessary signatures and ratifications, progress depends on a more energetic, more…

Today, August 29, is the UN’s International Day Against Nuclear Tests, a day meant to encourage governments, academic institutions, and the general public to advocate for the necessity of banning nuclear weapon tests. Ahead of this important remembrance day, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) hosted the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) in Hiroshima on August 24 and 25, where the members of GEM adopted the Hiroshima Declaration. GEM members, a group of former and current high level government officials and internationally recognized experts and academics, were brought…

Special IAEA Board Meeting On Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano convened a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on Aug. 25 to discuss the agency’s role in implementing the nuclear deal Iran and six world powers reached on July 14. In opening remarks to the Board, Amano said that with the Board’s approval the agency is “ready to undertake the necessary work” to implement the additional monitoring and transparency measures laid out in the deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and has the expertise to do so. Amano requested…