Unease Between China and North Korea

June 25, 2012 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Leah Fae Cochran

China-DPRK relations -The North Korean government is becoming increasingly willing to ignore China’s wishes, despite aid China gives to the country to prop up their economy. The New York Times has the story. http://nyti.ms/Lu3hn6

Sanctions-busting - The UN Security Council is releasing a report Friday on the proliferation efforts of North Korea in violation of international sanctions. The report will detail China’s less-than-stellar cooperation with the sanctions regime, according to Mark Hibbs at Arms Control Wonk.

--”The good news, I guess, is that China is now not inhibiting the UNSC from publishing its report on DPRK sanctions-busting. The bad news is that...Pyongyang is getting a steady stream of nuclear-related equipment from foreign sources, including Chinese sources,” writes Hibbs. Read the full post here: http://bit.ly/MPy9bq

Calls for new Iran strategy - After talks with Iran stalled last week, experts on the region are increasingly recommending new tactics for the P5+1.

--The calls for a shift in strategy come as the current “combination of outreach and coercive action [that] has so far characterized U.S. efforts to resolve the dispute,” has not yet produced a diplomatic solution. Global Security Newswire has the story. http://bit.ly/PKPnLm

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BMD on the subcontinent - Delhi and Mumbai are slated to receive missile defense systems. “Work on installing the BMD system in the two cities has already begun and the final proposal will be put before the government after detailed analysis of the project,” reports Dawn. http://bit.ly/NDe4d4

Boondoggle and its supporters - NNSA officials have noted that existing facilities can handle required plutonium research, allowing the agency to drop the proposed $6 billion CMMR-NF. Senate and House appropriators agreed not to fund the project.

--“So why are Senate authorizers still pushing ahead with the project, budgeting $150 million for a proposal that was tabbed a ‘nuclear boondoggle’ by the Project on Government Oversight’s Mia Steinle?” asks Mark Tapscott of The Examiner. http://bit.ly/LkU769

Oak Ridge - In the early 1940s, the U.S. government quietly acquired more than 60,000 acres of land in eastern Tennessee, built one of the largest industrial facilities in the country and moved in tens of thousands of workers and their families. “In Focus” at The Atlantic has a photoset of the early years for this “Secret City.” http://bit.ly/Q2WUoS

Tweet - @ArmsControlWonk: Do we really need nuclear reciprocity with Russia? http://bit.ly/LvxBh2

Event - “A Next Step in Nuclear Arms Control: Securing Fissile Materials” with Amb. Richard burt, Jan Lodal, Joan Rohlfing and Amb. Steven Pifer. June 28 from 10:00am to 11:30am at Brookings. Details and RSVP here. http://bit.ly/NCXQAH

Not-so-crazy - Nicholas Kristof documents the small ways that Iranians challenge the regime in everyday life.

--”Let’s not bluster back or operate on caricatures. And let’s not choose bombs over sanctions and undercut the many Iranians who are chipping away at hard-line rule in tiny ways,” writes Kristof. Find the full-story in The New York Times.http://nyti.ms/MQQoh5

Tweet - @ReutersIran: Four U.S. Navy minesweepers arrive in the Gulf http://reut.rs/MLExCM

Putin in Israel - "We held a thorough discussion of the issue of Iran's nuclear program, and, even in the current situation, I estimate that we will continue to consult and work together, and that these issues will be resolved peaceful for the good of all sides,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit in Israel. Haaretz has the story. http://bit.ly/LuP2fL

Stratofortress - The U.S. B-52 Stratofortress fleet is about 60-years old, with 30 years to go until retirement. How do the oldtimers and their pilots stay fit? Exercises, and lots of them. Gizmodo has a 10-minute video of a B-52 training mission, including pre-flight, aerial refueling, and landing. http://bit.ly/Nsa4bY