Morning Joe: The Next Steps with North Korea

Stories we're following today:

Hiroshima - 64 Years Ago

Photos from The Big Picture by the Boston Globe [link]

Today's News

Bill Clinton Shows That Diplomacy Works - My Analysis on CNN.com [link]

• With this success, Bill Clinton has demonstrated what effective diplomacy looks like. He has shown the former Bush officials what they should have done years ago. He may have convinced senior White House strategists that diplomacy is a political winner, paying dividends across issue areas.
• The Obama administration must seize this moment as an opportunity not only to articulate a plan for North Korean nuclear disarmament but to take concrete steps towards a secure and stable Korean Peninsula. The president should use the momentum Clinton's trip has generated to unfold a comprehensive, consistent regional security strategy.

Next Steps With North Korea - New York Times Editorial [link]

• Sending a former president to secure the release of two journalists detained by North Korea was a big step, but Bill Clinton’s trip will have been well worth the effort if it laid the groundwork for truly productive talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs. Now it is up to President Obama to make it clear to Pyongyang that it is no longer good enough to make easily broken promises.
• It is understandable to doubt that impoverished North Korea will ever abandon its nuclear program — its only form of leverage over the rest of the world. But patient — and firm — engagement backed by sanctions still offers the best path toward a peaceful solution, however tortuous it might be.

U.S. Could Pull Back Europe-Based Nukes, State Department Official Says - Global Security Newswire [link]

• The United States could remove some or all of its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe to encourage Russia to consolidate its own arsenal of nonstrategic bombs, a key U.S. State Department official said last week
• "Removing such tactical nuclear weapons from forward-deployed locations and consolidating them in secure storage facilities deep within Russia could be just as worthwhile, and perhaps more feasible, than classic arms control solutions," Robert Einhorn said.

Remarks to U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium - Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher [link]

• As I said, we have a full agenda. We’re working on multiple fronts to implement President Obama’s strategy. We’re working aggressively on the START follow-on treaty, because, as you know, the current one will expire on December 5. We are beginning the complex work of seeking ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. We have already moved to restart negotiations to achieve a verifiable Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. And, finally, we are moving to ensure that the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference next year is a success. This is something that is much needed given the great stress placed upon the treaty over the past several years. Let me start by making the strongest case I can for the New START Treaty...

Burma's Deadly Course - The Australian [link]

• Last weekend, Fairfax papers reported testimony from two Burmese defectors which suggested Rangoon had progressed some distance towards building clandestine nuclear facilities with North Korean assistance.
• Burma is a particularly difficult case. If ever there was an example of the need for some new thinking, it's Burma.
• Wonk Note: For more technical hypotheses on Burma's possible program, see Arms Control Wonk.

The Lighter Side