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☆ Biden to warn Xi North Korea's path could prompt bigger U.S. military presence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will warn Chinese President Xi Jinping at a meeting on Monday that North Korea's continued pursuit of weapons development will lead to an enhanced U.S. military presence in the region, the White House said. "And so the People's Republic of China has an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea's worst tendencies," Sullivan added, using the country's official name. U.S.-led international sanctions have failed to halt North Korea's growing weapons programs. The day before his meeting with Xi, Biden will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol in Cambodia to discuss how to rein in North Korea's nuclear program. read moreSullivan also said Biden hoped his first face-to-face talks with Xi would lead to more such meetings.

☆ Analysis: Sanctions fail to halt North Korea's accelerating weapons programs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Biden administration officials concede that sanctions have failed to stop North Korea's weapons programs - but they maintain they have at least been effective in slowing North Korea's nuclear program. The Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 to choke off funding for it nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However U.N. experts regularly report that North Korea is evading sanctions and continuing to develop its programs. Some critics like sanctions expert Joshua Stanton fault both the Trump and Biden administrations for failing to exert maximum pressure to stop China allowing North Korea's sanctions evasion. He rejected the idea that Washington should recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

☆ South Korea issues an air raid alert after North Korea fires three missiles toward the sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea issued an emergency alert after North Korea fired missiles toward the eastern sea boundary. The escalation comes hours after North Korea issued a veiled threat toward the US and South Korea. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired the three short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday morning from its eastern coastal area of Wonsan. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an initial statement that North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward sea Wednesday, but offered no further details like how far it flew. The White House on Tuesday pushed back against North Korea's saber rattling, reiterating that drills are part of a routine training schedule with South Korea.

☆ Top Russian generals frustrated by humiliating losses mused about nuking Ukraine — but US intelligence isn't sure what to make of it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian generals have reportedly deliberated using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Because of this, some within the US intelligence community are less concerned that Russia is preparing to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the report said. The New York Times was the first to report on the new US intelligence about tactical nuclear weapons conversations among Russian generals. Notably, it's ultimately up to Putin whether or not Russia uses a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. The country's nuclear doctrine states only the president can make the decision to use nuclear weapons.

☆ North Korea warns U.S. of ‘powerful’ response to allied drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States for expanding joint military exercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for a potential invasion, and it warned Tuesday of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response. North Korea has ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, launching more than 40 ballistic missiles, including developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and an intermediate-range missile fired over Japan. Some of those launches have been described by the North as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets. North Korea has said its testing activities are meant as a warning amid the joint military drills. North Korea has said that firing was in reaction to South Korean live-fire exercises at land border areas.

SEOUL, Oct 28 (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) off its east coast on Friday, South Korea's military said, while wrapping up nearly two weeks of major drills aimed at deterring its neighbour. The launch, at a time of growing fears that North Korea is readying for its first nuclear test since 2017, was the latest in a record year of tests, whether of short-range missiles, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), or others. The launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. South Korea and the United States say the exercises are defensive and needed to counter the North's threats. North Korea held six nuclear tests there from 2006 to 2017.

The drills have presented a potential challenge to the United States and its allies. Putin has muddied the waters about his intentions after threatening to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia in its unraveling invasion of Ukraine. "We haven't seen anything to cause us to believe, at this point, that is some kind of cover activity," Austin said. Austin said declined to outline the kinds of potential responses that the United States and its allies would consider if Moscow took such a step. "I don't think this sends any message to Putin," Austin said.

☆ Explainer: What makes a nuclear weapon 'tactical'?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are the characteristics of tactical nuclear weapons and why they have drawn so much attention. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWHAT IS A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON? Tactical nuclear weapons are often characterized by their size, their range, or their use for limited military targets. Russia has 1,000 to 2,000 warheads for non-strategic nuclear weapons in its arsenal, the CRS report says. "I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon," he said last week.

☆ Explainer: When will North Korea test a nuclear weapon?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Only North Korea knows. Satellite imagery has shown North Korea working to restore some of the tunnels this year that were closed in 2018, when Pyongyang declared a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons tests. The most recent flurry of missile tests involved units meant to operate tactical nuclear weapons, according to North Korean state media. North Korea has also said it wants to deploy much larger nuclear weapons, so analysts say that could be in the works. Previous North Korea nuclear tests also incurred United Nations Security Council resolutions that imposed sanctions, backed at the time by China and Russia.

☆ Former US general says he is 'even more concerned' about Putin using nukes as Ukraine makes astonishing progress in its counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Western officials and experts have said Putin may use nukes in Ukraine if he gets desperate enough. After failing to take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in the early days of the war, Russia shifted its focus to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. And as we know, that is a trigger for using nuclear weapons." But not everyone is convinced that Putin would do something as drastic as using a nuclear weapon to achieve his goals in Ukraine. If Russia used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, it could trigger a military response from the US, which could spiral into a direct conflict between Russia and NATO — a 30-member alliance.

☆ US nuclear forces are controlled by this shockingly obsolete tech
▼ + stars: | 2016-05-26 | by ( Dave Mosher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new government report paints a disquieting picture of the computer systems used to run the United States. But perhaps the most alarming information touches on the Department of Defense (DoD), which controls the nation's stockpile of 7,100 nuclear and thermonuclear warheads. The GAO found that the Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS) — a computer system that "coordinates the operational functions of the United States' nuclear forces, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear bombers, and tanker support aircrafts" — still runs on 8-inch floppy disks. Per the GAO report:[T]he system's primary function is to send and receive emergency action messages to nuclear forces. But US command and control systems aren't the only pieces of nuclear strike infrastructure that are dated: The nuclear weapons themselves are not getting any younger.

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