U.S. nuclear negotiator Sung Kim traveled to North Korea today to resume talks (Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images). U.S. Official Returns to North Korea A senior U.S. State Department official returned to North Korea today for further talks aimed at breaking the deadlock on shuttering the Stalinist state’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 7). Sung Kim, the agency’s Korean affairs chief, led a team of experts into Pyongyang for the second time in less than a month. Talks are expected to focus again on North Korea’s obligation under a 2007 denuclearization agreement to provide a declaration of its atomic activities and holdings.  The document was due Dec. 31 but Washington says Pyongyang has been unwilling to provide a full accounting.  ..Full Story

Newport Destroys 90 Percent of Chemical Stockpile The Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana as of yesterday had eliminated 90 percent of its stockpile of VX nerve agent, the U.S. Army announced (see GSN, Jan. 10)...Full Story

World Powers to Present Nuclear Offer to Iran Four of the five U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany could approach Iran as soon as this weekend with updated diplomatic and trade incentives intended to halt Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7)...Full Story

	Thursday, May 8, 2008

U.S. Hospitals Said Unready for Major Terror Attack U.S. hospitals continue to lack the full capabilities necessary to handle a large influx of victims following a major terror attack, the nation’s top health and homeland security officials told lawmakers yesterday (see GSN, May 25, 2006). Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt addressed concerns raised Monday when House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) released a report concluding that hospitals in major U.S. urban centers could not handle the human fallout of a terror attack or other large-scale disaster. Considering possible means to improve the “surge capacity” at hospitals, the Cabinet members during a committee hearing urged lawmakers to directly fund the purchase of hospital beds, ventilators, drug treatments and other medical equipment that might be in short supply, the Washington Post reported.  The Health and Human Services Department plans to release findings this year on plans by hospitals across the country to increase their surge capabilities, Leavitt said. "Surge capacity is about using existing assets to convert to a hospital capacity very quickly.  It is not simply using the emergency room," Leavitt said. Waxman also clashed with Chertoff and Leavitt over the possible impact that pending changes to Medicare spending might have on hospital response capabilities (Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, May 8). Back to top

Most U.N. Members Have Reported on Anti-WMD Efforts Roughly 80 percent of U.N. member states have provided information on their laws for preventing acts of WMD terrorism, which are required by a 2004 Security Council resolution, the head of the resolution’s implementation committee said Tuesday (see GSN, April 28). More than 150 of the 192 U.N. nations by April 27 had reported on their enactment of legislation mandated by Resolution 1540, according to Jorge Urbina, Costa Rican ambassador to the United Nations.  Of the nations that have completed the mandatory reports, 100 have filed follow-up information one or more times, he said in a statement. The resolution demands that all U.N. members combat efforts by “nonstate actors” to acquire, produce and transfer weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. Urbina pressed countries that have not filed the reports to finish the task as quickly as possible (U.N. Security Council release, May 6). Back to top       Texas City Receives WMD-Response Robot Fire officials in Denton, Texas, have used federal funds to buy a robot and containment capsule that could be used to deal with a biological or chemical weapon, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported today (see GSN, May 5). The remote-controlled machine can cut through the sides of a vehicle to retrieve a bomb, which could be placed inside a vessel designed to contain an explosion and any chemical or biological agent released by the weapon, according to Denton Assistant Fire Marshal Chad Weldon. Equipment inside the container can identify a weapon agent, and controls on the side of the container enable emergency personnel to save samples of a substance for FBI analysis (Donna Fielder, Denton Record-Chronicle, May 7). Back to top

U.S. Official Returns to North Korea A senior U.S. State Department official returned to North Korea today for further talks aimed at breaking the deadlock on shuttering the Stalinist state’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 7). Sung Kim, the agency’s Korean affairs chief, led a team of experts into Pyongyang for the second time in less than a month. Talks are expected to focus again on North Korea’s obligation under a 2007 denuclearization agreement to provide a declaration of its atomic activities and holdings.  The document was due Dec. 31 but Washington says Pyongyang has been unwilling to provide a full accounting.  The dispute has hindered the nuclear dismantlement effort; however, a controversial compromise plan would reportedly require North Korea to detail its plutonium program while only acknowledging U.S. suspicions on uranium enrichment and nuclear proliferation activities (see GSN, April 28). The North is likely to give the U.S. team some sort of declaration, a South Korean official said. “North Korea could show a draft declaration so that the team can review its contents,” the official told the Yonhap News Agency.  “We have to see whether a final version will be produced or [if] additional discussions will be needed” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 8). High-level U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal that the team is expected to receive “boxes of documents” regarding operations of the plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear reactor. The documents would help Washington to determine how much weapon-usable nuclear material North Korea has separated from the reactor’s spent fuel.  U.S. officials suspect the amount is up to 50 kilograms while Pyongyang has said it has removed 30 kilograms. Kim’s team is set to spend up to three days in Pyongyang and then return with the documents so they can be translated and examined.  The amount of detail in the records would indicate whether North Korea is prepared to provide the full picture of work at Yongbyon.  If the answer is affirmative, the Bush administration could move to take North Korea off the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.  That has been a major demand from Pyongyang in the denuclearization program.  The regime has indicated its willingness to make significant moves afterward, possibly including demolition of a cooling tower and other facilities at Yongbyon (Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal, May 8). “We hope to see things move forward,” a State Department official told the Financial Times.  “If you have the right kind of information about the operation of the facility, how long it runs for, what goes into it, you can make calculations about whether the other information you have matches up” (Daniel Dombey, Financial Times, May 7). Back to top       World Powers to Present Nuclear Offer to Iran Four of the five U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany could approach Iran as soon as this weekend with updated diplomatic and trade incentives intended to halt Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7). The United States does not plan to send a representative, but it would not interfere with the effort by the five other nations, according to U.S. and European officials. The major offers of the proposal were first put forward in 2006, and include economic cooperation and improved ties to the United States and other Western powers. No significant offers have been added to the package, which is largely aimed at encouraging Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program, diplomats said.  According to one official, European powers want to give Tehran frequent chances to assume a more flexible posture over its disputed nuclear work (Anne Gearan, Associated Press/Google News, May 8). Iran soon plans to submit its own offer to break the stalemate over its nuclear program and to address other issues, the London Guardian reported today. “My government has worked out a new package, a new initiative, which is going to be put forward in the near future to deal with all aspects of our relationship (with the international community),” according to Iranian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Rasoul Movahedian.  He said the offer would be presented “before the end of next week” to China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Movahedian implied that Iran might open its nuclear facilities to more intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but he said Tehran would not consider halting uranium enrichment activities, which could produce a nuclear weapon ingredient. “My government is going to continue along the enrichment path.  We do not accept any preconditions for negotiations,” he said. While British officials have not seen the Iranian proposal, they said they expect it to be a “spoiler” intended as a distraction from the offer by the six powers.  The United States has approved a British plan to engage Tehran on its proposal, but U.S. officials doubt it could lead to agreement on the nuclear issue. Moscow has seen details on the Iranian proposal and does not believe it would contribute to a breakthrough, one Russian official said. “They want to secure regional cooperation and other incentives, but carry on doing what they're doing with uranium.  That's not going to fly,” the official said. Iran has received some “positive” feedback on elements of the proposal revealed to some of the six world powers through back channels, Movahedian said, adding that U.S.-Iranian back-channel talks have long taken place (Julian Borger, London Guardian, May 8). Meanwhile, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani yesterday urged countries engaging Iran on its nuclear program to establish a suitable environment for removal of doubts over its intentions, Agence France-Presse reported. “If a friendly and rational atmosphere is established, Iran is ready to take the necessary action to secure the world's confidence,” Iranian state media quoted Rafsanjani as saying. “Our religious beliefs have never allowed us to use an atomic bomb and they will never,” Rafsanjani was quoted as saying in talks with Austrian envoy Michael Postle (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, May 7). In Moscow, Kremlin officials today announced that Russia has legally adopted a third round of Security Council penalties imposed on Iran over its disputed nuclear activities. Vladimir Putin signed the sanctions into law Monday before stepping down as Russia’s president yesterday (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, May 8). Back to top       IAEA Hopes for Data on Alleged Syrian Reactor U.N. nuclear inspectors have been in contact with Syrian officials to try to determine whether a Syrian facility destroyed by Israel last year was a nuclear reactor, as alleged by U.S. intelligence agencies, Reuters reported (see GSN, April 28). U.S. officials released evidence of the suspected reactor project late last month and argued that the site was intended to produce plutonium for a nuclear weapons program. “I hope that in the next few weeks we will be able to shed some light on the nature of the facility that was destroyed,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters yesterday in Brussels.  “Syria has an obligation to notify the agency if they are, if they were, building any nuclear reactors.” Syrian officials have told the agency they have nothing to hide, but so far they have not granted inspectors access to the site, which has been razed since the September attack, diplomats said (Mark John, Reuters, May 7). Meanwhile, President George W. Bush yesterday renewed U.S. economic sanctions against Syria (see GSN, May 10, 2007). “I took these actions to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States constituted by the actions of the government of Syria in supporting terrorism, maintaining its then-existing occupation of Lebanon, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programs including the recent revelation of illicit nuclear cooperation with North Korea, and undermining U.S. and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq,” Bush said in a statement (White House release, May 7) Back to top       India Eyes Chinese Submarine Plans India has been carefully observing developments to China’s strategic nuclear forces, particularly the construction of new submarine facilities at Hainan Island, Asia Times reported today (see GSN, April 25). Recent satellite images have shown that China is building new capabilities to operate nuclear-armed submarines, and the prospect of Chinese nuclear patrols has caused some concern among Indian military leaders. “Though India is not worried about Beijing building a strategic naval base on Hainan Island in the South China Sea, it is concerned about the numbers,” said Indian navy chief Adm. Sureesh Mehta.  “Nuclear submarines have long legs (traversing anywhere between 7,000-15,000 kilometers) [so] it is immaterial where they are based," Mehta said. While China has never conducted extensive missions with nuclear-armed submarines (see GSN, Jan. 8), India is even further from developing a sea-based component to its strategic nuclear forces. India plans to begin sea trials of prototype submarine next year (see GSN, Oct. 16, 2007), according to Asia Times, and it is scheduled to begin leasing a Russian-made submarine that could launch nuclear-armed missiles (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2007; Siddharth Srivastava, Asia Times, May 8). Back to top

Newport Destroys 90 Percent of Chemical Stockpile The Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana as of yesterday had eliminated 90 percent of its stockpile of VX nerve agent, the U.S. Army announced (see GSN, Jan. 10). Disposal of more than 1,000 tons of liquid warfare agent began in May 2005.  The depot holds only VX stored in bulk containers. “We are predicting agent neutralization operations to be completed by summer’s end,” Jeff Brubaker, site project manager at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, said in a press release.  “Reaching the safe destruction of 90 percent of the stockpile makes us realize just how close we are to completing the project.” Once the chemical stockpile is destroyed, the depot is expected to spend 18 to 24 months decontaminating equipment and destroying facilities used in the operation (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, May 7). Back to top

Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile Pakistan today conducted a test of the Hatf 8, an air-launched cruise missile capable of delivering conventional and nuclear warheads to ground-based targets within 217 miles, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, April 21). The missile “has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic standoff capability on land and at sea," the Pakistani military said in a statement.  "It is a low-altitude, terrain-following missile with high maneuverability, and can deliver all types of warheads, with great accuracy," it said. The launch follows the test of a nuclear-capable missile yesterday by Pakistan’s neighboring rival India (see GSN, May 7). In April, Pakistan conducted test firings of its longest-range ballistic missile, the Shaheen 2, a weapon capable of carrying nuclear warheads to sites deep inside India. The Pakistani missile arsenal consists of short-range, midrange and long-range weapons (Agence France-Presse/Google News, May 8). Back to top

U.S. House Subcommittee Backs Lower Funding for European Missile Defense Installations The U.S. House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee yesterday called for a significant cut to the Bush administration’s fiscal 2009 request for development of missile defense sites in Europe, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 2). While the Senate Armed Services Committee supported the full request of nearly $720 million in its version of the defense authorization bill, the House panel chose to cut the amount by $232 million. The White House wants to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and an early warning radar base in the Czech Republic (see GSN, May 7).  Europe would become the “third site” for U.S. missile defense, behind interceptor installations in Alaska and California. “The subcommittee made these cuts so that the third site can move forward far enough to determine if it’s the right platform to protect the American people,” said Chairwoman Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.).  “But not so far that we make long-term commitments to an untested system that doesn’t have the blessing of the host nations.” Tauscher also said the spending focus should be on looming missile threats, AP reported.  The long-range missile defense system in Europe would not begin operations before 2012 (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 7). The subcommittee recommended cutting a total of $700 million from the budget request for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, DefenseNews.com reported.  That would drop the budget to $8.6 billion, which would represent a $213 million increase from the agency’s budget in this fiscal year. The decision “emphasizes ballistic missile defense systems that address near-term threats to the United States, our deployed troops, and our allies, while slowing development of less mature systems designed to counter more long-term threats,” Tauscher said. Along with the Europe project, the panel authorized $42.6 million less than the $405 million request for the Airborne Laser project, sliced $100 million from the $344 million request for the Multiple Kill Vehicle and slashed an equal amount from the Kinetic Energy Interceptor program (see GSN, May 6). Meanwhile, the Aegis ballistic missile defense and Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense programs each received a proposed $75 million boost. The full House Armed Services Committee could consider the authorization bill next week.  Lawmakers in the House and Senate ultimately would have to merge their competing versions of the legislation (John Bennett, DefenseNews.com, May 7). Negotiations continued this week in Warsaw on deployment of missile interceptors in Poland.  However, the U.S. State Department indicated yesterday that Washington would seek another site for the weapons if talks fall through, the International Herald Tribune reported. “The United States would very much like to place those interceptors in Poland,” said negotiator Stephen Mull. The Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been more reticent about the European plan than its counterpart in Prague.  Warsaw has demanded U.S. support for military upgrades and provision of air-defense technology as part of a deal.  That could cost billions of dollars. Polish officials were disappointed by the Bush administration’s offer of $20 million in military aid and see U.S. leaders and lawmakers as perhaps unwilling to connect that support to the missile defense effort. “We accept with good will the U.S. agreement over missile defenses, but we also expect that the United States will pay attention to the modernization of our armed forces,” said Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.  “It is the most important principle of our relations.” “The situation is now very complex and unclear,” said Eugeniusz Smolar, head of the independent Center for International Relations.  “There is uncertainty in Warsaw that the Americans will deliver when it comes to modernizing the armed forces” (Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune, May 7). Polish and U.S. officials yesterday agreed to form four working groups to consider the missile defense issue, AP reported.  Among the issues to be considered are the threats that Poland could face for housing the interceptors and how to address that danger.  One group is set to study spending on Polish military modernization, though Mull would not say how much Washington might be willing to spend. The working groups are due to submit preliminary findings by July 31 (Monika Scislowska, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 7). Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said yesterday that U.S. President George W. Bush might leave office before the negotiations are over, RIA Novosti reported. “Life does not end with the end of Bush’s presidential term.  After Bush, there will be another U.S. president, and we will be able to negotiate for a long time yet,” he said (RIA Novosti, May 7). Back to top

Japanese Man Arrested for Radioactive Theft Japanese authorities today arrested a disgruntled businessman for stealing radioactive material and throwing it into a river near Yokohama, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 12, 2007). The suspect, 40-year-old Tomonori Iso, worked for a firm called Nondestructuve Inspection that uses radiation technology to conduct quality control tests.  He was caught on videotape stealing a 48-pound piece of equipment that contained a small amount of iridium 192, according to AFP.  He later threw the 2-millimeter cylinder of iridium into a river, where officials recovered the container’s contents today, AFP reported. “The iridium appears to have had no impact on the environment or human health,” said an Ichihara police spokesman.  “In the water, the iridium bit was as tightly sealed as if it were in concrete.” “Iso has said he held a grudge against either his own company or the contractor,” the spokesman added (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 8). Back to top

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