Richardson ‘encouraged’ by North Korea trip

Gov. Bill Richardson announced Monday that he was “encouraged” after his trip to North Korea, particularly over the country’s decision to respond in “a statesmanlike manner” after South Korea began military exercises.

During Richardson’s Dec. 16-20 trip, South Korea participated in live-fire drills that prompted a threat of retaliation by More…

Richardson may be heading to North Korea

Outgoing governor Bill Richardson may be heading to North Korea to help head off hostilities between North and South Korea, according to The Washington Post. Richardson has been to North Korea multiple times and was a United States ambassador to the United Nations under Bill Clinton.

The Washington Post More…

Nuclear Licensing Process Raises Proliferation Concerns

This Thursday in Wilmington, N.C., officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the government agency responsible for overseeing the country’s nuclear energy activities, are slated to present a report laying out the environmental impacts of a proposed uranium enrichment facility, a key step in approving the facility’s license. While NRC More…

Having Attacked a South Korean Ship, North Korea Blasts ‘Wicked Warmongers’

Via The New Yorker’s twitter feed, North Korea, fresh from an unprovoked naval attack that killed 46 South Korean sailors, accuses South Korean President Lee Myung-bak of being a “wicked warmonger.” This call for “all-out counterattack” is from North Korea’s official news service:

“The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification

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U.S. Backs South Korea’s Response to North Korean Aggression

The word from the White House and from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is “unequivocal,” by which the Obama administration fully supports the actions of the South Korean government in response to North Korea’s unprovoked rocket attack on its Naval ship the Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors.

South More…

Oh, and There May Be War on the Korean Peninsula

An international investigation into the sinking of a South Korean Naval vessel has determined that a North Korean torpedo most likely caused the the ‘Cheonan’ to go down. Forty-six South Korean sailors died. A White House statement last night condemned the sinking of the Cheonan as an “act of aggression.” More…

Nuke Summit Wrap: Jon Kyl Embarrasses Himself

The 47-nation/three international-governance-body Washington Nuclear Security Summit has concluded. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) just yawns:

“The summit’s purported accomplishment is a nonbinding communique that largely restates current policy and makes no meaningful progress in dealing with nuclear terrorism threats or the ticking clock represented by Iran’s nuclear weapons program,”

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Next Nuke Summit Will Be in South Korea

An unsubtle jab at the North Koreans’ rogue-nuclear status announced this morning from President Obama:

We have the opportunity, as partners, to ensure that our progress is not a fleeting moment, but part of a serious and sustained effort. And that’s why I am so pleased to announce that President

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Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and the Nuclear Posture Review’s Cautionary Tale

Iran may not be in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. North Korea withdrew from it in 2003. According to the Obama administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review, if those two countries or any other NPT violator/non-signatory attacks the U.S., “all bets are off,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham ClintonMore…

With Mitch McConnell in the Room, Clinton Makes Robust Case for New START Ratification

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is giving a speech right now at the University of Louisville about nuclear security. Its overall purpose is to build a domestic political constituency for “a vision of a world in which nuclear materials are not easily available and all states adopt responsible stewardship More…