CND Press Roundup Friday 9th September 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Ukraine’s top military commander said the threat of Russia using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine cannot be discounted. “There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian armed forces,” Gen. Valery Zaluzhny wrote in an article published on the state-run Ukrinform website. “It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement of the world’s leading countries in a ‘limited’ nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of World War III is already directly visible.”

• Harvard foreign policy expert Joseph S. Nye, Jr writes in the Irish Examiner on the potential for a nuclear war.

• Chatham House has some analysis on the security implications and risks posed by shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

Disarmament

• While the NPT review conference ended without agreement on a final text, Russia and the US did agree to start negotiations on a successor to the New START Treaty – which is due to expire in 2026. Read Arms Control’s blog on the subject here.

• Kazakhstan’s efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament received praiseby the UN and other bodies, during a high-level meeting in New York this week.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Analysis by Tom Chivers for the i newspaper argues that while the best time to build new nuclear plants was 20 years ago, the next best time to do so is now.

• Renewable and nuclear power companies will have to supply electricity at below market rates through new contracts, as part of the Truss government’s plan to tackle rising energy bills.

• CounterPunch has a primer on why to oppose nuclear power.

Nuclear Energy

• Emerging Europe looks at the recent announcements on developing nuclear power in Europe. Rolls Royce has teamed up with Czechia’s Skoda and Polish copper producer and industrial group KGHM Polska Miedź has inked a deal with Romania’s Nuclearelectrica – to develop fleets of small modular reactors.

• As South Korea moves to ramp up its nuclear power fleet, Reuters looks at local opposition to the plan.

Fusion

• Scientists in South Korea have achieved a sustained nuclear fusion reaction of temperatures in excess of 100 million°C for 30 seconds for the first time. A team from Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy experimented with the reactor at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), managing to achieve an improved technique for containing the plasma at the core of the reactor.The “artificial sun” is one of several around the world that form the culmination of decades of research into the technology, which essentially merge atomic nuclei found in stars to generate vast amounts of energy that can be transformed into electricity

North Korea

• North Korean state media said Friday that Kim Jong-un’s regime has codified the right to conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes. The law will allow North Korea’s military to use nuclear weapons “automatically and immediately” in case of an imminent attack against its leadership or “important strategic objects” in the country. It comes as South Korean, US, and Japanese security officials have been holding talks in preparation for an expected nuclear test by Pyongyang.

• Reuters has some analysis on North Korea’s recent law change, which it says is a response to fears that South Korea may conduct decapitation strikes against top North Korean officials if Seoul believes an attack is imminent.

• Russia has responded to the situation by saying it was monitoring military activity on the Korean peninsula.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Iran’s nuclear agency has hit out at the recent quarterly report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog, which raised doubts about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.