CND Press Digest: Friday 17th February 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• Several union bosses and Labour MPs are among those who have signed an open letter, calling for surplus arms to be sent to Ukraine. GMB, National Union of Mineworkers, ASLEF, as well as PCS assistant general secretary John Moloney are among the signatures. Labour MPs include John McDonnell, Clive Lewis, and Nadia Whittome.
• Claims that Russian warships in the Baltic were carrying nuclear weapons on board are seemingly false, according to reports from the Barents Observer.
• The Independent looks at Russia’s nuclear stockpile.
• The Munich Security Conference kicks off today, with Volodymyr Zelensky to open proceedings. Russian representatives won’t be present for the first time in 20 years – they’ve been uninvited along with Iran. Russia is busy however, conducting ten days of naval exercises off the coast of South Africa.

North Korea

• A South Korean defence paper says North Korea has increased its stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium from 50kg to 70kg. It also refers to Pyongyang as its “enemy” for the first time in over half a decade.
• Meanwhile North Korea said Friday that it would take “unprecedentedly” strong action if the US and South Korea went ahead with joint military drills – without specifying particular exercises.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Just how small is a Rolls Royce small modular reactor? The firm has finally responded to a request by Nuclear Free Local Authorities and the answer is 5.3 acres.

Nuclear Energy

• The Morning Star with a review of the pro-nuclear film Atomic Hope.
• Reuters looks at the demand in the US for advanced reactor fuel for its new nuclear plants.
• A nuclear plant in the US state of Georgia will be delayed by a further two years - at a cost of $200 million.
• South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries has received approval in principle for a floating nuclear plant design. The design involves using the companies shipbuilding expertise and they hope to commercialise these so-called power barges by 2028.

Fukushima

• A South Korean report says that a Japanese plan to dump radioactive water fromFukushima into the sea will have a negligible effect on South Korean waters.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament