NAPSNet 27 October 2011

• DETERRENCE: Obstacles to denuclearization: Inconsistent U.S. responses to nuclear weapons free zone treaties
  
• DPRK: South Korean government planning to resume construction of factories and relax sanctions for Kaesong Industrial Complex
  
• AUSTRAL SECURITY: Police send extra troops to Papua
• CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Scientific American series on extreme weather, climate change, and the risks: A three-part series
• GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Delegates to North-South Korea relations summit calls for adherence to past nuclear agreements
  
• ENERGY SECURITY: Nuclear components and construction: China eyes developed markets for export opportunities
  

DETERRENCE:  Obstacles to denuclearization: Inconsistent U.S. responses to nuclear weapons free zone treaties, University of Central Arkansas (2007)

Three case studies highly supported the hypothesis that the international system structure and balancing behavior affects how the US responds to NWFZ agreements and medium-high support for the hypothesis that the US is more likely to support a NWFZ if there are proliferation threats in the region.  [subscription required]

• Ambassador Kennedy on negative security assurances, CD Plenary Discussion of Negative Security Assurances, Permanent Mission of the United States of America (10 February 2011)
• Speech by head of the Chinese Delegation to the international conference ‘Central Asia–Nuclear Weapons Free Zone’, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, NTI (15 September 1997)
• Argentina/Brazil confirm South Atlantic as a peace and cooperation zone free of nuclear weapons, MercoPress (6 September 2011)

DPRK: South Korean government planning to resume construction of factories and relax sanctions for Kaesong Industrial Complex, IFES NK Brief (20 October 2011) 

The ROK Ministry of Unification has relaxed the sanctions placed on the DPRK after the sinking of the Cheonan and will allowed firms in the Kaesong Industrial park to resume construction of factories there. The ROK government will also allow construction of a fire station and medical facility to support the business operating out of the KIC and repair roads to make it easier for North Koreans to commute to the factory. 

• The sixth anniversary of the September 19 joint statement: We cannot delay the resumption of the six-party talks anymore, Korea Peace Forum, NAPSNet Policy Forum (4 October 2011)
• South Korean public opinion on the North 2, Witness to Transformation (21 October 2011)
• Lee Myung Bak’s Nordpolitik: A U-turn in the pipeline? (Part II), 38 North (13 September 2011)

AUSTRAL SECURITY: Police send extra troops to Papua, tempointeractive (26 October 2011)

Indonesia has sent paramilitary reinforcements to restive Papua province, after a deadly crackdown on a pro-independence rally and the shooting of a police chief. For decades, natives of the Papua region have rejected their special autonomy status within Indonesia, demanding a referendum on self-determination for the 3.6 million population. The following articles explore the escalation of violence in Papua and its impact on the people.

• West Papuans cry for help, Diplomat (27 October 2011)
• Officials deny Papua alert status, Jakarta Post (27 October 2011)
• Freeport loses Midas touch in Indonesia, Asia Times (27 October 2011)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Scientific American series on extreme weather, climate change, and the risks: A three-part series, Pew Center on Global Climate Change (2011)

Extreme weather events have become both more common and more intense. And increasingly, scientists have been able to pin at least part of the blame on humankind’s alteration of the climate. What’s more, the growing success of this nascent science of climate attribution means that researchers have more confidence in their climate models – which predict that the future will be even more extreme.

• Part one – Storm warnings: Extreme weather is a product of climate change, Pew Center on Global Climate Change (2011)
• Part two – Global warming and the science of extreme weather, Pew Center on Global Climate Change (2011)
• Part three – Our extreme future: Predicting and coping with a changing climate, Pew Center on Global Climate Change (2011)

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Delegates to North-South Korea relations summit calls for adherence to past nuclear agreements, AP (20 October 2011))

US and ROK forums recently underscored the growing significance of informal track 2 talks between Six Party Talks participants and major East Asian leaders. At the University of Georgia, US, ROK and DPRK representatives called for their states to uphold existing nuclear agreements and stronger cooperation in humanitarian issues. Meanwhile, top delegates from the PRC, ROK and Japan met at a Seoul forum, pledging greater regional cooperation.

• UGA hosts talks with North and South Korean leaders, OnlineAthens, (17 October 2011)
• Korea, Japan, China discuss possibility of East Asia based on EU-style cooperation, Chosun Daily (19 October 2011) [Korean]

ENERGY SECURITY: Nuclear components and construction: China eyes developed markets for export opportunities, Nuclear Energy Insider (19 October 2011)

Though China’s strategy of developing domestic technologies to build nuclear reactors based on licensed technologies has been aimed at satisfying domestic demand, it also provides Chinese companies with the opportunity to supply reactor components for other markets, including in Europe and the United States.  There will be some resistance to such imports, but Chinese exports of at least some nuclear plant components are described as inevitable. 

• 2010–2011 world nuclear industry status report, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (8 September 2011)
• Britain’s Mark Lynas riles his green movement allies, Yale Environment 360 (19 October 2011)
• Moving to passive designs, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (24 August 2011)

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Editors

• Arabella Imhoff & Mihiri Weerasinghe

Contributors

• Deterrence: Peter Hayes
• Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho
• Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
• DPRK: Scott Bruce
• Energy Security: David von Hippel
• Austral Security: Arabella Imhoff, Mihiri Weerasinghe