Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly – 3 October 2013

• DETERRENCE: Park Pledges Strong Defense To Render N. Korean Nukes Useless
  
• DPRK: Intergovernmental Consultative Committee Meeting Between Mongolia And North Korea
  
• ENERGY SECURITY: UN Climate Panel Stresses Solidity of New Report on Global Warming
• GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Popular Ex-PM Koizumi Comes Out Against Nuclear Power
• CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Climate Change Adaptation in the Boardroom
  
• AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: ALP Nuclear Backflip Linked to US Defense
  

DETERRENCE: Park Pledges Strong Defense To Render N. Korean Nukes Useless, J.S. Chang, Yonhap, October 1 2013

President Park said the ROK will “secure anti-weapons of mass destruction capabilities” such as kill chain and the Korea Air and Missile Defense System to render its nuclear weapons and missiles useless to North Korea.  The kill chain system is designed to detect signs of impending missile or nuclear attacks and launch pre-emptive strikes.

• Korea wants own missile shield, President clarifies intention to go separate ways from US, Kim Tae-gyu, Korea Times, October 1, 2013
• Seoul shows off missiles targeting North Korea,  Korea Herald, October 1, 2013
• South Korea Goes All In On Missile Defense,  Zachary Keck, The Diplomat, July 26, 2013

DPRK: Intergovernmental Consultative Committee Meeting Between Mongolia And North Korea, InfoMongolia, (27 September 2013)

North Korea retains some venues and channels to maneuver around various restrictions.  For example, Mongolia maintains decent “third neighbor” relations with North Korea.  North Korea reached out to the international business community, including Taiwan, during its 9th annual trade fair. There are also nascent Track 1.5 talks with the U.S. on the horizon.  The trends indicate small, but real opportunities for cooperation with North Korea.

• DPRK PM visits 9^th Pyongyang Autumn Int’l Trade Fair, (North) Korean Central News Agency, (24 September 2013)
• Mongolia provides food relief to North Korea, Infomongolia (19 September 2013)
• 1.5 track meetings to be held between N. Korea and US in Europe,  Park Hyun, The Hankyoreh (26 September 2013)

ENERGY SECURITY: UN Climate Panel Stresses Solidity of New Report on Global Warming, AP, Washington Post [23 September 2013]

Last week, Dr Pachauri reported that the latest IPCC report marks “a new milestone in the understanding of climate change.” This was before the final Summary for Policy Makers was negotiated; more milestones will keep coming. Going into the meeting, Germany wanted no mention of the alleged slowdown in global temperature increase, “saying a time span of 10 to 15 years was misleading in the context of climate change, which is measured over decades and centuries Also, Russia was asking “planet hacking” to be included in the IPCC report.

• UN report tries to explain seeming lull in warming: Statistical mirage or heat stuck in ocean?, AP, Washington Post [19 September 2013]
• Russia urges UN climate report to include geoengineering: The Russian government is asking for ‘planet hacking’ to be included in the climate science report, leaked documents show, Martin Lukacs, Suzanne Goldenberg and Adam Vaughan, Guardian [19 September 2013]
• Arctic ice makes comeback from record low, but long-term decline may continue, Justin Gillis, New York Times [20 September 2013]

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Popular Ex-PM Koizumi Comes Out Against Nuclear Power, George Nishiyama, Wall Street Journal (2 October 2013)

Former Japan PM Koizumi came out against restarting nuclear reactors, calling for a nuclear-free Japan in a shift from his pro-nuclear stance when in office. Large numbers of anti-nuclear protesters have taken to the streets as all reactors are currently offline due to maintenance, with a greater focus on younger voters. Japan’s future emissions targets may be based on a scenario with no nuclear power generation.

• Chants of ‘no nukes’ echo in streets of Shibbuya, Harajuku districts, Satoru Ogawa, Asahi Shimbun (30 September 2013)
• Japan may consider emissions goal excluding nuclear, Kyodo says, Chisaki Watanabe, Bloomberg (2 October 2013)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Climate Change Adaptation in the Boardroom, Gareth Johnston, Donovan Burton and Mark Baker-Jones, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility – NCCARF (2013) [3.44 MB, PDF]

Despite action by many transnationals and international firms, it seems evident that most Australian companies appear to be struggling to move forward in responding to climate change impacts, apparently paralyzed by short-term profit-first thinking, uncertain political risks and a corporate culture unused to volatility and disruption.

• Global Risks 2013 – Eight edition, World Economic Forum (2013)
• Climate change impacts & risk management – A guide for business and Government, Department of the Environment and Water Resources, Australian Greenhouse Office – AGO (2006)

AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: ALP Nuclear Backflip Linked to US Defence, Philip Dorling, Sydney Morning Herald (2 October 2013)

The former Labor government effectively abandoned its advocacy of nuclear disarmament because it considered continued reliance on US ”extended nuclear deterrence” as essential for Australian defence. FOIA documents reveal officials working against humanitarian organisations campaigning for a global ban on nuclear weapons. Former foreign minister Gareth Evans called the position ”completely indefensible” and a ”complete abdication of principle”.

• Submissions to the Minister and documents issued by the Minister since June 2011 relating to extended nuclear deterrence, Disclosure log 2013 – 2014, Freedom of Information Disclosure Log FY 13/14, Department of Defence, 421/12/13 (9 July 2013)
• Information published in the disclosure log:  Briefing and other documents relating to the Oslo Conference, the Second Preparatory Committee, the joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, and the ICAN publication ‘Disarmament Double-speak’, FOI Disclosure Log, Department of Foreign Affairs, 13/9152 (26 August 2013)
• Australia’s opposition to a ban on nuclear weapons, Tim Wright, ICAN (28 August 2013)

The Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly Report presents articles and full length reports each week in six categories: Austral security, nuclear deterrence, energy security, climate change and security, the DPRK, climate change adaptation and governance and civil society. Our team of contributors carefully select items that highlight the links between these themes and the three regions in which our offices are found—North America, Northeast Asia, and the Austral-Asia region.