Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly

DETERRENCE: DPRK revised constitution (30 May 2012)

“…Comrade Kim Jong Il honorably defended the gains of socialism which is Comrade Kim Il Sung’s lofty legacy through military-first politics; changed our fatherland into a politically and ideologically powerful state that is invincible, a nuclear state, and a militarily powerful state that is indomitable; and paved a brilliant main road in building a powerful state.”

• N. Korea calls itself ‘nuclear-armed state’ in revised constitution, Yonhap News (30 May 2012)
• North Korea calls itself a nuclear power, Park Byung-soo, Kwon Tae-ho and Jung Nam-ku, Hankyoreh (1 June 2012)
• The DPRK Constitution and nuclear weapons, Stephan Haggard and Jaesung Ryu, Witness to Transformation (5 June 2012)

Check out this week’s Deterrence blog: The DPRK’s Nuclear Constitution.

DPRK: South and North Korea hold meetings in China, Kim Bo-kuen, Hankyoreh (8 June 2012)

Representatives from both Koreas met in China to discuss economic cooperation. North Korea has also recently reached out to Southeast Asia. North Korea Foreign Ministry stated they presently had no plans to test a nuclear device. However, in mixed signals, the North Korean Air Forces have acted in unusual patterns recently, a major South Korean media site was destructively hacked and North Korea refused to repay maturing loans.

• DPRK energy sector assistance options and sequencing considerations for the international community, David F. von Hippel and Peter Hayes, Nautilus Institute (21 Sept 2010) [Power point briefing]
• DPRK Foreign Ministry says currently no plans to conduct nuclear test, People’s Daily Online (11 June 2012) [Chinese language]
• U.S. special envoy: Myanmar’s reforms are a great example for North Korea to follow, Malcolm Foster, StarTribune (8 Jun 2012)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Coastal climate change risk – legal and policy responses in Australia, Meredith Gibbs and Tony Hill, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Commonwealth of Australia (2012) [PDF, 2.06 MB]

The risks to coastal land and assets as a result of the impacts of climate change will increase substantially in coming decades if current development patterns continue. Coastal climate change (CCC) risks include more frequent inundation of coastal infrastructure and settlements leading to increased damage costs to households and more regular disruption to service delivery in areas affected by flooding.

• Developing a national coastal adaptation agenda, a report on the national climate change forum, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Australian Government (2010)
• Managing our coastal zone in a changing climate: The time to act is now, Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts, Australia (2009)

ENERGY SECURITY: America’s new energy reality, Daniel Yergin, New York Times (10 June 2012)

Fukushima and the boom in shale gas in the US, in the midst of global economic uncertainties, have changed the perceptions regarding energy security and prospects for electricity fuels markets. Japan may curtail its nuclear dreams, but as more developing countries pursue them with even greater vigor, where does the weak non-proliferation regime and even weaker safety regimes go from here? Or do renewables answer the security prayers?

• Japan considers nuclear-free future, David Cyranoski, Nature (6 June 2012)
• Serious rules for nuclear power without proliferation, Victor Gilinsky and Henry Sokolski, Non-proliferation Policy Education Center (May 2012)
• China nuclear: Atomic economics, Lex Column, Financial Times (12 June 2012)

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: IAEA gives green light to Kori nuclear reactor, Korea Herald (11 June 2012)

The IAEA approved the ROK’s oldest reactor for continued operation despite a February blackout and back-up generator failure, subsequently covered up by engineers at the plant. Civil groups called for the plant to be permanently shut down. A report claimed that a Chernobyl-type disaster at the Kori plant could result in hundreds of thousands of casualties. Japan plans to restart reactors to increase supply before the summer, despite protests.

• [Editorial] Take IAEA findings with a grain of salt, Hankyoreh (12 June 2012)
• Radiation leak from Gori-1 reactor could kill 900,000 people: Report, Yonhap (21 May 2012)
• Japan looks set to power up nuclear reactors despite protest, Global Post (11 June 2012)

AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: Keynote Address – Dr H Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, The Shangri-La Dialogue, 11th IISS Asia Security Summit, Singapore (1 June 2012)

If a new pattern of polarization and rivalry among the major powers emerges, that will be a step backward and will lead regional affairs in the wrong direction. We are encouraged that the United States and China are attempting to evolve a positive, cooperative relationship. Both the US and China have an obligation not just to themselves, but to the rest of the region to develop peaceful cooperation.

• US plans to boost Pacific naval forces, Demetri Sevastopulo and Ben Bland, Financial Times (2 July 2012)
• Our star spangled manner, Malcolm Fraser, Sydney Morning Herald (7 June 2012)
• Military boost outlined in plans for China conflict, Brendan Nicholson, The Australian (4 June 2012)

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Editor

•  Dyana Mardon

Contributors

• Deterrence: Peter Hayes
• Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho, Dyana Mardon
• Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
• DPRK: Roger Cavazos
• Energy Security: Nikhil Desai
• Austral Peace and Security: Richard Tanter