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South Korea sticking to its policy of phasing out nuclear power, switching to renewables

Seoul keeps to plan of weaning the country off nuclear fuel, expand renewables to 40%, Pulse,  By Oh Chan-jong and Lee Eun-joo   8 May 20,  South Korea on Friday kept its plan to phase out of nuclear fuel intact despite snowballing losses at state utility firms as the result, with a goal to replace energy sourcing with renewables to 40 percent by 2034 through retiring aged fossil and nuclear powered stations.

According to the ninth long-term plan announced by a working group under the Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy on Friday, the government plans to close all coal-fired power plants whose 30 years of operational years expire by 2034 and replace the fuel with liquefied natural gas (LNG). It will also reduce the number of nuclear power stations to 17 units by 2034 after a peak at 26 units in 2024.

Under the plan, the government will reduce dependence on nuclear and fossil fuel from current 46.3 percent to 24.8 percent by 2034 while expand dependence on renewables from 15.1 percent to 40 percent.

The plan was announced by a working group under the energy ministry that held 51 meetings since March to draw up the country’s basic energy supply plan. The latest announcement is a draft of the 2020-2034 plan that is established once every two years under the electricity enterprises act to stabilize energy supply. …….

Renewable energy will take up 40 percent of total power supply by 2034, up from 15.1 percent. In addition to the closing down of 10 coal-fired plants as announced during the previous roadmap, 14 additional units will shut down by 2030. The government expected to be able to reach its goal announced in July, 2018, to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 32.5 percent by 2030.

May 9, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, South Korea | Leave a comment

More delay for Japan to open Onagawa nuclear power plant Unit 2: Unit 1 to be closed

Onagawa 2 upgrade faces further delay, WNN, 04 May 2020

The completion of safety countermeasures at unit 2 of the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture, in Japan, will not be completed until March 2023, two years later than previously scheduled, Tohoku Electric Power Company announced on 30 April. Japan’s nuclear regulator concluded in February the unit meets revised safety standards, clearing the way for it to resume operation.

Tohoku expects to spend about JPY340 billion (USD3.2 billion) on the countermeasures, which include seismic reinforcement of Onagawa 2 and construction of a 29-metre high and 800m long sea wall to protect the plant from tsunamis. The company had originally planned to complete this construction work by April 2017, but the schedule has been pushed back a number of times. The latest plan had been for the countermeasures to be in place by the end of financial year 2020 (ending March 2021).

However, Tokohu has now announced it has reviewed its upgrade works plan for Onagawa 2’s operation. Based on discussions it has had with the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Tohoku has decided to expand or revise its construction works for improving the facilities at the plant. As a result, the entire plan of construction work has been delayed and is now expected to be completed in FY2022 (ending March 2023).  ……..

Tohoku has already decided to decommission unit 1 of the plant and is considering applying to restart unit 3.  https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Further-delay-in-completion-of-Onagawa-2-safety-up

May 5, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Bahrain’s new environmental bill – strict laws against nuclear waste dumping

New environmental bill referred to Parliament

Bahrain News
04 May 2020  The government has referred to Parliament a new environmental bill aiming to strengthen Bahrain’s environmental legislative system. Under the 125-article draft law, anyone who imports, brings in, buries, dumps, stores or disposes of nuclear waste, under any circumstances or conditions, shall face death penalty or life imprisonment and a fine of no less than BD100,000 and no more than BD1 million ….. (subscribers only)  http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/821928

May 5, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, wastes | Leave a comment

16 Japanese Financial institutions won’t invest in companies involved in nuclear weapons

Many Japanese lenders refuse to invest in companies linked to nuclear arms  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/05/03/business/corporate-business/many-japanese-lenders-refuse-invest-companies-linked-nuclear-arms/#.Xq8zaqgzbIU

KYODO  Sixteen Japanese financial institutions say they refrain from investing in and extending loans to companies involved in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, according to a Kyodo News survey released Sunday.

The survey found the lenders set guidelines for such issues in an effort to avert international criticism against conducting business with nuclear-related companies amid growing public perceptions about the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

The 16 lenders include three megabanks — MUFG Bank under Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Bank under Mizuho Financial Group Inc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. under Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. — as well as Japan Post Bank Co. and Resona Bank under Resona Holdings Inc.

Kyodo sent a written questionnaire to a total of 119 city banks, regional banks and online banks from late February to early March. Of those, 35 responded.

About 70 percent of the total did not answer because they said they have never discussed the issue.

A Resona Bank official said the Osaka-based lender drew up written rules in March 2018 that it will not invest in nuclear, anti-personnel mines and other such fields due to rising international criticism against conducting businesses with companies involved in the manufacturing and development of weapons of mass destruction.

Eleven other lenders possessing such guidelines are Saitama Resona Bank in Saitama Prefecture, Aozora Bank in Tokyo, SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Hokkaido Bank and North Pacific Bank in Hokkaido, Tohoku Bank in Iwate Prefecture, Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank in Gifu Prefecture, Kansai Mirai Bank in Osaka Prefecture, Minato Bank in Hyogo Prefecture, Higo Bank in Kumamoto Prefecture and Kagoshima Bank in Kagoshima Prefecture.

According to the survey, nine respondents including Hokkaido Bank, the Bank of Kochi in Kochi Prefecture and Oita Bank in Oita Prefecture said they backed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Of 20 lenders expressing reservation about the 2017 U.N. nuclear ban treaty, five questioned the Japanese government’s reluctance to sign it.

Japan does not possess nuclear weapons but remains under the nuclear umbrella of the United States.

Twelve respondents including Tohoku Bank, Higo Bank and the Bank of Toyama in Toyama Prefecture said they think the adoption of the U.N. pact would generate risks in the future to investment in nuclear-related companies.

None of the 35 respondents said they have provided funds to companies developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, bombers capable of loading nuclear weapons and other nuclear weapons-linked infrastructure.

However, the three megabanks declined to disclose their investments in nuclear-related companies.

While welcoming the 16 lenders for supporting such guidelines, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, a nongovernmental organization and the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said it suspects some still continue to invest in nuclear-related businesses.

“Companies that manufacture nuclear weapons conduct businesses in other areas,” said Akira Kawasaki, a member of the International Steering Group of ICAN. “We see it as a perception gap between us and some banks that claim they abstain from investing in nuclear weapons manufacturing businesses.”

ICAN wants those banks to disclose details about their guidelines, Kawasaki said.

 

May 4, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Half of highly radioactive exhaust stack dismantled at Fukushima Nuclear Reactor 1

Asahi Shimbun 30th April 2020, Work to dismantle the upper half of an exhaust stack at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant finished on April 29, the first time a
structure highly contaminated by radiation was dismantled at the plant. The
chimney, which is 120 meters tall and about 3 meters in diameter, was used
for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors of the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric
Power Co. On the morning of April 29, workers spent an hour to lower sliced
parts of the stack to the ground from a height of about 60 meters. With its
upper half removed, the chimney now stands 59 meters high.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13339580

May 3, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

Hundreds of foreign companies procuring nuclear materials for India and Pakistan

Reuters 30th April 2020, Hundreds of foreign companies are actively procuring components for India and Pakistan’s nuclear programmes, taking advantage of gaps in the global
regulation of the industry, according to a report by a U.S.-based research group.https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-pakistan-nuclear-exclusive/exclusive-india-pakistan-nuclear-procurement-networks-larger-than-thought-study-shows-idUKKBN22C2JO?rpc=401&

May 1, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Pakistan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

South Korea’s government dismissed rumours about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un being gravely ill

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un health rumours dismissed by South Korean intelligence,   ABC News, 27 Apr 20, South Korea’s Government has dismissed rumours that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in a fragile condition, as speculation about his health intensifies amid the North’s silence on his whereabouts.

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told a closed-door forum in Seoul that South Korea had “enough intelligence to confidently say that there are no unusual developments” in rival North Korea that would back up speculation about Mr Kim’s health, his ministry said.

The minister did not reveal what specific intelligence led to that conclusion, but stressed that it was reached after a thorough analysis.

His comments are a reiteration of earlier South Korean statements that Mr Kim appeared to be handling state affairs normally and that no unusual activities had been detected in North Korea.

Those comments, however, failed to dispel the rumours about Mr Kim, partly because past outside intelligence reports on developments in North Korea have sometimes turned out to be wrong. …..

As the absolute leader of a country with a nuclear weapons program, Mr Kim’s health is a matter of intense interest both regionally and globally.

If something were to happen to him, it could lead to instability in North Korea. Mr Kim hasn’t publicly anointed a successor, and that has prompted questions about who would take control of North Korea if he is gravely ill or dies…..

serious unrest could occur if a power struggle erupts between those supporting the Kim dynasty and those who want non-Kim rule……..   https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/kim-jong-un-health-rumours-south-korea-intelligence/12191504

April 28, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics, politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

Animals in radiation zones are not doing well

above – Chernobyl bird at right has facial tumour 

Not thriving, but failing  https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2018/03/11/not-thriving-but-failing/ https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2018/03/11/not-thriving-but-failing/   Animals in radiation zones are not doing well, By Linda Pentz Gunter

It started with wolves. The packs around the Chernobyl nuclear plant, which exploded on April 26, 1986, were thriving, said reports. Benefitting from the absence of human predators, and seemingly unaffected by the high radiation levels that still persist in the area, the wolves, they claimed, were doing better than ever.

Appearances, however, can be deceptive. Abundant does not necessarily mean healthy. And that is exactly what evolutionary biologist, Dr. Timothy Mousseau and his team began to find out as, over the years, they traveled to and researched in and around the Chernobyl disaster site in the Ukraine. Then, when a similar nuclear disaster hit in Japan — with the triple explosions and meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi on March 11, 2011 — Mousseau’s team added that region to its research itinerary.

Mousseau has now spent more than 17 years looking at the effects on wildlife and the ecosystem of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He and his colleagues have also spent the last half dozen years studying how non-human biota is faring in the wake of Fukushima. Ninety articles later, they are able to conclude definitively that animals and plants around Chernobyl and Fukushima are very far indeed from flourishing.

Mousseau’s findings strongly contradicted earlier work including the 2006 Chernobyl Forum report which claimed the Chernobyl zone “has become a wildlife sanctuary,” and a subsequent article published in Current Biology in 2015 that said wildlife was “thriving”around Chernobyl.

“I suppose everyone loves a Cinderella story,” speculated Mousseau, who is based at the University of South Carolina. “They want that happy ending.” But Mousseau felt sure the moment he read the Forum report, which, he noted, “contained few scientific citations,” that the findings “could not possibly be true.

What Mousseau found was not unexpected given the levels of radiation in these areas and what is already known about the medical effects of such long-term exposures. Birds and rodents had a high frequency of tumors.

“Cancers are the first thing we think about,” Mousseau said. “We looked at birds and mice. In areas of higher radiation, the frequency of tumors is higher.” The research team found mainly liver and bladder tumors in voles and tumors on the head, body and wings of the birds studied.

But Mousseau wanted to look beyond cancers, which is what everyone expects to find and what researchers had looked for, but only in humans. There were few wildlife studies, a fact Mousseau found surprising, given nature’s ability to act as a sentinel for likely impending human health impacts.

Mousseau and his fellow researchers found cataracts in birds and rodents. Male birds had a high rate of sterility. And the brains of birds were smaller. All of these are known outcomes from radiation exposure.

“Cataracts in birds is a problem,” Mousseau said. “A death sentence.”

Mental retardation has been found among children exposed to radiation in utero. Mousseau and colleagues discovered the same pattern in the birds they studied. “Birds already have small brains, so a smaller brain size is a definite disadvantage,” he said.

There were also just fewer animals in general. “There were many fewer mammals, birds and insects in areas of higher radiation,” Mousseau said. And they had their hunch as to why.

He and his colleagues extracted sperm from the male birds they caught and were shocked to find that “up to 40% of male birds in the radiologically hottest areas were sterile.”

The birds’ sperm were either deformed or dead. None would be able to reproduce. The discovery, he said, was “not at all surprising. These are the levels of radiation known to influence reproduction. At the same time, there is no safe level of radiation below which there aren’t detectable effects.”

Fewer birds have already been observed in the contaminated areas around Fukushima, said Mousseau. “Although it’s too early to assess the long term impact on abundance and diversity around Fukushima, there are very few butterflies and many birds have declined in the more contaminated areas. If abundance is compressed, biodiversity will follow.”

The consequences of radiation exposure, says Mousseau, “will have a tremendous impact on the quality of life of these animals, and the length of quality of life. It need not necessarily be cancers,” that cause these damages he said. “There is no doubt that the levels of radiation in Chernobyl and Fukushima generate genetic damage.”

Read more about Dr. Timothy Mousseau’s work.

April 28, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Buildings around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in poor condition, unsafe

Fukushima Daiichi buildings pose safety risks,  https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200427_24/ Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to draw up safety measures for workers after finding that some of the buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are in bad condition due to the 2011 accident.TEPCO on Monday reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority the results of its survey of about 580 buildings in the compound.

The company says the condition of around 10 buildings, including the one that houses the No.4 reactor, have deteriorated due to the tsunami that triggered the accident and subsequent hydrogen explosions.

The NRA argues that the walls or other structures of these buildings could collapse in the event of an earthquake and injure people engaged in decommissioning work.

TEPCO says it will announce by the end of May how and when it will address the problem.

The utility also says it has inspected 340,000 pieces of equipment at the plant, and found that 36,000 of them lack devices that prevent leaks of radioactive materials as well as leak detectors.

April 28, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima continuing, safety | Leave a comment

North Korea: Expert reveals ‘power struggle’ for ‘control of nuclear weapons and military’

NORTH KOREA’s lack of a formal succession plan for Kim Jong-un could spark a “power struggle” in the region as speculation continues to grow surrounding the supreme leader’s health, according to foreign policy expert Bruce Klingner.   Express UK,  By SVAR NANAN-SEN, Apr 27, 2020

Bruce Klingner, a senior researcher for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation told Fox News that there could be a power struggle in North Korea regarding who succeeds Kim Jong-un. The Supreme Leader of North Korea has not been seen for over two weeks and his absence has led to speculation over his health and the future of his country.

Mr Klinger said: “As was the case when his father passed away, there is no formal succession plan in the North Korea constitution.

“We don’t know if they have anything planned behind the scenes.   So right now, we are all speculating who the next leader might be.

“We are speculating that his sister may be the next leader. In the last couple of years, she has gained power, she has gained authority, we have seen her coming out of the shadows in the last couple of years…….. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1274376/North-Korea-Kim-Jong-Un-death-health-successor-nuclear-weapons-military-latest-news

April 28, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics | Leave a comment

Taiwan environmentalists mark Chernobyl nuclear disaster anniversary, call for renewables not nuclear

Anniversary of Chernobyl sees anti-nuclear appeals. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/04/28/2003735431

Two environmental groups issued online statements over the weekend to mark the 34th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on Sunday and call for the abolition of nuclear power in Taiwan.

The government should bolster safety mechanisms at the nation’s nuclear power plants, safely handle nuclear waste and educate the public on the risks of nuclear energy ahead of a referendum next year on whether to resume work on the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, which was caused by an explosion at the plant’s No. 4 reactor during maintenance, resulted in several thousand deaths, and the area around the plant would remain uninhabitable long into the future, it said.

The anniversary of the 1986 disaster should highlight the dangers of using nuclear power, it added.

Taiwan’s three operating nuclear power plants have been in operation for nearly 40 years, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

“Can the plants still safely operate, or should they be decommissioned? Policies on the plants are a major compromise between power needs and hopes for decommissioning,” it said.

Some people are concerned that the plants could be contaminating the air or the water supply, it added.

Radioactive waste from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan has still not been completely cleaned up, showing that coping with nuclear disasters is beyond human capability, the union said.

The dangers of nuclear power — as evidenced by the atomic bombs used in World War II, and the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters — should not be overlooked in favor of the economy’s demand for power, it said.

The government should focus its efforts on energy transformation and push for the development of renewable energy, it added.

There is a pressing need to combat climate change, but nuclear power is not a viable alternative, the union said.

“There is a cheaper, faster and safer option to reduce carbon emissions, and that is for the government to put all of its effort into energy efficiency and the development of sustainable energy,” it said.

April 28, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Taiwan | Leave a comment

Kim Jong Un Mystery Grows on Reports of Train, Medical Team

Kim Jong Un Mystery Grows on Reports of Train, Medical Team, Bloomberg By Kanga Kong and Ros Krasny, April 27, 2020,
  •  Satellite photos show North Korea leader’s train near compound
  • Kim’s two-week absence fuels speculation about his health Speculation about Kim Jong Un’s health intensified over the weekend after tantalizing — yet unverified — reports about a visit by a Chinese medical team and movements of the North Korean leader’s armored train.

    China sent a team including doctors and senior diplomats to advise its neighbor and longtime ally, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, a train resembling one long used by North Korean rulers was parked last week near a coastal leadership compound in Wonsan, according to an analysis of satellite imagery released Sunday by the website 38 North. A prominent South Korea adviser also rejected the notion that Kim was ailing or dead…….

    Any leadership change in North Korea could increase the threat of instability on China’s border and raise questions about control of the country’s expanding nuclear arsenal. Kim has also been central to U.S. President Donald Trump’s so far unsuccessful efforts to get him to reduce his weapons stockpile. …..

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-25/north-korean-sympathizer-calls-news-on-kim-s-health-false

April 27, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics | Leave a comment

Where is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?

Kim Jong-un’s death may lead to brutal power struggle and unknown finger on nuke button,    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1273890/Kim-Jong-un-dead-North-Korea-nuclear-weapon-news-latest-death-USKIM JONG-UN’S death could spark a power struggle in nuclear-armed North Korea and even an attack on its neighbour in the South, according to an expert on conflict in the Korean peninsula.By GERRARD KAONGA, Apr 26, 2020 Kim Jong-un’s death could result in multiple worst-case scenarios according to Korean expert and senior research fellow Bruce Klingner of think tank The Heritage Foundation. Chinese and Japanese media outlets have claimed the North Korean dictator has died following complications from heart surgery earlier this month. The North Korean state is yet to confirm whether the nation’s leader has died.

While on Fox News Mr Klingner said if the reports of Kim Jong-un’s death were correct the resulting power vacuum would be a cause for international concern.

Mr Klingner warned the death of the leader could result in power struggles, military faction infighting, and even the nation lashing out at its neighbour in the South.

He insisted this was particularly concerning as he said North Korea was a nation with nuclear weapon capabilities.

Mr Klingner said: “There is always a concern when you have a nuclear weapon state if you don’t know who the next leader is.

“It could be a smooth transition or it could be a power struggle where everyone is trying to grab the ring of power. “Then it is a question of who has control over nuclear weapons and the military.”

Mr Klingner also outlined the worst possible scenarios that could occur if Kim Jong-un is confirmed, by North Korea, to be dead.

He continued: “There are a lot of worst-case scenarios.

“Things like a regime collapse and a struggle for power or unknown actions from military factions warring against each other. “There is a concern that there could be an explosion in the sense of North Korea lashing out against its neighbours.

“Or even an implosion with the regime collapse and instability.”

Mr Klingner closed by insisting nations remain concerned similarly to the last death of a North Korean leader.He said: “We were equally concerned during the two previous successions of the father and the grandfather when they passed away.

“The system worked and there was a maintaining of stability so it is more likely the regime will maintain itself.”

There have been conflicting reports regarding the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Earliest reports of his death came from the vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijan Xingzou who claimed a very solid source told her the North Korean leader had died.

Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai argued the dictator had not yet died but is currently in a vegetative state and will not recover.

April 26, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics | Leave a comment

New tsunami estimates for megaquakes off Japan

20200421_30_833547_L

 

April 21, 2020

A Japanese government panel says tsunami waves measuring more than 20 meters high could hit northern Japan if a megaquake of magnitude 9 or stronger occurs in one of two deep-sea trenches.

The government panel has been studying the possible scale of an earthquake, and tsunami waves it could trigger, in either a part of the Chishima Trench or the Japan Trench. The targeted area of the Chishima Trench extends from the Kuril Islands to Hokkaido while the area of the Japan Trench extends from Hokkaido to Iwate Prefecture. The study began after the 2011 disaster in northeastern Japan.

The panel’s latest estimate says a quake along the Chishima Trench would have a magnitude of 9.3.

Parts of eastern Hokkaido would be hit by tremors with an intensity of six-plus to seven on the Japanese scale of zero to seven.

A wide area of eastern Hokkaido would see tsunami more than 20 meters high. Waves could reach 27.9 meters in the town of Erimo.

A quake along the Japan Trench would have a magnitude of 9.1. Parts of Aomori and Iwate prefectures could have tremors with an intensity of six-plus.

Tsunami waves would top ten meters in northeastern Japan. Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefectures would be hit by tsunami as high as 26.1 meters, and Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture as high as 29.7 meters. Some areas could be hit by waves higher than those that struck in 2011.

As these areas have had powerful earthquakes in the past, the panel says massive tsunami can strike at any time.

The Cabinet Office plans to estimate the extent of damage and draw up disaster control measures based on these new figures by the end of March next year.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200421_30/?fbclid=IwAR3ivW8v8eGYxrnR1Zfbvr_NB2cZxZe5E7s48p-sEDOnhKxUvFTIum-plt8

 

April 24, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Earthquakes, Tsunami, Tsunami Protections | Leave a comment

North Korea already has its nuclear arsenal. even if Kim should die.

Even if Kim Jong Un dies, he has given North Korea the nuclear arsenal it needed to deter the U.S.

While North Korea is still among the world’s most impoverished nations, living standards are rising for the ruling elite in Pyongyang. Kim has shown he can endure crushing economic sanctions,National Post, Bloomberg News, Jihye Lee and Jon Herskovitz, April 23, 2020  Whatever the state of Kim Jong Un’s health, he has already put North Korea in its strongest position to resist U.S. pressure in decades.

Eight years after Kim filled the power vacuum left by the death of his reclusive father, Kim Jong Il, North Korea is more secure and less isolated. The 36-year-old supreme leader has achieved two key marks of legitimacy long sought by his predecessors: a nuclear arsenal that can credibly deter an American attack and a personal relationship with the U.S. president, including three face-to-face meetings with Donald Trump.

While North Korea is still among the world’s most impoverished nations, living standards are rising for the ruling elite in Pyongyang. Kim has shown he can endure crushing economic sanctions, illustrated by a United Nations report published Tuesday accusing the regime of widespread evasion. Moreover, the Kim dynasty holds a renewed pledge of strategic support from its ultimate guarantor, China.

“The country has pole-vaulted in their nuclear-destruction potential and missile-delivery capabilities compared to capabilities under grandfather or father Kim,” said Soo Kim, a Rand Corp. policy analyst who specializes in Korean peninsula issues. “The specter of a North Korean nuclear attack breeds enough unease in the international community to lean more towards accommodation than confrontation.”……..

North Korea has given up little since Kim’s unprecedented handshake with Trump almost two years ago in Singapore. Besides halting launches of missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland and demolishing some testing facilities, Kim has signed only a vaguely worded pledge to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” …… https://nationalpost.com/news/world/despite-kim-jong-un-health-north-korea-has-little-to-worry-about-u-s-sanctions

April 24, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560

of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko

​https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-ukrainian-government-to-drop-prosecution-of-peace-activist-yurii-sheliazhenko/?clear_id=true&link_id=4&can_id=f0940af377595273328101dea28c2309&source=email-yurii-has-been-abducted&email_referrer=email_3153752&email_subject=yurii-has-been-abducted&&

​To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com

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