Thu, 8 March 2018
A delegation from South Korea visited Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. After a sumptuous lunch and what looked like a little boozy, over-the-top happy Kim Jong Un waved goodbye as the South Korean delegation drove off with promises. Aaron and Jeffrey talk about the ROK's post-lunch (not launch, for once) statement, the history of DPRK negotiations, and what could go wrong and right with the talks on the Korean Peninsula. Links of Note Statements on the inter-Korean meeting. Mark Fitzpatrick's article on the Leap Day Deal and how U.S./DPRK parallel statements differed in 2012. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!
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Sun, 4 March 2018
Two Canadians review the last month of North Korean developments as they try to ignore Canada's Olympic performance in curling and hockey. Andrea talks to Matt Korda about Olympic diplomacy, DPRK proliferation networks, maritime deception practices, and the most recent set of sanctions.
Links of Note: The transcript of the 2008 Burmese military delegation visit to Pyongyang. The Panel of Experts Report covered in Reuters. An update to Olympic Diplomacy: The ROK Delegation meets with Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang this week. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! |
Fri, 2 March 2018
Russian president Vladimir Putin presented his annual address yesterday. He showed off a bunch of new or recent nuclear weapons systems, designed to defeat US missile defenses. The weirdest idea of all is a nuclear power cruise missile with global range. You read that right. Nuclear powered. Aaron, Jeffrey, and Scott convene to discuss Russia’s new generation of insane nuclear weapons, ponder how we got here, and wonder what the hell we can do about it. Links of Note: Video Links! The whole speech. The new laser. The new intercontinental nuclear-powered cruise missile. The Sarmat ICBM with global range. The air-launched missile Kinzhal. The Status-6/Kanyon nuclear autonomous underwater vehicle. The Russian Ministry of Defense has opened up voting on some of the new systems' names... if you wanna vote, vote here. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! |
Mon, 26 February 2018
We’re back. After a brief hiatus, Jeffrey and Aaron return from their myriad trips. The show documents Aaron and superproducer Scott’s visit to missile central down at joint-base Anacostia, where the two got an up close and personal viewing of the Qiam/Burkan 2-H and other assorted Iranian made goodies on display. Jeffrey then filled Aaron in on his trip to the Munich Security Conference and his assorted medical ailments while traveling through out Germany. Links of Note: Our two prior episodes on the Iranian materiel display, one focusing on the Qiam/Burkan 2-H and one focusing on the Qasef-1. Our series of six episodes discussing strategic stability, European security, and the Russian/INF problem. See episode description for links! Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools. |
Wed, 7 February 2018
A Canadian reviews the last two months' North Korea news with a special guest. Andrea talks to Scott LaFoy for a whirlwind tour of December and January's developments. They cover Kim Jong Un's New Years Address, the Vancouver Foreign Ministers Meeting, and those pesky ship-to-ship transfers the North Koreans are so fond of these days.
Links of Note: Andrea's pre-mortem of the Vancouver Meeting at Arms Control Wonk. Andrea's discussion of the Olympic exchanges and negotiations over at The Diplomat. NK News imagery of the nuclear backpacks from the 2013 parade. Scott and Fyodor Tertitskiy's NK Pro article on the Olympic Negotiations. Full text of Kim Jong Un's 'op ed' in KCNA/Rodong Sinmun. VOA link, safe for clicking in South Korea! Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools. |
Wed, 24 January 2018
India launched the Agni-V intermediate-range ballistic missile. Launch a missile, get a pod. Aaron is skiing in Vail, so The Diplomat's Ankit Panda joins Jeffrey to discuss India's nuclear and missile programs from rail mobile missiles to the guy who flooded India's only ballistic missile submarine. Links of Note: Ankit's Twitter thread on Agni test imagery. Ankit and Prashanth Parameswaran did an excellent pod over at The Diplomat covering the Arihant and the Agni V.
Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools. |
Tue, 16 January 2018
A draft of the Trump Administration's Nuclear Posture Review has leaked -- and its a doozy. Aaron and Jeffrey discuss the history of these reviews and recommendations to develop a new sea-launched cruise missile and a variable yield warhead for the Trident D5 submarine launched ballistic missile. Links of Note: The Huffpost article that originally leaked the document. The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review from the Obama administration. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools.
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Fri, 12 January 2018
The Trump Administration is naming names, confirming what Jeffrey has long said — that the new cruise missile Russia is building in violation of the 1987 INF Treaty is the 9M729, which is known in the US as the SSC-8 Screwdriver. Aaron and Jeffrey discuss Russia’s violation of the INF Treaty, offering a deep dive on the new ground-launched cruise missile and the RS-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile. Previous Podcast Episodes about this Topic: The Little Green Men and a New Cruise Missile Russia and the INF: Don't Call it a Circumvention Is Russia Cheating on the INF Treaty? This was the very first Arms Control Wonk Podcast episode! Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools. |
Fri, 5 January 2018
We usually avoid chasing Trump’s tweets but when the President of the United States says his button is bigger than Kim Jong Un's ... well, we’re not made of stone. Aaron and Jeffrey talk about whether Trump is bluffing and what the disarray in the White House says about policy process issues.
Links of Note: The tweet in question and a backup in case it disappears.
Previous Entries in The Donald and The Nuclear series on executive power and nuclear weapons: The Donald, The Nuclear, and No First Use The Donald and The Nuclear 3: Tokyo Drift The Donald and The Nuclear Goblet of Fire (And Fury) The Donald and The Nuclear V: The Senate Strikes Back Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast! Sponsored Links: Our sponsor this episode is ActionKit, a powerful suit of online campaigning tools. |