News around the web

North Korea's new nuclear plant a safety worry: expert
Siegfried Hecker, who has visited the North's main Yongbyon nuclear facility four times since 2004 and was the last foreign expert to visit the site in late 2010, said he was very concerned the reactor could be technically flawed.
Mention of Siegfried S. Hecker in Chicago Tribune on January 26, 2012

The Way China Copes With Its Economic Challenges Will Have an Impact on Us All
Thomas Fingar: "For the past two decades China has been a poster child of successful globalization, integrating with the world and in the process lifting millions of citizens out of poverty. But China’s integration into the world economy and global trends drive and constrain Beijing’s ability to manage growing social, economic and political challenges."
Mention of Thomas Fingar in Jakarta Globe on January 19, 2012

Time to Attack Iran (Why a Strike Is the Least Bad Option)
Matthew Kroenig: "In early October, U.S. officials accused Iranian operatives of planning to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States on American soil. Iran denied the charges, but the episode has already managed to increase tensions between Washington and Tehran. Although the Obama administration has not publicly..."
Mention of Matthew Kroenig in Foreign Affairs on January 17, 2012

The Flawed Logic of Striking Iran
Alexandre Debs, Nuno P. Monteiro: "Matthew Kroenig's argument for preventive military action to combat Tehran's nuclear program -- 'Time to Attack Iran' -- suffers from three problems."
Mention of Alexandre Debs in Foreign Affairs on January 17, 2012

Examining Iranian And North Korean Nuclear Threats
Philip Taubman:"I recently asked my Stanford colleague Sig Hecker, one of the scholars who visited the enrichment plant in 2010, to outline what to watch for in the North Korean weapons program in coming weeks to determine if the new leadership is planning any change ..."
Mention of Philip Taubman in Huffington Post (blog) on January 10, 2012

How Does North Korea Stay So Secretive?
Margaret Warner discusses the mysterious nation with former senior CIA and State Department intelligence analyst Robert Carlin, now at Stanford University. MARGARET WARNER: One key development that US intelligence apparently didn't see, ...
Mention of Robert Carlin in PBS NewsHour on December 21, 2011

China Moves to Ensure Stability in North Korea
China, North Korea’s foremost ally, appears to be moving quickly to try to ensure stability in a crippled and isolated nation now facing a leadership transition fraught with dangers.
Mention of Robert Carlin in New York Times on December 19, 2011

5-minute Lowy lunch: Nuclear genie
Leading nuclear expert Professor Scott Sagan, from Stanford University, gave lectures and interviews around Australia during his visit last week, and on Thursday he was at the Lowy Institute in Sydney to take part in a panel discussion about nuclear power and nuclear proliferation.
Mention of Scott D. Sagan in Lowy Interpreter on December 6, 2011

The role that US plays in Asia
Xue Litai: "Sino-US ties were in focus at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu and the just concluded East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali, especially because of the European economic and political crises ...
Mention of Xue Litai in China Daily on November 24, 2011

Why We Won't Use the Bomb
The choice by United States leaders to not use nuclear weapons in conflict—we haven't dropped a nuke since 1945—may have more to do with public attitude than with militaristic decisions, according to Stanford political science professor Scott Sagan.
Mention of Scott D. Sagan in Patch.com on November 7, 2011