Arms Smugglers Had Nuke Blueprints

Could give country power to attack Europe

(NEWSER) - Iran has acquired 19 advanced missiles from North Korea—which could allow Tehran to attack Moscow and Western Europe, a Feb. 24 diplomatic cable posted by WikiLeaks shows. The North Korean BM-25 missiles could provide the “building blocks” for long-range missiles, the leak suggests—though the cable doesn’t offer “specific evidence,” Bloomberg reports. “North Korea and Iran have had a decades-long missile relationship and also most likely a nuclear relationship,” says an analyst. More»

Short-range test comes despite seemingly warmer relations with South, US

(AP) - North Korea fired five short-range missiles off its east coast today, news reports said, even as South Korea proposed working-level talks with its communist neighbor. South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified South Korean government official, said the North test-fired the surface-to-surface KN-02 rockets from mobile launch pads. More»

Weapon with 1,200-mile range could strike Israel, US military bases

(AP) - Iran claimed to have test-fired the longest-range missiles in its arsenal today—weapons capable of carrying a warhead and striking Israel or US military bases in the Middle East. It was the third round of missile tests in two days of drills by the power Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program. Today's test ups the ante ahead of a key meeting in Geneva on Thursday between Iran and six major powers, including the US, trying to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program. More»

US-drafted measure strengthened by Obama appearance at meeting

(NEWSER) - The UN Security Council today adopted a US-drafted resolution that outlines much of President Obama’s plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The president’s attendance at the meeting of heads of state—just the fifth in UN history—underscores the centrality of the issue for his administration. Though the measure passed unanimously, the US was not able to convince Russia and China to include Iran and North Korea by name, notes the Washington Post. More»

Obama urges a tougher stance on Iran, N. Korea nuclear programs

(NEWSER) - World leaders gathered in L’Aquila, Italy, today for the G8 summit. Highlights from the day's meetings:

• A forum organized by President Obama for the world’s 17 biggest polluters failed to approve a proposal to cut global emissions by 50% by 2050, the New York Times reports. The group did agree to set a goal of preventing global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.