Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 2, 2019

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released on Sept. 16, 2017, by the Korean Central News Agency. Reuters/KCNA

PRI: What can satellites reveal about North Korea's missile and nuclear sites? Not enough.

Vehicles and equipment were detected near the uranium-enrichment facility at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center in North Korea last month.

Was this a telltale sign that the North Koreans were ramping up nuclear-related activities at one of its most sensitive military sites?

Maybe not, according to analysts at 38 North.

“The purpose of these vehicles and equipment is unclear,” wrote the authors of a recent report on the 38 North website that describes itself as providing “[i]nformed analysis of events in and around North Korea.”

Experts have been watching North Korea closely since the end of the failed summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi at the end of February, looking for signs of what Kim will do next. Satellite imagery is one of the best ways to peer into the isolated country. But analyzing those images is something that needs to be done carefully.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 2, 2019

Future nuclear weapons technology: which states are developing nukes? -- Army Technology

Are Saudis using US energy info to get nuclear weapons? -- CNN

Perceptions of India's Nuclear Capability Buildup: Ghost Hunting and a Reality Check -- The Diplomat

Treaty's end would give U.S., Russia impetus to make more nukes: study -- Reuters

4 Things to Know About the U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Strategy -- C. Todd Lopez, US Department of Defense

Atomic Bang: The 5 Biggest Russsian and American Nuclear Weapons Tests Ever -- National Interest

The U.S. Military Wants to Kill Nuclear-Armed ICBMs with Lasers -- National Interest

The Military Is Mounting Laser Weapons on Tanks -- Futurism

Colorado is front-runner for Space Command home -- UPI

99 US House lawmakers push for more F-35s -- Defense News

BAE awarded $21.4M for propulsars, tailcones for future Virginia-class submarines -- UPI

Contract for New Coast Guard Icebreaker Could Be Awarded this Month -- Military.com

US Not Scaling Back Military Exercises With South Korea, Building Up Capability -- Sputnik

U.S. kicks off Balikatan exercise in Philippines -- UPI

US brings F-35B stealth fighters to Philippines’ Balikatan exercise for first time -- Stars and Stripes

U.S. Amphibious Assault Ship In South China Sea With Unprecedentedly Large Load of F-35Bs -- Warzone/The Drive

US Halts Shipment of F-35 Equipment to Turkey -- DoD Buzz

Pentagon Working on Secondary Supply Sources for Turkish-Made F-35 Parts -- Sputnik

Lockheed clinches $2.4 billion deal for sale of THAAD missiles -- Reuters

Lockheed awarded $2.5B to start work on THAAD systems for Saudis -- UPI

Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems Rewrites The Rules For Defense Technology -- Loren Thompson, Forbes

The Army picked this sub gun for security details to use while protecting top commanders and leaders -- Army Times

Pentagon not trying to delay key Niger ambush report, Shanahan says -- Military Times

Alaska soldier killed in live-fire training accident -- Army Times

Trump’s next Secretary of Defense needs to have these 10 things -- Van Hipp, FOX News

UN launches investigation after Mail on Sunday exposé reveals British Special Forces are fighting on same side as child soldiers in Yemen civil war -- Daily Mail

NATO chief plays down divisions as allies mark anniversary -- AP

NATO chief to meet Trump, alliance critic, on anniversary -- AFP

Stick to defence spending pledge, NATO chief tells Germany -- AFP

Russia to Offer China Su-57 5th Gen. Stealth Fighter -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

Taiwan will forcefully expel PLA warplanes next time: Tsai Ing-wen -- SCMP

US national security adviser John Bolton rebukes Beijing for incursions into Taiwanese airspace -- SCMP

Simmering South China Sea heats up -- AP

Asia allies take major steps forward with F-35 rollout -- Defense News

India’s Anti-Satellite Test Wasn’t Really About Satellites -- Wired