Page 2 - Nuclear Arms

US wants to engage Russia on nuclear arms control in post-treaty world

The White House is ready to have talks with Russia without preconditions about a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to suspend the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration's desire for talks on building a new framework during an address to the Arms Control Association on Friday, according to two senior administration officials who previewed the address on the condition of anonymity. Putin announced in February he was suspending Russia's cooperation with the New START Treaty's provisions for nuclear warhead and missile inspections amid deep tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia, however, said it would respect the treaty's caps on nuclear weapons. The officials said that Sullivan would underscore that the U.S. remains committ

Pakistan authorities gear for Imran Khan's supporters at his court hearing

His arrest earlier this week, which sparked deadly unrest in the nuclear-armed nation, was ruled "invalid and unlawful" by the Supreme Court on Thursday

Kim Jong-un wants North Korea to make more nuclear material for bombs

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his nuclear scientists to increase production of weapons-grade material to make bombs to put on his increasing range of weapons. The report in state media on Tuesday followed a series of missile launches seven launch events in this month alone and rising threats to use the weapons against his enemies. North Korea's weapons tests and US-South Korea military exercises have intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle, underscoring heightened tensions in the region. Officials say North Korea could further up the ante in coming weeks or months with more provocative displays of its military nuclear program, possibly including its first test detonation of a nuclear device since September 2017. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim during a meeting on Monday with officials and scientists at a state nuclear weapons institute stressed the need to ramp up bomb fuel production to meet his goals to expand his nuclear arsenal exponentially, and issued ..

US govt accuses Russia of endangering nuclear arms control treaty

Russia's refusal to allow on-the-ground inspections to resume is endangering the New START nuclear treaty and US-Russian arms control overall, the Biden administration charged on Tuesday. The finding was delivered to Congress and summarized in a statement by the State Department. It follows months of more hopeful US assessments that the two countries would be able to salvage cooperation on limiting strategic nuclear weapons despite high tensions over Russia's war on Ukraine. Inspections of US and Russian military sites under the New START treaty were paused by both sides because of the spread of the coronavirus in March 2020. The US-Russia committee overseeing implementation of the treaty last met in October 2021, but Russia then unilaterally suspended its cooperation with the treaty's inspection provisions in August 2022 to protest US support for Ukraine. "Russia's refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the trea

US, Russia set to talk on resuming nuclear arms control inspections

The United States and Russia will soon hold talks on resuming suspended nuclear arms control inspections that had been put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic and languished after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said Tuesday. State Department spokesman Ned Price said negotiations on the inspections would take place in the near future under the terms of the New START treaty and would not include any discussion of the conflict in Ukraine. He would not give a date or a venue for the talks but other officials suggested they would be held before the end of the year, likely in Egypt. The meeting of the treaty's so-called Bilateral Consultative Commission will be the first in more than a year, and is intended to show that the two countries remain committed to arms control and keeping lines of communication open despite other differences. We believe deeply around the world in the transformative power and the importance of diplomacy and dialogue, Price told reporters in

Full-scale nuclear war could kill 5 billion people, shows new study

Five billion people would die in a modern nuclear war with the impact of a global famine, likely to far exceed the casualties caused by lethal blasts, a new study showed

Hiroshima vows nuclear arms ban at 77th memorial amid Russia threat

Hiroshima remembered the atomic bombing 77 years ago as officials warned against nuclear weapons buildup and as fears grow of another such attack amid Russia's war on Ukraine

Kim Jong Un says he is ready to fight with US, 'eliminate' South Korea

Kim has been stepping up his provocations this year while US attention has been diverted toward Russia's invasion of Ukraine by firing off a record number of ballistic missiles

Russia says will use nuclear weapons in case of 'existential threat'

While refusing to rule out the use of nuclear weapons, Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if there is an existential threat for Russia, the country can use the nukes.

IAEA establishes high-level Kyiv-Moscow dialogue on nuclear safety: Chief

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it has succeeded in establishing a direct dialogue on nuclear security between Russia and Ukraine at a high level

China asks Russia, Ukraine to ensure safety of nuclear facilities

China has called on Russia and Ukraine to ensure the safety of Ukraine's nuclear facilities, as fears mount over a potential environmental disaster amid an intensifying military offensive

5 nuclear-weapon states issue statement on preventing N-war, arms race

The five countries, also permanent members of the UN Security Council, said they believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented

Israeli PM says not opposed to 'good' nuclear deal with Iran

Israel will always maintain its right to act and will defend itself by itself, he said

Father of Pak's nuclear programme AQ Khan passes away: Defence Minister

AQ Khan, known as the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, passed away on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 85. Khan breathed his last at about 7.00 AM (local time) at Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital in Islamabad. Geo News reported that he was brought to the hospital early in the morning after he faced difficulty in breathing. Defence Minister Pervez Khattak said he was "deeply grieved" over his death and called it a "great loss". "Pakistan will forever honour his services to the nation! The nation is heavily indebted to him for his contributions in enhancing our defence capabilities," he said.

Dominance by default: How China was handed East Asia on a platter

Anyone within range of China's expanding navy will have to build capabilities faster and/or work more closely with the US, as Australia has just announced, writes T N Ninan

Japan, US, South Korea urge North Korea to return to arms talks

Senior diplomats urged North Korea to return to talks over its missile and nuclear development, a day after it announced it successfully tested new long-range cruise missiles

Nato chief Stoltenberg urges China to join nuclear arms control talks

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged China on Monday to join international efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons

US raises concern over China's accelerated nuclear arsenal buildup

The United States is concerned about China's accelerated build-up of its nuclear arsenal, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday

Ex-Mossad chief Cohen signals Israel behind recent Iran nuclear attacks

The outgoing chief of Israel's Mossad intelligence service has offered the closest acknowledgment yet his country was behind recent attacks targeting Iran's nuclear programme and a military scientist

United Nations welcomes extension of New START treaty for five years

The spokesman expressed the hope that more countries that have nuclear weapons will join nuclear disarmament efforts