The sudden death of North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-Il, from a heart attack has naturally raised questions about the transition in the isolated nuclear-armed state as power is handed to his youngest son Kim Jong-Un believed to be in his late twenties.
Programmes
A Visit to Moscow: Disarmament, Arms Control, the Role of Nuclear Weapons, and NATO-Russia Strategic Dialogue
From 28-30 November 2011, BASIC executive director Paul Ingram travelled to Moscow and participated in several meetings on nuclear arms control with a focus on tactical nuclear weapons, in order to reach out to Russian officials and parliamentarians to discuss next steps in arms control and disarmament.
New START anniversary and old nuclear baggage
Thursday of this week marks the first anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s vote in favor of ratifying the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which established verifiable limits on Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear weapons.
Wilton Park arms control conference
Some of the world’s leading nuclear arms controllers are meeting at the UK Foreign Office conference centre in Wilton Park, Sussex, this week. As the week progresses, there will be discussions on the state of the nuclear non-proliferation system, the initiatives currently in train after the NPT agreement around an Action Plan in May 2010, and prospects for progress in the current five-year NPT round that culminates in the 2015 Review Conference.
NATO Needs to Act on Nuclear Policy
NATO foreign ministers meet, less than six months before the summit in Chicago. They have a full agenda, not least the debates over the management of withdrawal from Afghanistan and discussing lessons from the Libya experience.
The Fallout from the British Embassy Attack in Iran
The storming of the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, and the subsequent diplomatic fallout, marks a serious deterioration in the ongoing standoff between Iran and the West and seems sure to set back further diplomatic efforts to address Iran’s nuclear program.
This Week – the Russian bear growls
With parliamentary elections scheduled next Sunday in Russia, the Russian bear is growling. President Dmitry Medvedev struck out last week against the U.S. plans for a missile defense system across Europe, warning that Russia might pull out of the New START treaty, and announcing a series of counter-measures.
This Week – Supercommittee failure looms
It looks as though the U.S. bipartisan supercommittee charged with finding at least .2 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade is about to collapse amid recriminations.