North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has given rise to much debate on the security challenges that it brings to the international system. Its deployment of ballistic missiles and testing of nuclear devices (2006, 2009, and 2013) have alarmed states around the world, and posed dangers and threats to the region. In fact, recent activity at North Korea’s nuclear facility has given rise to new concerns about the possibility of a fourth nuclear test.
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A Glance at the Ukraine Crisis’s Impact on Nuclear Weapons Considerations
This week, eyes are on Ukraine to see whether the presidential election held on Sunday will soon lead to more stability; while many Ukrainians look ahead to the challenge of grappling with the problems that led to the crisis – both internal and external. The crisis intensified dynamics of a deteriorating relationship between NATO and Russia, where prospects had already been bleak for nuclear arms control. The crisis has even led some to call for re-emphasizing the role of nuclear weapons in transatlantic security.
TacNukes News No. 9
This edition of TacNukes News looks at the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the issue, and the U.S. Administration’s latest spending requests and plans for modernizing the B61 nuclear bombs.
Heeding the outcomes & remaining challenges of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit
On March 24-25, 53 world leaders convened at The Hague for the third Nuclear Security Summit to discuss the implementation of national measures to protect vulnerable fissile and radiological material from belligerence-prone hands. The following commentary focuses on the summit’s outcomes and remaining challenges as a platform to build on for continued progress.
Personal political interests and the Iranian nuclear negotiations
Iran and the E3+3 will be returning to the negotiating table on April 8th to begin yet another round of high level talks on the status and future of the Iranian nuclear program. As ever, there are various causes for caution, and perhaps even concern, as the Iranians and their American and European counterparts continue to disagree on central issues such as the fate of the Arak heavy water reactor and permitted levels of nuclear enrichment.
Nuclear Security and the Nuclear Security Summits
Resources from BASIC about Nuclear Security.
The Scottish referendum: a chance to challenge our nuclear assumptions?
With just under six months to go until the referendum on Scottish independence, there is still little clarity about how any independence agreement would shape up in practice. A myriad of issues remains on the table, ranging from the everyday – Will there be border control? How will the postal system function? Which television stations will be available? – right up to the most complex strategic questions over currency and economic independence, membership of international organisations, and the future of the UK and Scotland’s defense policies.
US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement Renewal 2014: a foregone conclusion?
1958 saw the first protest march to Britain’s nuclear bomb factory at Aldermaston, the start of the deployment of US THOR ballistic missiles with thermonuclear warheads at RAF Feltwell, a series of British thermonuclear tests at Christmas Island and the US and the UK signing the Agreement For Cooperation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defence Purposes – also known as the Mutual Defence Agreement (MDA).