USE OF NUKES

North Korea's new reactor at nuke site likely to be formally operational next summer, Seoul says

South Korea's defense minister has expressed concerns that North Korea's light-water reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex is likely to be fully operational by next summer. There are suspicions that North Korea may use the reactor to produce fissile materials for nuclear weapons.

Kim Jong Un warns of nuclear attack if provoked, despite warnings from US, South Korea

South Koreans want their own nukes. That could roil one of the world's most dangerous regions

The alliance with the United States has allowed South Korea to build a powerful democracy, its citizens confident that Washington would protect them if Pyongyang ever acted on its dream of unifying the Korean Peninsula under its own rule.

India and Pakistan's nuclear arsenal expansion and modernization plans unveiled in new report

India and Pakistan are increasing their nuclear arsenals and developing new nuclear delivery systems, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). India's focus is shifting towards longer-range weapons, including those capable of targeting areas in China. India currently has 164 nuclear warheads, while Pakistan has 170. The report reveals that the number of operational nuclear weapons is rising globally, with Russia and the US collectively possessing nearly 90% of all nuclear weapons.

Russia outnumbers the US 10-to-1 in tactical nukes. Now what?

The blame for the global spike in nuclear anxiety belongs mainly, but not exclusively, to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Surely the situation brought about by his invasion of Ukraine and his recurring rattles of the atomic saber must also change how the US thinks about its own atomic strategy. But how exactly?

World leaders warn China and North Korea on nukes as Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy travels to G7 summit

World leaders have faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine. China, the world's No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns.

South Korea: Talks with US on management of nukes underway

South Korea reconfirmed Tuesday that Seoul and Washington are discussing South Korea being involved in U.S. nuclear asset management in the face of intensifying North Korean nuclear threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

North Korea's Kim orders 'exponential' expansion of nuke arsenal

Kim's moves suggest he will continue his provocative run of weapons tests this year despite U.S.-led pressure campaigns to curb his nuclear ambition. Regional tensions on the North's nuclear program will likely continue, but some experts said Kim would ultimately try to use his enlarged arsenal to wrest concessions like sanctions relief in future dealings with his rivals.

CIA chief praises PM Modi, President Xi for raising nuke use concerns in Russia-Ukraine conflict

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping raising concerns about the use of nuclear weapons had an impact on Russia, which has indulged in "nuclear sabre-rattling" over its war with Ukraine, CIA chief William Burns has said.

China blasts US report, reiterates 'no 1st use' nuke policy

The Pentagon last week released an annual China security report that warned Beijing would likely have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, and that it has provided no clarity on how it plans to use them.

North Korea nuke test would be key concern, says UN nuclear chief

Officials from the United States and its Asian allies Japan and South Korea suspect North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, and deputy foreign ministers from the three countries said Wednesday their joint response would be "decisive."

Nukes not an option, says India after Russian defence minister dials Rajnath Singh

Last month, Putin issued a thinly veiled threat that Moscow could exercise the option of using nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory in case of an escalation in the conflict.

North Korea’s crypto-nukes & this week's top tech stories

Years of crippling economic sanctions and pressure from governments in the neighbourhood (mainly China) have forced North Korea to come up with creative ways to bypass these economic punishments.

North Korea says it has tested and deployed 'tactical nuke' cruise missiles

Pyongyang has conducted a blitz of ballistic missile tests recently which it described as tactical nuclear drills that simulated taking out airports and military facilities across South Korea.

North Korea's tactical nukes: Here are 5 things to know

North Korea announced Monday that its recent spate of missile launches were "tactical nuclear" drills that simulated striking airports and military facilities across the South.

North Korea all set for another nuke test: Why the world should be worried

Amid the current state-of-affairs, when the Russia-Ukraine conflict has brought the risk of real nuclear war to the forefront, things look more bleak-considering the fact that North Korea's despotic regime could use them on a whim and that could trigger a chain reaction-putting entire humanity at risk.

With Ukraine nuke plant in peril, UN tries to broker safety

The IAEA chief said the Zaporizhzhia plant was shelled and attacked earlier Wednesday, and a "projectile" hit a pipeline in a pool where spent nuclear fuel is cooled, and it stopped working.

Grain ship from Ukraine docks in Turkey, nuke plant shelled

A total of 12 ships have now been authorized to sail under the grain deal between Ukraine and Russia, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations — ten outbound and two headed for Ukraine. Some 322,000 metric tons of agricultural products have left Ukrainian ports, the bulk of it corn but also sunflower oil and soya.

United Nations chief urges nuke powers to abide by no-first-use pledge

"I think that nobody, nobody can accept the idea that a new nuclear war would happen. This will be the destruction of the planet," Guterres said. "What is clear is if nobody uses for the first time then there will be no nuclear war."

Kim threatens to use nukes amid tensions with US, S Korea

Kim's speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War were apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country suffering pandemic-related economic difficulties.

No 'practical evidence' Russia plans to use tactical nukes, says CIA

Russia placed nuclear forces on high alert shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Putin has also made thinly veiled threats hinting at willingness to deploy Russia's tactical nuclear weapons.

What are 'tactical' nuclear weapons, and would Putin use them?

Russia has the largest number of nuclear warheads of any country, according to the SIPRI peace research institute in Stockholm, which puts the figure at 6,255.

UN experts: North Korea seeks to produce material for nukes

"New technologies tested included a possible hypersonic guiding warhead and a maneuverable re-entry vehicle," the panel said. North Korea also demonstrated "increased capabilities for rapid deployment, wide mobility (including at sea), and improved resilience of its missile forces."