Jamie Kwong | Foreign Policy
Hours before President Donald Trump announced a return to U.S. nuclear testing “on an equal basis,” he made another surprise announcement: He had given South Korea “approval to build a Nuclear Powered Submarine.” Acquiring a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine, or SSN, has been on South Korea’s defense wish list for years—but even Seoul was caught off guard. This proposed capability raises critical questions that lack clear answers.
Christopher Hanson | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to speed deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies by avoiding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) public and transparent licensing process. By doing so, the administration may be working against its own long-term goals by short-circuiting the public arbitration process moderated by the NRC that is critical to building and maintaining public acceptance and confidence in nuclear energy.
Iran International
A hardline Iranian lawmaker on Monday cited months-old comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as a sign Moscow might be prepared to provide Iran with nuclear weapons. Kamran Ghazanfari said Russia and China would support Iran’s potential withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adding that the move would increase the country’s “nuclear and military capability.” "China and Russia support this decision (to withdrawal from the NPT). Medvedev, Putin’s deputy, even hinted indirectly that Russia is willing to provide Iran with nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with the Iran24 news outlet.
Peter Makowsky, Jack Liu and Iliana Ragnone | 38North
Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center from October and November 2025 shows continuation of modernization and expansion efforts throughout the site. Yongbyon plays a critical role in the country’s production of nuclear material for its weapons program, as the sole producer of plutonium and a significant source of enriched uranium.
Jennifer Hiller | The Wall Street Journal
The U.S.’s last big nuclear-power project came in more than $16 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule. Now, the U.S. government wants to give the AP1000 another shot. President Trump is betting $80 billion that the U.S. can revive the stalled nuclear power industry—and make large reactors, like the AP1000 from Westinghouse Electric, a ubiquitous power source rather than a cautionary tale. U.S. electricity demand is rising across the country, partly thanks to the frenzy over artificial intelligence, after remaining flat for decades.
Reuters
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will need a "special status" and a cooperation agreement between Russia and Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. Russian forces seized the plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces no electricity, but each side regularly accuses the other of military actions compromising nuclear safety. "Whatever side of the line it ends up, you will have to have a cooperative arrangement or a cooperative atmosphere," he said.