When Nuclear Superiority Isn’t Superior: Revisiting the Nuclear Balance of Power
LAUREN SUKIN | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Amid China’s nuclear buildup and strengthening Chinese-Russian relations, an old idea is back in vogue in Washington: a larger nuclear arsenal will enhance U.S. security. But would nuclear superiority, as its adherents claim, help the United States prevail in conflicts and extract greater concessions during crises with nuclear-armed adversaries? Or, as new research suggests, might it instead be a disadvantage?
Russian Duma Takes First Step to Revoke Ratification of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Guy Faulconbridge and Filipp Lebedev | Reuters
Russia's parliament took the first step on Tuesday towards revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and its top lawmaker warned the United States that Moscow might even abandon the pact altogether. Russia says the aim is to restore parity with the United States, which has signed but never ratified the 1996 treaty, and that it will not resume testing unless Washington does.
NATO Will Hold a Major Nuclear Exercise Next Week as Russia Plans to Pull out of a Test Ban Treaty
LORNE COOK | Associated Press
NATO will hold a major nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief said Thursday, an announcement that came after Russia warned it would pull out of a global nuclear test ban agreement…“This is a routine training event that happens every October,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “This year, the training will take place over Italy, Croatia and the Mediterranean Sea.”
Nuclear-Capable US Bomber to Land at ROK Base in Show of Force to North Korea
Joon Ha Park and Shreyas Reddy | NK News
A nuclear-capable U.S. bomber will land in South Korea this week, a move one expert viewed as an attempt to reassure South Koreans of the allies’ joint deterrence capabilities in the event of a crisis involving North Korea. The U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress is due to conduct two flyovers during the 2023 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) kicking off on Tuesday, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a press release Monday…The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also threatened the use of nuclear weapons in response, and outlined that the carrier’s arrival on South Korean shores meant “the outbreak of a nuclear war comes to the fore.”
World Must Not Fail in Iran as it Did in North Korea -UN Nuclear Chief
Jonathan Landay | Reuters
The world must not fail in Iran as it did in North Korea, which kicked out International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and developed nuclear weapons, the U.N. nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday. The IAEA has not had access to North Korea since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009 and it now observes its nuclear advances from afar including through satellite imagery.
Support for Nuclear has Grown Dramatically, Says Global Agency Chief
Paul Day | Reuters
There has been a reluctance by leaders to bring nuclear power to the table as part of the COP talks since some countries’ rigid opposition means even the mention of the technology is enough to disrupt more general talks on climate change mitigation.COP28, meanwhile, will be different, says Magwood, with conversations on nuclear power placed in greater prominence as part of the event than previous meetings.