The key question is whether North Korea does have nuclear weapons that it can readily use against the United States and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan.
The demilitarised zone between North and South Korea is one of the last bastions of the Cold War.
Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Talks begin today at the United Nations to negotiate a total ban of nuclear weapons. Over 3,600 scientists have signed an open letter supporting the ban.
The use of nuclear weapons – arguably the most devastating of all weapons of mass destruction – is currently not necessarily prohibited under international law.
Tensions in Asia may soon boil over. If U.S. leaders fail to seek pathways to peace, the consequences may be grim, warns former National Security Council member.
The US’s 1952 ‘Ivy Mike’ test.
National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Site Office, via Wikimedia Commons
Although North Korea’s recent missile test is unlikely to have been an ICBM, they are likely to have a medium range missile that could hit South Korea in a few years.
This year saw nuclear weapons tested, stockpiles renewed, and disasters remembered.
More than 70 years after the Hiroshima bombing, a majority of countries are pushing for a legally-binding treaty against nuclear weapons.
Tim Wright/ICAN/Flickr
In early December, the nations of the world are poised to take an historic step on nuclear weapons. Yet Australia sticks out like a sore thumb among Asia-Pacific nations in arguing against change.
Trump’s access to nuclear weapons poses a new and unknown threat to global peace and security.
AAP Image/NEWZULU/ZACH SIMEONE
Donald Trump will soon have command of thousands of nuclear weapons. This presents a new and unknown threat to global security - and an urgent incentive for all states to ban nuclear weapons.