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Canada pulls plug on funding program to retrain ex-Soviet scientists

The Canadian PressMay 7, 2013 22:39

OTTAWA - Canada is pulling out of two international programs aimed at ensuring ex-Soviet scientists don't end up working for terrorist groups. The programs, one in Moscow and the other in Ukraine, were set up in the early 1990s as a means to give weapons experts a place to work following the collapse of the Soviet Union. But the work of both centres was given greater heft by G8 nations at the 2002 summit in Alberta, when the international body agreed to spend $20 billion on a ten-year program to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

US hopeful Mideast nuclear conference can be held soon

Agence France-PresseMay 3, 2013 06:45

The United States still hopes a conference aimed at creating a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East can take place soon, a high-level US official said Friday, urging regional players to cooperate. "I think it could be very soon, if the will exists among the regional parties to engage with each other and to respect each others' needs," said Thomas Countryman, US assistant secretary of international security and nonproliferation. He was speaking to reporters in Geneva following a preparatory meeting for the 2015 review conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

U.S. diplomat to visit Japan to discuss nuclear deterrence

Kyodo News InternationalMay 2, 2013 22:00

A senior U.S. official will make a three-day visit to Japan from Monday to discuss nuclear deterrence, missile defense cooperation, and arms control and nonproliferation issues with officials of Japan's foreign and defense ministries, the State Department said Thursday. On Tuesday, Rose Gottemoeller, acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, is scheduled to exchange views with experts and academics at a nuclear policy roundtable discussion hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Japan refrains from backing joint statement against nuclear weapon use

Kyodo News InternationalApril 30, 2013 15:47

Japan did not join a group of countries endorsing a statement against the use of nuclear weapons announced Wednesday by South Africa at a preparatory committee for the next Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review meeting. The statement on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons urges that nuclear weapons never be used under any circumstances. According to South African delegation officials, Japan sought to eliminate the wording of "under any circumstances."

NATO condemns NKorea threats

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 07:16

NATO foreign ministers condemned North Korea's war threats Tuesday, calling on it to abandon atomic weapons just as Pyongyang insisted it be treated as a nuclear-armed state on equal terms with long-time foe the United States. "North Korea's provocative actions are in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional stability," the ministers said in a statement as they met at NATO HQ in Brussels. They also "jeopardise the prospects for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and threaten international peace and security," it added.

U.S. rejects North Korea's demand for nuclear status

Thomson ReutersApril 23, 2013 06:30

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday firmly rejected North Korea's demand that it be recognised as a nuclear arms state. "North Korea's demand to be recognised as a nuclear weapons state is neither realistic nor acceptable," Thomas Countryman, U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation, told Reuters in Geneva where he is heading the delegation to talks on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Iran, N.Korea threaten nuclear nonproliferation treaty

Agence France-PresseApril 22, 2013 11:15

The nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea threaten the credibility of the global treaty aimed at avoiding the proliferation of atomic weapons, a high-level US official warned Monday. North Korea's third nuclear test earlier this year and Iran's "nuclear enrichment programme which far exceeds any conceivable civilian use" constitute "the real challenges to the non-proliferation treaty," said Thomas Countryman, US assistant secretary of international security and nonproliferation.

Nuclear-armed states 'concerned' by N.Korea, Iran

Agence France-PresseApril 19, 2013 15:00

Representatives of the world's five big nuclear-armed states on Friday voiced concern over North Korea and Iran's nuclear programmes, lamenting the threat to global efforts to avoid proliferation. "In the context of the nuclear test conducted by (North Korea) on February 12, 2013, and the continued pursuit of certain nuclear activities by Iran ... the P5 reaffirmed their concerns about these serious challenges to the non-proliferation regime," they said in a statement.

North Korea needs more tests for nuclear missile - U.S. expert

Thomson ReutersApril 18, 2013 11:31

By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - North Korea would need to carry out at least one more nuclear test in order to develop a nuclear missile, a prominent U.S. scientist who has often visited the isolated Asian state said on Thursday. Stanford University's Siegfried Hecker, who in 2010 was shown a previously undetected uranium enrichment facility in North Korea, said he believed it could conduct its fourth such explosion in weeks or months.

N. Korea capable of miniaturizing nuclear bombs -- U.S. military agency

AsianetApril 12, 2013 17:15

A U.S. military intelligence agency believes that North Korea has learned how to mount nuclear bombs on ballistic missiles, a U.S. congressman said Thursday, citing a classified report. But the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) still questions whether the secretive nation has mastered the sophisticated technology, according to Rep.