Tag: Arms Control and Limitation and Disarmament

Biden’s Next Crisis Might Be North Korea

How do you solve a problem like North Korea? Since the end of the Cold War, it seems that every formula, from threatening war to promising peace, has been tried. And yet, despite being under more sanctions than just about any other country, North Korea developed a nuclear arsenal estimated at 50 warheads and sophisticated […]

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‘Oppenheimer’ Is the Origin Story. These Three Movies Reveal Our Nuclear Present.

The national security writer W. J. Hennigan has spent many years ringing the alarm about the world’s new nuclear era — the subject of At The Brink, a new series from New York Times Opinion — and the crisis on the horizon. For anyone whose interest was piqued by the origin story of nuclear weapons […]

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U.S. Fears Russia Might Put a Nuclear Weapon in Space

When Russia conducted a series of secret military satellite launches around the time of its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, American intelligence officials began delving into the mystery of what, exactly, the Russians were doing. Later, spy agencies discovered Russia was working on a new kind of space-based weapon that could threaten the thousands […]

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Fear and Ambition Propel Xi’s Nuclear Acceleration

Nineteen days after taking power as China’s leader, Xi Jinping convened the generals overseeing the country’s nuclear missiles and issued a blunt demand. China had to be ready for possible confrontation with a formidable adversary, he said, signaling that he wanted a more potent nuclear capability to counter the threat. Their force, he told the […]

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Is North Korea Planning a War?

North Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells in waters near South Korean border islands on Jan. 5. Last week, it said it no longer regarded the South as inhabited by “fellow countrymen” but as a “hostile state” it would subjugate through a nuclear war. On Friday, it said it had tested an underwater nuclear drone […]

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Kissinger’s Triumphs and Mistakes Offer Lessons

Henry Kissinger was the wisest of American foreign policy leaders and the most oblivious, the most farsighted and the most myopic, the one with the greatest legacy — and the one we should most study to learn what not to do. I knew Kissinger only slightly (he worked to charm journalists, just as he believed […]

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A.I. Killer Drones Are Becoming Reality. Nations Disagree on Limits.

It seems like something out of science fiction: swarms of killer robots that hunt down targets on their own and are capable of flying in for the kill without any human signing off. But it is approaching reality as the United States, China and a handful of other nations make rapid progress in developing and […]

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The Urgent Need to Nuclear Talks with China

After months of troubled relations, and then some tentative steps to bridge the gap between the United States and China, there is one glaring omission: American and Chinese military leaders still don’t communicate with one another directly. That’s important because those lines of communication are the best way to avoid the kind of misunderstandings or […]

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Russia Pulled Out of a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Here’s What That Means.

In a landmark moment marking the closing chapters of the Cold War, Presidents Ronald Reagan of the United States and Mikhail S. Gorbachev of the Soviet Union concluded a 1985 summit in Geneva by issuing a joint statement declaring that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” That commitment paved the […]

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China’s Military is Making Risky Moves and Adding Nuclear Warheads, U.S. Says

Risky Maneuvers Since the fall of 2021, the Pentagon report says, the United States has recorded more than 180 intercepts of U.S. aircraft by Chinese military forces in the region. Beijing has long bristled at the U.S. military aircraft and ships that operate in international skies and seas near China. China has been increasingly assertive […]

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New Global Divisions on View as Biden Goes to Israel and Putin to China

As President Biden lands in Israel on Wednesday seeking to display undying American support for the country in the midst of an intensifying crisis after a deadly explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is in Beijing, meeting with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, seeking to display their […]

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Russia May Be Planning to Test a Nuclear-Powered Missile

Satellite imagery and aviation data suggest that Russia may be preparing to test an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile — or may have recently tested one — with a theoretical range of thousands of miles. Movements of aircraft and vehicles at and near a base in Russia’s remote Arctic region are consistent with preparations that were […]

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Biden Aides Discuss Asian Pacts as Model for Saudi Defense Treaty

American and Saudi officials are discussing terms of a mutual defense treaty that would resemble the robust military pacts that the United States has with its close allies Japan and South Korea, a central component in President Biden’s high-stakes diplomacy to get Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, according to U.S. officials. Under such […]

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Putin and Kim’s Embrace May Place Xi in a Bind

To challenge the power of his chief rival, the United States, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has linked arms with two anti-Western states, declaring a “no limits” partnership with Russia and pledging “unswerving” support for North Korea. But the specter of a budding bromance between President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the North Korean […]

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