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RUSSIA VETOES RESOLUTION BARRING SPACE WEAPONS AS CONGRESS FINALLY APPROVES UKRAINE AID On Thursday, the United States and Japan presented a resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) preventing nuclear weapons in space and reiterating obligations under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was initially proposed by both the United States and Soviet Union and ratified by 114 countries. The UNSC resolution had more than 60 cosponsors but was ultimately vetoed by Russia, as was expected; China abstained. Assistant Secretary of State Mallory Stewart said recently that the resolution came after speaking with other UNSC members about their concerns and about “how irresponsible, destabilizing and really catastrophic a placement of a weapon in orbit would be.” The White House confirmed in February that Russia has a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon that has not been deployed. Russian President Vladimir Putin later said the country has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. Further reading from the Center’s Nukes of Hazard blog: Keep Calm and Orbit On Meanwhile, Congress finally approved a foreign-aid package including support for Ukraine eight months after President Joe Biden requested it to help Ukraine fend off Russian aggression and defend its territorial integrity. During that period, Russia made gains on the battlefield and Ukraine’s desperation increased significantly. Assistance for Ukraine, which accounted for $61 billion of the $95 billion package that also included money for Israel, Gaza and Taiwan, was approved by the House 311-112 on April 20. All 112 votes opposing additional aid to Ukraine came from Republicans. After the House voted separately on the components of the package, the Senate, which had supported a version of the bill in February, approved the combined legislation 79-16 on April 23. President Biden signed the legislation the next day. |
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‘AT THE BRINK’ SERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES CONTINUES EXCELLENT DEEP DIVE INTO NUCLEAR ISSUES Last month, we told you that The New York Times has launched a new must-read series called At the Brink focusing on nuclear weapons issues. In her introductory essay, called, “It’s Time to Protest Nuclear War Again,” Opinion Editor Kathleen Kingsbury explains the current nuclear landscape, writing that there is “no precedent for the complexity of today’s nuclear era,” and that the same activism that called for a nuclear freeze in 1982 is mostly “inconceivable now.” We also told you about the first four pieces in this series led by writer W.J. Hennigan last month: the first, a story of what’s at stake; the second, an explainer on the president’s sole authority to launch nuclear weapons; the third, a fictionalized audio essay that examines the effects of just one nuclear detonation; and the fourth, a brief audio examination of three movies that help us understand our nuclear present post-Oppenheimer. The fifth piece came out this month focusing on the U.S.-China relationship and an invitation from China to the United States and other nuclear powers to negotiate a mutual no-first-use treaty, a positive sign, although questions remain about how such a measure would be structured and verified. |
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BLINKEN, XI MEET IN BEIJING DAYS AFTER CHINESE MISSILE TEST Mere days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Beijing for talks, the Chinese military publicly touted its JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile by releasing a video of it being test launched. Blinken and President Xi Jinping met Friday, with one of Blinken’s primary stated goals being to warn Xi about China’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. The agenda also included North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. |
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PAKISTAN CONTINUES NUCLEAR MODERNIZATION EFFORTS Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, told Congress during an April 15 hearing that despite immense economic shortfalls and challenges Pakistan has successfully been able to continue its nuclear modernization efforts. These include modernizing its weapon platforms, updating command-and-control, and improving security throughout its nuclear enterprise. Kruse noted that Pakistan has maintained these efforts along with its efforts to acquire additional loans from its Chinese and Saudi allies, as well as through the International Monetary Fund. Notably, officials in Islamabad have said little publicly about India’s test last month of a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle, or MIRV. |
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U.S. COMMITS TO EXPLORING NEW MONITORING SYSTEMS AS NORTH KOREA CONTINUES MISSILE TESTS AND THREATS North Korean weapons testing has continued in recent weeks with a potentially significant qualitative development in Pyongyang’s delivery capabilities. On April 3, North Korea announced that it had tested an alleged new solid fuel hypersonic intermediate-range missile. South Korean and Japanese analysts threw cold water on the performance of the new hypersonic glide vehicle, however, stating that North Korea likely exaggerated its peak speed, range, and maximum height. Given the highly complicated technical barriers inherent to hypersonic weapons, it’s unlikely North Korea has perfected these systems. Pyongyang also fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast this week, only days after Japan publicly called for a summit with North Korea. On top of this, a leading Chinese legislator traveled to Pyongyang earlier this month and met with leader Kim Jong Un in a display of the two countries’ deepening ties. In an effort to maintain monitoring efforts of North Korean nuclear weapons development, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield remarked in recent days that the United States and its allies were committed to exploring new monitoring mechanisms both within and outside of the United Nations system. Such efforts have become necessary due to Russian and Chinese shielding of illicit North Korean behavior. Moreover, on the same day that South Korea held parliamentary elections, Kim publicly stated that “now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before,” and issued a threat that if provoked, North Korea would not hesitate to issue a “death blow” to South Korea. This comes on the heels of multiple parliamentary measures within the DPRK to officially break with its long-standing goal of reunification of the peninsula. |
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IRAN, ISRAEL EXCHANGE STRIKES, RAMPING UP TENSIONS As the regional effects from the war in Gaza continue, Israel — a nuclear power — and Iran — which has pursued nuclear technology but not weapons — continue exchanging strikes. Before last week, Iran had never struck Israel from within its borders. This week, Israel struck Isfahan, which is home to key Iranian nuclear labs, none of which were hit. Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran could “build a nuclear weapon in months.” |
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OP-ED: PLANNED EXPANSION OF SAVANNAH RIVER SITE NUCLEAR WEAPONS FACILITY NEEDS ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT Program Coordinator Emma Sandifer, a Georgia native, wrote in the Georgia Recorder about the need for plans to expand the Savannah River Site (SRS) along the Georgia-South Carolina border to include thorough environmental commitments. “Although SRS has not yet seen a disaster, the health of millions of residents in and around the facility is too important to take lightly. We must learn from Hanford [nuclear site in Washington] and demand federal, state and local officials ensure effective safety measures and cleanup procedures. We should hold them accountable for protecting our environment and communities from the familiar horrors of nuclear waste mismanagement. If plutonium pit production must be undertaken, the SRS should become a shining example of how to do it right.” |
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NEW ON THE CENTER WEBSITE: DUNE PART TWO AND DEFENSE SPENDING ANALYSIS Thinking Evolves: On Dune Part Two and Nuclear Weapons: *SPOILERS* Senior Policy Director John Erath reflects on how the film Dune Part Two presents the use of nuclear weapons compared to the initial film adaptation of the book in 1984. “If the way we think about nuclear weapons has changed over time, should the way we approach arms control do so as well?” Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Budget Request Briefing Book: Read the Center’s analysis of the Biden administration’s defense budget request. Toplines: a $9 billion national defense spending increase to $895 billion and a $12.5 billion increase for total nuclear weapons spending to $69 billion. |
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