SIPRI Warns World's Nuclear Arsenals On The Rise For The First Time In Decades

The Guardian: Global nuclear arsenal expected to grow for first time in decades 

Thinktank highlights ‘worrying trend’ among nuclear-armed states at time of heightened tensions 

The world’s nuclear arsenal is expected to increase in the coming years for the first time since the end of cold war at a time that the risk of such weapons being used is the greatest in decades, a leading conflict and weapons thinktank has said. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and western support for Kyiv have heightened tensions among the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said on Monday.  

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WNU Editor: The SIPRI report is here .... Global nuclear arsenals are expected to grow as states continue to modernize–New SIPRI Yearbook out now (SIPRI). 

SIPRI Warns World's Nuclear Arsenals On The Rise For The First Time In Decades  

‘Worrying trend’: Post-Cold War drop in nukes could be over -- AP  

SIPRI STUDY: World Headed for New Era of Nuclear Rearmament -- VOA/AFP  

Global nuclear arsenal to grow for first time since Cold War, think-tank says -- Euractiv/Reuters 

Global nuclear arsenal could grow for the first time in decades, think tank SIPRI warns -- ABC News Australia  

World Nuclear Powers to Reverse Post-Cold War Drop in Arsenals -- Bloomberg  

World's nuclear arsenals on the rise as concerns grow over China and North Korea -- CNN  

Global Powers Likely To Bolster, Modernize Nuclear Arsenals In 'Worrying Trend,' Report Says -- RFE  

Global stockpile of nuclear weapons expected to rise: SIPRI -- Al Jazeera

Can The U.S. Stop Russia And China From Increasing Their Nuclear Stockpiles

The truck-mounted version of the Dongfeng 41 ICBM, which has a range of up to 15,000km, rolls along Chang'an Avenue in Beijing on October 1, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

CBS: U.S. "not going to allow Russia and China to continue" increasing nuclear weapons stockpile, top negotiator says

U.S. arms control talks with Russia, and perhaps China, are slated for Monday, June 22 in Vienna, just days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Honolulu to meet with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi at Hickam Air Force Base. The talks are aimed at bringing China into broader negotiations with Russia to limit all three countries' nuclear weapons stockpiles.

Concerns are mounting about Russian and Chinese interest in developing their nuclear arsenals. The talks come two months after a State Department report raised questions about their compliance with arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament agreements and commitments.

"China's overall nuclear stockpile is going to double over the next 10 years. That of course is a great concern," U.S. arms control negotiator Ambassador Robert A. Wood told CBS News.

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WNU Editor: Russia is looking for a deal. But China has repeatedly said that they are not going to get involved in any negotiations that will limit its nuclear weapons program.

World’s Nuclear-Armed Nations Spent A Record $73bn On Their Nuclear Weapons Last Year

$73 billion. That's how much the nine nuclear-armed states spent on nuclear weapons in 2019. We have just released new research breaking down how much each country spent → https://t.co/wJfdM62eCd Here is what you need to know ↓ #thread pic.twitter.com/3HaiMCueyP

— ICAN (@nuclearban) May 13, 2020

The Guardian: World nuclear arms spending hit $73bn last year – half of it by US

* Spending by nine nuclear-armed states rose 10%
* Trump boosted nuclear funding but cut pandemic prevention

The world’s nuclear-armed nations spent a record $73bn on their weapons last year, with the US spending almost as much as the eight other states combined, according to a new report.

The new spending figures, reflecting the highest expenditure on nuclear arms since the height of the cold war, have been estimated by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), which argues that the coronavirus pandemic underlines the wastefulness of the nuclear arms race.

The nine nuclear weapons states spent a total of $72.9bn in 2019, a 10% increase on the year before. Of that, $35.4bn was spent by the Trump administration, which accelerated the modernisation of the US arsenal in its first three years while cutting expenditure on pandemic prevention.

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WNU Editor: The report is here .... Enough Is Enough: Global Nuclear Weapons Spending (ICAN)

More News On The World’s Nuclear-Armed Nations Spending A Record $73bn On Their Nuclear Weapons Last Year

US boosted nuclear arms budget by billions, report says -- DW
Record $73 billion spent on nukes in 2019: ICAN -- Anadolu Agency
U.S. Accounted For Nearly Half Of Global Nuclear Weapons Spending In 2019 -- IBTimes
Nations Spent $73bn on Nuclear Arms Amid COVID-19, UK in 3rd as US Tops at Half of Global Costs -- Sputnik

These Are The 9 Nuclear-Armed Countries And Their 31 Allies That They Have Vowed To Defend

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Business Insider: These are the 9 nuclear-armed countries and the 31 allies they've vowed to defend

* There are an estimated 13,885 nuclear weapons in the world, either stockpiled or retired.
* Last year, there were 14,465 weapons, but some 600 were retired or decommissioned in the last 12 months.
* It shows that total elimination is still a long-term goal, despite international efforts to rid the world of nukes.
* Scroll down for an overview of the world's nine nuclear-armed states, the number of weapons they have, and the 31 countries they've vowed to protect.

The number of nuclear weapons known to exist around the world today is steadily falling, but the fear that a country could one day unleash the most devastating weapon on Earth still persists.

The total number of nuclear weapons fell from 14,465 in 2018 to about 13,885 this year, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) 2019 yearbook, which was published in June.

It shows that while the international community is working toward the goal of reducing the number of nukes in the world, total elimination is still a long-term reality.

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WNU Editor: Even though the world's nuclear stockpile is going down, there is still a lot of nuclear weapons .

World Nuclear Powers Meet In Beijing

RFE: Five Nuclear Powers Meeting In Beijing As U.S. Calls For Transparency

The United States has called for more transparency from Russia and China regarding their nuclear programs, as diplomats from five major nuclear powers meet in Beijing.

The two-day conference that opened on January 30 is aimed at preventing the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Aside from Beijing, Moscow, and Washington, diplomats from London and Paris are also participating.

Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and all of them are nuclear-armed powers.

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Update #1: Five nuke powers vow to safeguard non-proliferation treaty (CGTN)
Update #2: The major nuclear powers are meeting in Beijing. Why? Euronews answers (Euronews/AP/Reuters).

WNU Editor: This meeting is already causing friction .... US accuses Russia, China of lack of transparency on nuclear programmes (SCMP/AFP). More here .... US calls for compliance with nuclear treaties (ABC News/AP)

Global Nuclear Weapon Stockpiles Are Decreasing But The Remainig Arsenal Is Being Modernized

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DW: Think tank: Nuclear powers seek to modernize weapons

The number of nuclear warheads is falling, but governments are updating their arsenals and delivery capabilities, a Stockholm-based monitor has said. The US and Russia still hold the vast majority of the world's nukes.

North Korea is believed to have enough material for some ten nuclear warheads, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a new report on Monday.

The experts, however, said it was unclear if Pyongyang had produced operational weapons.

According to the SIPRI estimate, almost 15,400 nuclear weapons were under the control of nine countries as of January this year. This marks a drop of over 450 warheads compared to last year.

"However, the pace of their reductions appears to be slowing compared with a decade ago," SIPRI said, adding that there were no new control agreements between heavyweights Russia and the US.

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WNU Editor: SIPRI's website is here.

More News On Global Nuclear Weapon Stockpiles Decreasing

Global nuclear weapons: downsizing but modernizing -- SIPRI
Watchdog: Nuclear powers shrinking, modernizing arsenals -- AP
U.S., Russia paring atomic arsenals but modernizing: SIPRI -- AFP
Report: U.S., Russia Slowly Reducing Nuclear Arsenals -- RFE
Global Nuclear Arsenals Decline Thanks to Russia, US -- Spuntik
North Korea may have 10 nuclear warheads: think tank -- NK News
Pakistan has more nuclear warheads than India: SIPRI -- Economic Times

The U.S. Is Not Equipped To Detect Countries With Secret Nuclear Weapons Programs

Iran Could Still Achieve Nuclear ‘Breakout’ In Two Months -- Washington Free Beacon

U.S. still has no ability to detect nuclear activity

Iran could still produce enough nuclear material to fuel a bomb in as little as two months, a timeframe that has not been prolonged under the recently struck agreement to extend nuclear talks through November, according to experts.

As negotiators spend the next several months attempting to strike a final deal with Tehran over its nuclear program, concerns are mounting in Congress about the United States’ inability to detect a covert breakout and prevent it from taking place.

U.S. intelligence reports—including those authored by the Pentagon and others—have determined that the United States is not “organized or fully equipped” to detect when foreign countries are developing weapons or secretly advancing their programs.

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My Comment: I always remember what U.S. President Reagan once said when it comes to nuclear issues .... trust but verify. If the Iranian nuclear talks cannot include a 100% verification clause .... what's the point of having an agreement in the first place? But the bigger issue is the following .... why is the United States not “organized or fully equipped” to detect when foreign countries are developing weapons or secretly advancing their programs?

A Graphic Of The World Nuclear Weapon States

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