Tag: Nuclear

North Korea notifies Japan of satellite launch as early as Wednesday

TOKYO, Nov 21, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea has issued formal notice of a satellite launch as early as Wednesday, Japan said, with Pyongyang’s third attempt to put a military eye in the sky coming after it likely received technical help from Russia in exchange for arms transfers. The Japanese coast guard posted a notification on its website Tuesday of a launch window between November 22 and December 1, and Seoul’s Ministry of Oceans and […]

Philippines embraces nuclear energy as US signs cooperation pact

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 17, 2023 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the Philippines, clearing a path for US investment to jumpstart atomic power in a country racing to expand its electricity supply. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has become a close US ally in his more-than one year in power, was on hand when his energy secretary signed the pact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the […]

Israel minister reprimanded over Gaza nuclear ‘option’ comment

JERUSALEM, Nov 5, 2023 (AFP) – An Israeli minister was suspended from government meetings “until further notice” Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after suggesting in an interview dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. The comments by Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu advocating a fierce military response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks even at the cost of the lives of hostages believed to be held in Gaza also drew rebuke from families of the captives. […]

Russia test fires nuclear-capable ballistic missile

MOSCOW, Nov 5, 2023 (AFP) – Russia said Sunday it had successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from one of its submarines. The launch of the “Bulava” missile, the first in just over a year, comes as Russia ramps up nuclear rhetoric since revoking its ratification of a key nuclear test ban treaty. “The new nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine cruiser Emperor Alexander the Third has successfully launched the Bulava sea-based […]

Russia says intends to continue nuclear test moratorium

MOSCOW, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Russia intends to stick to a nuclear test ban moratorium despite withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the foreign ministry said Friday. “We intend to keep the moratorium that was introduced more than 30 years ago in place,” said a ministry statement. But any nuclear tests by the United States would “force us to do the same,” it added. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday […]

Moscow test fires missiles, practicing retaliatory nuclear strike as it moves closer to scrapping nuclear test ban treaty

MOSCOW, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw ballistic missile drills Wednesday, the Kremlin said, with Moscow’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announcing forces will practise a “massive” retaliatory nuclear strike. The exercises came after Moscow moved to revoke a key nuclear test ban treaty, 20 months into Russia’s Ukraine offensive. During the dragging conflict, Putin and Russian officials have given mixed signals about the possible use of nuclear weapons, prompting alarm in […]

South Korea, US, Japan hold first joint air drills

SEOUL, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea, the United States and Japan carried out their first joint aerial drills on Sunday, Seoul’s military said. The exercise, which involved a US nuclear-weapons-capable B-52 bomber, comes as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo beef up their defence cooperation against growing missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. The US bomber landed at a South Korean airbase on Tuesday after a flyover at the country’s largest defence exhibition. B-52s, […]

China says nuclear weapons only intended for ‘self-defence’

BEIJING, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing on Friday stressed its nuclear programme was only intended for self-defence, insisting nations had nothing to fear as long as they did not threaten China with attack. Washington said this week that China’s nuclear arsenal was developing much faster than US projections had previously anticipated, and Beijing is likely to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. Asked about the claim, China’s foreign ministry expressed its […]

US says China building up nuclear capacity faster than expected

WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday. China possessed “more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 — on track to exceed previous expectations” the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. “We’re not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they […]

Russia moves closer to ditching landmark nuclear treaty

MOSCOW, Oct 18, 2023 (AFP) – Russian lawmakers on Wednesday voted once more to revoke Moscow’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, moving the country another step closer to abandoning the landmark agreement. The 1996 treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions including live tests of nuclear weapons, but it has never come into force because some key countries — including the United States and China — have not ratified the treaty. In a fast-track […]

After China, Russia suspends Japanese seafood imports

MOSCOW, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Russia on Monday followed its ally China in suspending all Japanese seafood imports over Tokyo’s release of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Japan has been sharply critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Tokyo’s relations with Beijing — which has deepened ties with Moscow — have worsened. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s body responsible for regulating agriculture products, said it was “joining China’s provisional restrictive measures on the import of […]

Fukushima wastewater release resumes, despite China’s condemnation

By Tomohiro OSAKI TOKYO, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – Japan began releasing the second batch of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, an incremental step in a decades-long process that has drawn strong condemnation from China. The discharge, a small portion of the 1.34 million tonnes of wastewater built up since a tsunami struck the facility in 2011, began at 10:18 am (0118 GMT), a spokesman for operator TEPCO told AFP. While […]