Arms Control Today articles from May 2003

Arms Control Today archives from May 2003

North Korea: what's next? (Focus).(dealing with nuclear crisis)
May 1, 2003... The North Korean nuclear crisis that has been simmering for months is getting closer to the boiling point, and it urgently requires a better-coordinated, more effective diplomatic effort to cool tensions and reach a deal to verifiably dismantle...

Nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula: a special section on the North Korean crisis.
May 1, 2003... The conclusion of the April 23-April 25 talks in Beijing among the United States, North Korea, and China makes this month's features especially timely. Reports that North Korea told the United States that it has nuclear weapons raise the stakes...

The North Korea nuclear crisis: a strategy for negotiation. (North Korea Special).
May 1, 2003... After weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions, the United States and North Korea have finally revived a dialogue to resolve the ongoing confrontation over the North's nuclear weapons program and what Pyongyang views as hostile U.S. policy toward...

Pyongyang: the case for Nonproliferation with teeth.(North Korean nuclear program)
May 1, 2003... After two decades of covert and overt nuclear weapons activities, North Korea now has the United States and its allies in a tight spot. The reasons why, however, have less to do with what nuclear provocations it might attempt after having...

A test for Beijing: China and the North Korean nuclear quandary. (North Korea Special).
May 1, 2003... China's late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, set the tone for much of China's foreign policy in the 1990s when he cautioned Chinese strategists to "keep a low profile and avoid taking the lead." For better or worse, this axiom has come to...

Steering between red lines: a South Korean view. (North Korea Special).
May 1, 2003... South Koreans have worried for months that a war between the United States and North Korea was imminent, awaiting only the conclusion of the U.S.-led military campaign against Iraq. They have asked what South Korea can do to avert a war and...

A disillusioned Japan confronts North Korea. (North Korea Special).
May 1, 2003... North Korea's recent nuclear brinkmanship might have alarmed the United States and escalated tension in Northeast Asia, but it has not shocked Japan, already inclined to think the worst of Pyongyang. Japanese attitudes toward North Korea, which...

North Korea, U.S. meet; Pyongyang said to claim nukes. (North Korea Special).(possession of nuclear weapons)
May 1, 2003... NORTH KOREA'S REPORTED disclosure that it has nuclear weapons has left the future direction of U.S. policy toward Pyongyang uncertain, although the United States has not ruled out the possibility of future talks and remains open to a diplomatic...

N. Korea's uranium-enrichment efforts shrouded in mystery.
May 1, 2003... THE CURRENT CRISIS over North Korea's nuclear activities began when the United States announced October 16 that North Korea had admitted to Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly earlier that month that it had a covert uranium-enrichment...

Key U.S. officials in the North Korean nuclear standoff. (North Korea Special).
May 1, 2003... FOR THE LAST decade, U.S. policy toward North Korea has been a battleground in Washington; Pyongyang's recent withdrawal from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and announcement that it possesses nuclear weapons has only intensified the debate...

Undersecretary of state Bolton speaks with ACT. (North Korea Special).(John R. Bolton)(Interview)
May 1, 2003... Arms Control Today Editor Miles A. Pomper met with John R. Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, on April 15 to discuss the U.S. approach toward North Korea. Below are excerpts from the interview. The full...

Troops search for weapons in Iraq; UN debates sanctions. (News and Negotiations).
May 1, 2003... U.S. MILITARY FORCES are continuing their so-far fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq. Meanwhile, a debate has begun about whether United Nations weapons inspectors should return to Iraq, now that the military conflict...

Top U.S. officials voice concern about Syria's WMD capability. (News and Negotiations).(weapons of mass destruction)
May 1, 2003... SECRETARY OF STATE Colin Powell will visit Damascus in early May, following several statements in April by U.S. officials that sparked speculation the United States might attack Syria. Some top U.S. officials cited concerns that Syria is...

Patriot scorecard mixed; PAC-3 use limited. (News and Negotiations).(Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile interceptors)
May 1, 2003... PENTAGON REPORTS INDICATE that Patriot missile defense systems destroyed all the Iraqi tactical ballistic missiles they were fired at, but the system also shot down two coalition aircraft and targeted a third during the U.S.-led invasion of...

U.S. issued warning on threat of possible Iraqi WMD use. (News and Negotiations).(weapons of mass destruction)
May 1, 2003... ONE OF THE unknowns leading up to and during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was the U.S. response if Iraqi forces used chemical or biological weapons against U.S. troops or allies. Fortunately, Iraq did not carry out such an attack, sparing an...

North Korea, Pakistani lab sanctioned for proliferation. (News and Negotiations).
May 1, 2003... ON MARCH 24, the United States imposed sanctions on a North Korean company and a Pakistani laboratory for a related missile technology transfer. The Changgwang Sinyong Corporation of North Korea was sanctioned for transferring Category 1...

U.S. produces first plutonium pit since 1989. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL Laboratory announced April 22 that it has produced the first U.S. plutonium pit since 1989 that complies with nuclear stockpile specifications, thus re-establishing the U.S. capability to remanufacture or produce new...

Military authorized to use riot control agents in Iraq. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush has authorized the use of riot control agents in Iraq under specific circumstances, such as controlling rioting civilians, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed April 23. Although Pentagon officials say that the authorization...

U.S. begins destroying mustard agent in Maryland. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... THE U.S. ARMY began destroying mustard agent at a disposal site at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland April 23. Destruction of the agent is expected to be complete in about six months, according to a spokeswoman with the Aberdeen Chemical...

CTBTO head visits Russian nuclear test site. (News and Negotiations).(Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, Wolfgang Hoffmann)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... IN A RECENT trip to a Russian nuclear test site, the head of the organization tasked with implementing a nuclear test ban treaty praised Russia for its transparency and cooperation. U.S. intelligence analysts have expressed concern Russia might...

CWC members meet to review progress, goals. (News and Negotiations).(Chemical Weapons Convention)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... WITH THE THREAT of chemical weapons grabbing the public spotlight, delegates from around the world have gathered for the first review conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997 and requires member...

NPT to tackle tough questions in May. (News and Negotiations).(Nonproliferation Treaty)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... AS DELEGATES FROM member states of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) meet in Geneva April 28-May 9 for the second in a series of international consultations prior to the 2005 review conference for the treaty, North Korea's withdrawal...

More realistic missile defense testing could begin in 2005. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... PENTAGON OFFICIALS INDICATED April 9 that strategic missile defense testing could start becoming more exacting and varied in early 2005, a few months after the limited ground-based midcourse missile defense system is to be deployed. The...

Congress approves $79 Billion supplemental war budget. (News and Negotiations).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... IN APRIL, CONGRESS rebuffed a Bush administration request that would have authorized wider use of funds currently intended to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Russia. Congress passed the $79 billion supplemental wartime appropriations...

Recommendations for U.S.-Korea policy. (Document).
May 1, 2003... Tensions between North Korea and the United States have soared since October 2002, when the Bush administration revealed that North Korea had begun a clandestine program to develop enriched uranium. Pyongyang has withdrawn from the nuclear...