nuclear weapons – Lifeboat News: The Blog https://lifeboat.com/blog Safeguarding Humanity Tue, 16 Jan 2024 23:27:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 North Korea Claims Successful Hydrogen Bomb Test https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/north-korea-claims-successful-hydrogen-bomb-test https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/north-korea-claims-successful-hydrogen-bomb-test#respond Tue, 16 Jan 2024 23:27:45 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2024/01/north-korea-claims-successful-hydrogen-bomb-test

Year 2017


North Korea claims it has again tested a hydrogen bomb underground and that it “successfully” loaded it onto the tip of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a claim that if true, crosses a “red line” drawn by South Korea’s president last month.

In a state media announcement, North Korea confirmed the afternoon tremors in its northeast were indeed caused by the test of a nuclear device, and that leader Kim Jong Un personally signed off on the test.

“North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States,” President Trump tweeted Sunday morning in response. “North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.”

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North Korea is “preparing” for war with nuclear weapons buildup https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/north-korea-is-preparing-for-war-with-nuclear-weapons-buildup https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/north-korea-is-preparing-for-war-with-nuclear-weapons-buildup#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2023 06:44:21 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/north-korea-is-preparing-for-war-with-nuclear-weapons-buildup

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “seriously preparing” for war as it builds its nuclear weapons arsenal, according to an expert on Korean history.

After decades of international pressure attempting to stop its development of nuclear weapons, North Korea announced during the administration of former President George W. Bush that it was conducting nuclear tests and had weapons. The country now has an arsenal that includes an estimated 35 to 63 warheads, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.

In an interview published by The Financial Times on Thursday, Kookmin University history professor Andrei Lankov said that Kim had been emboldened to build the nuclear arsenal due to Western leaders failing to take advantage of earlier opportunities to pressure the regime, wrongly believing that the nuclear program was not “a realistic threat.”

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Nuclear Disarmament and UN Reforms https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/nuclear-disarmament-and-un-reforms https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/nuclear-disarmament-and-un-reforms#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 07:26:33 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/nuclear-disarmament-and-un-reforms

Although essentially the United Nations are now making nuclear weapons illegal with new treaties like nuclear disarmament. Russia currently has taken another route for globalization and possibly nuclear escalation. As currently the doomsday clock seems closer to midnight which could mean the end of the world scenarios due to Russias escalation and the possibility of all out nuclear war globally and then nuclear annihilation of the planet. Even with current wars are actually seemingly always going on but this global escalation of nuclear war is a zero sum game as no one would be the winner due to radiation levels circulating the planet. I do think that the us and china are in a treaty but so far Russia is still escalating which now holds the world now ransom.


This is a summary of Policy Brief 139 which is available with full references on the Toda Peace Institute’s website.

In January 2021, a global treaty came into force outlawing the bomb. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or Ban Treaty) is the most significant multilateral development in nuclear arms control since the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s (NPT) entry into force in 1970. It establishes a new normative settling point on the ethics, legality and legitimacy of the bomb.

The possession of nuclear weapons by nine countries did not suddenly became illegal with the treaty’s entry into force in January 2021. However, it would be false to claim that a UN-negotiated treaty, following a UN-authorised process and conference, has no implications for the legality and legitimacy of nuclear-weapon possession and practices.

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Putin criticised as he withdraws Russia’s ratification of nuclear test ban treaty https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/putin-criticised-as-he-withdraws-russias-ratification-of-nuclear-test-ban-treaty https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/putin-criticised-as-he-withdraws-russias-ratification-of-nuclear-test-ban-treaty#respond Wed, 08 Nov 2023 07:25:08 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/putin-criticised-as-he-withdraws-russias-ratification-of-nuclear-test-ban-treaty

US says move will undermine confidence in international arms control, amid concerns Moscow’s nuclear threats are designed to deter Ukraine’s allies.

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SpaceX selling ‘Starshield’ will be a gamechanger https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/spacex-selling-starshield-will-be-a-gamechanger https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/spacex-selling-starshield-will-be-a-gamechanger#respond Sat, 04 Nov 2023 18:24:02 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/spacex-selling-starshield-will-be-a-gamechanger

Space Force and SpaceX announced that they’ve reached a deal for a brand-new military capability: Starshield. Is it a new laser defense shield against nuclear missiles? An Ultron for our time to destroy alien armadas? Or Starlink, but with new branding and (probably) a new fleet of satellites?

Yup, the last one. But with how clutch Starlink is in Ukraine, a military-controlled version of the network could change operations there. And it would dramatically improve U.S. and allied military communications in future conflicts. Now, the American military will lead military space-based communications with the start of Starshield. But expect allies to clamor aboard and other nations to try developing rival platforms.

Space Force has one of the most descriptive, succinct names in the modern military, but it appears to be even worse at naming its programs than the other branches. Still, its Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Program, or “PLEOP,” for acronym addicts who want to hear the sound of a dump every time they discuss the program, is promising.

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Radio waves and mirrors could help build trust between nuclear powers https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/radio-waves-and-mirrors-could-help-build-trust-between-nuclear-powers https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/radio-waves-and-mirrors-could-help-build-trust-between-nuclear-powers#respond Wed, 01 Nov 2023 14:25:46 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/11/radio-waves-and-mirrors-could-help-build-trust-between-nuclear-powers

An international team of scientists has proposed a new remote monitoring method of nuclear stockpiles using mirrors and radio waves.

An international team of scientists has devised an innovative method of using radio waves to monitor a nation’s nuclear stockpile remotely. Conducted by a team of IT security experts from Germany and the United States, it could be used to build trust between nuclear powers to ensure rivals are keeping their promises when it comes to agreed nuclear disarmament treaties. It could also be used to give a “heads up” if one particular nuclear power removes stored nuclear warheads, which could be an indication of intended use.


Johannes Tobisch et al 2023.

Remote nuke monitoring.

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Russia’s Earth Circling Hypersonic Nuclear Missile https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/09/russias-earth-circling-hypersonic-nuclear-missile Fri, 15 Sep 2023 21:26:28 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/09/russias-earth-circling-hypersonic-nuclear-missile

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North Korea stages tactical nuclear attack drill https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/09/north-korea-stages-tactical-nuclear-attack-drill Tue, 05 Sep 2023 21:25:26 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/09/north-korea-stages-tactical-nuclear-attack-drill

SEOUL, Sept 3 (Reuters) — North Korea conducted a simulated tactical nuclear attack drill that included two long-range cruise missiles in an exercise to “warn enemies” the country would be prepared in case of nuclear war, the KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.

KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out on Saturday and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km (930 miles) at a preset altitude of 150 meters.

Pyongyang also said it would bolster its military deterrence against the United States and South Korea.

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How Would the United States Fight a Nuclear War? https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/07/how-would-the-united-states-fight-a-nuclear-war Sun, 16 Jul 2023 21:22:52 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/07/how-would-the-united-states-fight-a-nuclear-war

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Today we’re going explore the unthinkable: How would the United States respond during a Nuclear conflict?

When we first came up with this concept, we aimed to cover the America’s Nuclear Triad and it’s Russian Nuclear War Plan in one concise video, but one video turned into three. So here’s full version of “How Would the United States Fight a Nuclear War?” as it was originally intended. Enjoy!

Sources:

Probable Nuclear Targets in United Kingdom, 1972: https://robedwards.typepad.com/files/probable-nuclear-target…chives.pdf.

Probable Nuclear Targets in France: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/NA…en.svg.png.

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Dr. Robert Floyd, Ph.D. — Executive Secretary, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/07/dr-robert-floyd-ph-d-executive-secretary-comprehensive-nuclear-test-ban-treaty-organization Wed, 05 Jul 2023 14:23:31 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2023/07/dr-robert-floyd-ph-d-executive-secretary-comprehensive-nuclear-test-ban-treaty-organization

Dr. Robert Floyd, Ph.D. is Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO — https://www.ctbto.org/), the organization tasked with building up the verification regime of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a multilateral treaty opened for signature in 1996 by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes.

Prior to joining CTBTO, Dr. Floyd was the Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office (ASNO), where he was responsible for Australia’s implementation of and compliance with various international treaties and conventions including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and the Chemical Weapons Convention.

During his time as Director General of ASNO, Dr. Floyd also chaired the advisory group to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency on safeguards implementation (SAGSI), co-chaired the Preparatory Committee for the review of the amended CPPNM, co-chaired one of the working groups of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification, was the lead official for Australia in the Nuclear Security Summit process, and chaired the Asia-Pacific Safeguards Network.

Prior to his appointment with ASNO, Dr. Floyd served for more than seven years in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet where he held a number of senior executive positions providing advice to the Prime Minister on policy issues covering counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, emergency management, and homeland and border security.

Dr. Floyd was awarded a commemorative medal on the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence in recognition of the strong and enduring partnership between the CTBTO and Kazakhstan on nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, peace, and security. Dr. Floyd also received the Australian Nuclear Association (ANA) award for 2021 in recognition of his outstanding leadership role as Director General of the ASNO.

With a Ph.D. in population ecology, Dr. Floyd spent the first 20 years of his career as a research scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).

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