CIA says North Korea nuclear test a failure

North Korea's nuclear test last October was a failure and gives no credence to Pyongyang's claim to being a nuclear weapons state, U.S. CIA Director Michael Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean newspaper on Wednesday.

"The United States does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state," Hayden was quoted as saying by a South Korean defense official in the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. "It's because the nuclear test last year was a failure." [via Yahoo!]

Labels: CIA, North Korea, Nuclear Test

Pakistan Test Fires Nuke-Capable Missile

Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile with the capability to avoid radar detection, the military said.

The missile, named Babur or Hatf VII, has a range of 434 miles and is capable of carrying various types of warheads, including nuclear, the military-run Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate said. [via Defense Tech]

Labels: Cruise Missile, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan

North Korea nuclear talks on hold

International talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions broke down Thursday over a financial dispute, a twist that could imperil a fragile disarmament process.

Negotiators from the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China met Monday with the aim of fine-tuning ways to implement a hard-fought February 13 agreement under which the North would ultimately fully disclose and dismantle all its nuclear programs.

The deal had touched off cautious optimism that progress could be made, but this week's talks never got off the ground because of a drawn out dispute over the transfer of North Korean funds that had been frozen in Banco Delta Asia, a lender in the Chinese territory of Macau. [via CNN.com

Labels: North Korea, Six-Party talks

Russia gives Iran nuclear ultimatum

Russia has told Iran that it will withhold fuel for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant unless Tehran suspends its uranium enrichment program as the U.N. Security Council demands, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The ultimatum was delivered in Moscow last week by Igor Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian National Security Council, to Ali Hosseini Tash, Iran's deputy chief nuclear negotiator, the newspaper reported, citing European, American and Iranian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment. [via MSNBC.com]

Labels: Iran, nuclear power, Russia

ElBaradei upbeat on N. Korea talks

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, described the talks on how North Korea will close its main atomic reactor as "quite useful."

"They said they are fully committed to the February 13 agreement, that they are ready to work with the agency to make sure that we monitor and verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon facility," he said, adding officials in Pyongyang also "reiterated they are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." [via CNN.com]

Labels: IAEA, North Korea, Nuclear Weapons

We're a footnote...

I just finished read Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons, and we are listed in the notes section! When I started this project so many years ago, I never thought that this site could be as vaulable as it seems to be.

The book is a wonderful summary of the nuclear world and a path to a safer future. If you ever have heard Joe speak, you will know the passion he has on this topic.

I plan to do a more complete review shortly. I've been busy with other projects, so I am a but behind in book reviews in general. One of the biggest take-aways I had was that the world is at an interesting crossroads, overall the world is in less danger of complete nuclear annilihation (now the climate is another story), but the risks of a nuclear attack via terror seems to greater.

Labels: Bomb Scare, history, Nuclear Weapons