Having an avid interest in the history of China’s nuclear weapons program, I’ve always wondered what life was like at China’s “Los Alamos”—the Northwest Nuclear Weapons Research and Design Academy near Haiyan, where China’s first nuclear weapons were designed and built. Eventually, China’s nuclear weapons design and fabrication facilities were moved to a “third line” …
PSI Lacks Sweet Libya Skills
by | 2005-07-05 | 1 Comment
Thought I’d give a heads-up about a forthcoming Arms Control Today article from Wade Boese. [Obviously, I am responsible for all snarky comments.] Shockingly, Wade finds, the Bush administration has been playing a bit fast and loose with the facts surrounding the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the October 2003 interdiction of the BBC China—the …
Progess on CTR With Bolton Out the Door?
by | 2005-07-04 | 5 Comments
Joe Fiorill at Global Security Newswire has a nice summary of recent developments in the US-Russia nuclear liability issue, with a hopeful note of progress: Meanwhile, a key U.S.-Russian agreement on locking down and destroying various materials in Russia is fast nearing expiration. Unless a new extension is agreed upon, the 1992 Cooperative Threat Reduction …
North Korea Restarting Construction at Yongbyon and Taechon?
by | 2005-07-02 | 2 Comments
Steel lattice work at the Taechon Reactor in May 1992. Source: International Atomic Energy Agency via Institute for Science and International Security. Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun (subscription only) reports North Korea has resumed construction of the 50 MWe reactor at Yongbyon and the 200 MWe reactor at Taechon. North Korea suspended construction on the two …
