DefenceTalkNorth Korea is poised to conduct a nuclear test, Seoul and Washington said Thursday, with the United States warning it could come as President Joe Biden visits South Korea this week. Touted as proof of the US “pivot” to Asia, Biden’s first trip as president to the region looks set to be overshadowed by an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-ready-for-nuclear-test-with-biden-due-in-seoul-78799/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea will rapidly accelerate development of its nuclear arsenal, leader Kim Jong Un said while overseeing a vast military parade showcasing his most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported Tuesday. Despite biting sanctions, North Korea has doubled down on Kim’s military modernisation drive, test-firing a slew of banned weapons this year while ignoring […]https://www.defencetalk.com/at-military-parade-kim-vows-to-boost-north-koreas-nuclear-arsenal-78730/

DefenceTalkKim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of a new guided weapons system to improve North Korea’s “tactical nukes”, state media said Sunday, capping days of celebrations surrounding the birthday of the country’s founding leader. The launch was the latest in an unprecedented blitz of sanctions-busting weapons-tests this year, which included firing an intercontinental ballistic missile […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-tests-new-weapons-system-to-improve-tactical-nukes-78700/

DefenceTalkRussia’s setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine could lead President Vladimir Putin to resort to using a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon, CIA director William Burns said Thursday. “Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/cia-warns-desperate-putin-poses-nuclear-threat-78693/

DefenceTalkFormer Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons close to the Baltic States and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden decide to join NATO. Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s security council and president from 2008 to 2012, wrote on Telegram that if the countries joined, this would more than double Russia’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-would-deploy-nuclear-arms-near-finland-sweden-if-join-nato-78688/

DefenceTalkAfter firing its largest-ever missile, North Korea is preparing to conduct a nuclear test, officials and analysts say, reviving a longstanding debate south of the border: should Seoul have nukes too? Pyongyang has conducted a blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-koreas-tests-stir-nuclear-debate-in-south-78685/

DefenceTalkPyongyang is ignoring US overtures for talks and could be planning its first nuclear weapon test in nearly five years for its April 15 holiday, the State Department’s top North Korea envoy said Wednesday. Sung Kim, the Special Representative for North Korea Policy, said Washington thinks Pyongyang could be planning a big show of its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-nuclear-test-on-coming-anniversary-us-envoy-78638/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea will use its nuclear weapons to “eliminate” South Korea’s army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said Tuesday. Kim Yo Jong’s warning, carried in state media, was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea’s defence chief Suh […]https://www.defencetalk.com/kims-sister-says-north-korea-nukes-could-eliminate-south-78592/

DefenceTalkRomania’s health minister said Tuesday that the country would distribute potassium iodine tablets free of charge to prepare in case of a nuclear emergency amid Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. European countries have seen stocks of iodine fly off the shelves due to fears it may be needed to counter the risks of thyroid cancer […]https://www.defencetalk.com/romania-to-distribute-iodine-tablets-amid-ukraine-war-78547/

DefenceTalkRussia would only use nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict if it were facing an “existential threat,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN International Tuesday. “We have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used,” Peskov said. “So if it […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-would-only-use-nuclear-weapons-faced-with-existential-threat-kremlin-78476/