DefenceTalkNorth Korea on Thursday skipped the diplomatic niceties for a combative tone when it took the helm of the Conference on Disarmament. “My country is still at war with the United States,” declared Pyongyang’s ambassador Han Tae-Song. Around 50 countries voiced their outrage that unpredictable nuclear-armed North Korea is being tasked with chairing the world’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/protests-as-north-korea-takes-helm-of-world-disarmament-body-78879/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea has trialled a “nuclear detonation device”, a senior South Korean presidential official said Wednesday, adding that a nuclear test could be imminent. US and South Korean officials have warned for weeks that Pyongyang may conduct a seventh nuclear test, and on Wednesday it test-fired three missiles, including possibly its largest intercontinental ballistic missile […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-testing-nuclear-detonation-device-seoul-78826/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea fired a ballistic missile Wednesday, Seoul said, a week after Kim Jong Un vowed to boost Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal and just days before the South inaugurates a new, hawkish president. Pyongyang has conducted 14 weapons tests since January, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full-range for the first time since 2017. Last […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-in-latest-show-of-force-78751/

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/

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/

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/

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/

DefenceTalkIran has arrested several suspected members of a spy network linked to arch foe Israel, foiling its attempt to sabotage a key underground nuclear facility, state media reported. The announcement comes as Iran is engaged in talks with major powers on reviving a landmark nuclear deal abandoned by the United States in 2018. Iran has […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-foils-israel-linked-sabotage-plot-at-nuclear-plant-78411/