“Forbidden news” Water Containing Radioactive Materials Spills Over atKashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.
When you go to these news sites - you get “Forbidden”
Water from the fuel pools at the top floors of the No. 7 and No. 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture spilled over due to strong earthquakes, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. announced Monday. No damage or leakage out of the buildings was confirmed.
No further details on damage to people or the environment were immediately available
Tsunami Waves Hit Japan After Massive Earthquake: Nuclear Power Plants On Alert; Evacuations Ordered
A massive, 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan on January 1, leading to warnings of huge tsunami waves hitting the island nation. Wajima city in Ishikawa prefecture reported waves as high as 1 metre lashing the coast. Japanese media reports said the waves could go as high as 5 metres, or 16.5 feet. The developments brought back memories of the 2011 quake and tsunami which left 18,500 dead or missing in Japan. Watch the full video for more.
Kim Jong Un announces launch of new spy satellites, nuclear resolutions for 2024
The Hill, BY MIRANDA NAZZARO – 12/31/23
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to launch three new military spy satellites, build attack drones and expand the country’s nuclear materials in 2024, according to state media reports.
In remarks made at the end of the ruling Workers’ Party meeting over the weekend, Kim railed against the “vicious” moves of the U.S. and its followers for working against North Korea, claiming the U.S. has helped push the Korean Peninsula to the “brink of a nuclear war,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim said, per KCNA.
The North Korean leader pointed to the the increase in joint military exercises by the U.S., Japan and South Korea and the deployment of U.S. military assets including bombers over the past year, arguing they show the U.S. “aims at the military confrontation” with North Korea “at any cost.”
The U.S., alongside South Korea, has maintained that the countries will continue to wage a joint defense against North Korea’s threats.
Kim vowed to launch three reconnaissance satellites in 2024, a declaration that comes nearly a month after the country launched its first reconnaissance satellite in November, KCNA said. The U.S. said that launch was a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Kim later emphasized the need to create a “reliable foundation” to make more nuclear weapons and ordered officials to boost the North’s submarine capabilities and to develop unmanned combat equipment, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Observers told the AP that Kim expressed the belief that boosted nuclear abilities could give him the opportunity for diplomacy with the U.S. and that his country could be given sanctions relief if former President Trump wins the presidency in 2024…………………………………………………………
Diplomacy talks between the U.S. and North Korea broke down in 2019 over the amount of sanctions relief the North could get for partly surrendering its nuclear program. Since then, Kim has aimed to modernize the North’s nuclear supply through efforts including an increased production of plutonium and uranium.
Experts said Kim likely believes Trump, if reelected to the White House, may make concessions over sanctions relief as the U.S. gears its focus on the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, per the AP. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4383437-kim-jong-un-announces-launch-of-new-spy-satellites-nuclear-resolutions-for-2024/
Nuclear concerns as a magnitude-7.6 earthquake hits north central Japan, prompting tsunami warnings
ABC News 1 Dec 24
A powerful earthquake struck central Japan on Monday, killing at least one person, destroying buildings, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes, and prompting residents in some coastal areas to flee to higher ground.
Key points:
- It was the strongest quake in the region in more than four decades, according to the US Geological Survey
- The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 triggered waves of about 1 metre along Japan’s west coast
- Russia and North Korea also issued tsunami warnings for some areas
The quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 triggered waves of about 1 metre along Japan’s west coast and neighbouring South Korea, with authorities saying larger waves could follow……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Nuclear concerns
The quake comes at a sensitive time for Japan’s nuclear industry, which has faced fierce opposition from some locals since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima. Nearly 20,000 people were killed and whole towns devastated in the disaster.
Japan last week lifted an operational ban imposed on the world’s biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, which has been offline since the 2011 tsunami.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities have been confirmed at nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.
Hokuriku’s Shika plant in Ishikawa, the closest nuclear power station to the epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspections and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said……………………… more https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-01/tsunami-warnings-issued-in-japan-after-earthquake/103277706
India, Pakistan exchange list of nuclear installations under 1988 bilateral pact
LiveMint, 01 Jan 2024,
The pact signed by India and Pakistan in 1988 prohibits the two countries from attacking each other’s atomic facilities.
India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral pact signed in 1988 and came into force in 1991 that prohibits the two countries from attacking each other’s atomic facilities………………..
India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral pact signed in 1988 and came into force in 1991 that prohibits the two countries from attacking each other’s atomic facilities.
The exchange of the list came amid frosty ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism.
Both countries have not had any formal talks since they ended the composite dialogue in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based terror group, in which 166 people were killed and several injured.
The political leadership of both countries made several attempts to resume the contact. However, they were derailed by a string of terror attacks on Indian soil by Pakistan-based terror groups. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-pakistan-exchange-list-of-nuclear-installations-under-1988-bilateral-pact-11704107726908.html
Kim Jong Un announces his nuclear resolutions for 2024
Hannah Getahun and Associated Press , Dec 31, 2023,
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has plans to ramp up military actions in 2024.
- Kim said he would intensify weapons tests and build up the country’s nuclear stockpile.
- Experts say the moves are meant to help ease sanctions should Donald Trump return as president.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to launch three additional military spy satellites, produce more nuclear materials, and introduce modern attack drones in 2024, as he called for “overwhelming” war readiness to cope with US-led confrontational moves, state media reported Sunday.
Kim’s comments, made during a key ruling Workers’ Party meeting to set state goals for next year, suggest he’ll intensify a run of weapons tests ahead of the US presidential elections in November……………………………………………………more https://www.businessinsider.com/kim-jong-un-spy-satellites-nuclear-weapons-2023-12
Tokyo High Court holds Japan government not liable for Fukushima nuclear disaster
Sean Nolan | Southwestern Law School, US, DECEMBER 28, 2023
Tokyo’s High Court found the government of Japan not liable Tuesday for damages related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and associated mass evacuations, leaving responsibility solely with plant operator the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).
The ruling also reduced the damages amounts of a previous court order from $414,400 to $165,000 for 44 of 47 petitioners. The decision mirrors a previous ruling in 2022 which found that the government “was highly unlikely to been able to prevent the flooding” that damaged the plant. Ultimately, the court held that more stringent regulatory actions would have been insufficient to prevent the disaster since the size, direction and scale of the tsunami exceeded estimations for such an event. This is the latest in a series of decisions with different outcomes over the last several years including court cases in 2020 and 2017 which litigated the government’s role in failing to prevent the disaster. There is also a 2022 court case that found TEPCO executives personally liable.
Motomitsu Nakagawa, a lawyer, representing the evacuees expressed dismay with the decision and raised the possibility of another appeal calling the decision a “copy and paste” of the previous Supreme Court ruling. The nuclear disaster has already caused $82 billion in damages to victims, decommissioning work and storage for contaminated materials. While TEPCO has been responsible for all the decommissioning, including contaminant storage, it’s financial position has deteriorated over the last few years amid the massive costs associated with the work and multiple postponements due to technological challenges.
Legal fallout has also extended to the cleanup itself with court cases from South Korea fisheries and Japanese fisherman over the release of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The discharge also sparked international concern from neighboring countries and protests from activists who fear pollution and widespread destruction of wildlife and marine ecosystems.
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Japan Lifts Operational Ban on Fukushima Nuclear Plant Owners
Japanese nuclear safety regulators lifted an operational ban Wednesday imposed on a nuclear plant owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima plant that ended in disaster, allowing the company to resume preparations for restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant after more than 10 years.
At its weekly meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority formally lifted the more than two-year ban imposed on the TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant over its lax safety measures at the site, saying a series of inspections and meetings with company officials has shown sufficient improvement. The decision removes an order that prohibited TEPCO from transporting new fuel into the plant or placing it into reactors, a necessary step for restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s reactors.
The plant on Japan’s northern coast of Niigata is TEPCO’s only workable nuclear power plant since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed its Fukushima Daiichi plant and caused Fukushima Daini plant to cease operations. For the company now burdened with the growing cost of decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant and compensating disaster-hit residents, restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors soon is key to stabilizing its business.
TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told reporters Wednesday that it was too early to comment on the prospect for the restart. He said the company will provide its safety and security measures to gain understanding from the local residents, who must approve a restart…………………………………………………………..
The case raised questions about whether TEPCO learned any lessons from the 2011 Fukushima crisis, which was largely attributed to the utility’s lack of concern about safety.
NRA Chair Shinsuke Yamanaka told Wednesday’s meeting that the lifting of the restrictions is just the beginning, and TEPCO is still required to keep improving its safety precautions………………………………………………………. https://www.voanews.com/a/japan-lifts-operational-ban-on-fukushima-nuclear-plant-owners/7414251.html
Japan allows world’s biggest nuclear plant to restart
DW, 27 Dec 23
The safety ban on TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has been lifted, allowing it to become operational once again. However, the facility still needs permission from local government bodies
Japan’s nuclear regulator announced Wednesday that it has lifted its safety ban on Tokyo Electric Power’s (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the largest in the world in terms of capacity.
TEPCO has been looking to restart the plant due to high operating costs. It must now seek permission from local bodies in the Niigata prefecture, Kashiwazaki city, and Kariwa village.
Why was the ban imposed?
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has a capacity of 8,212 megawatts (MW) and was TEPCO’s only operable atomic power station. It has been offline since 2012, after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan……………………
Previously in 2021, the NRA had barred the plant from operating due to safety breaches and insufficient antiterrorism measures. This included a failure to protect nuclear materials and an incident that involved an unauthorized staff member accessing sensitive areas of the plant.
It had then issued an order that prevented TEPCO from transporting new uranium fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into its reactors……………………….
After the decision, TEPCO said it would continue to work towards gaining the trust of the local community and society at large. On Tuesday, a Tokyo court ruled that TEPCO, the only operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees.
Japan has been trying to reactivate all domestic nuclear power plants that comply with the safety network, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels which need to be imported. But in some cases, there is opposition from locals or other regulatory bodies. https://www.dw.com/en/japan-allows-worlds-biggest-nuclear-plant-to-restart/a-67829687
Tokyo court holds only the utility responsible to compensate Fukushima evacuees, and reduces damages
A Tokyo court has ruled that only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked
Fukushima nuclear power plant had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees,
relieving the government of responsibility. Plaintiffs criticized the
ruling as belittling their suffering and the severity of the disaster. The
Tokyo High Court also slashed the amount to half of a lower court’s
decision, ordering the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, known as
TEPCO, to pay a total of 23.5 million yen ($165,000) to 44 of the 47
plaintiffs.
AP News 27th Dec 2023
The Spread of Radiation Internal Contamination thru Fresh Produce in Japan.
[Photo] Green: vegetables, Brown: mushrooms, Navy blue: seafood.
FROM THE ARCHIVES – June 15, 2016
Here is the map of Japan, which indicates the spread of radiation contamination studied with fresh produce.
Everyone should be careful and aware that radiation contaminated food is being distributed anywhere in Japan, not only in Fukushima Prefecture.
To know the exact measure, becquerels level in each food to be consumed is becoming vital so as to not be harmed internally, knowing that radiation exposure internally is much more harmful than external exposure : at least 100 times more harmful.
Professional insight is there important. In Japan today professional insight is only presently given by White Food company, whose main concern is now to sell food that is not radioactive contaminated. (If only once proven wrong White Food would lose its credibility, which is the foundation of their company.)
Why is this happening ◾️? Because radioactive contamination in distributed foods is harder to be known, to be detected than the geographical distribution of hotspots in Japan which can be easily detected and are now well listed.
As an example, although it is not well known, the best shiitake mushrooms are mostly produced in Fukushima prefecture, and from there distributed all over Japan, some even exported abroad.
Map of mushrooms only. Type details.
Recently, information about contaminated foods is become more available, than just after the accident. Nevertheless radioactive contamination is ongoing and well present in food everywhere as it shows on the map above.
Data Sources:
Radioactivity inspection map per category & destination list links
Seafood: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_fish/
Meat: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_meat/
Mushroom: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_mush/
Beans: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_bean/
Fruit: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_fruit/
Vegetables: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_vegi/
Rice, grain: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_rice/
Water, tea: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_drink/
Radioactivity inspection map of food (2015) information source
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
2014 monthly test results
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/kinkyu/0000045281.html
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/kinkyu/0000084439.html
Article Sources:
http://saigaijyouhou.com/blog-entry-10727.html
http://sharetube.jp/article/2958/
https://news.whitefood.co.jp/news/foodmap/
Special credits to Kitagawa Takashi for the informations
Translated by D’un Renard from Japanese.
China’s CGN Halts Funding for UK’s Hinkley Nuclear Plant
- EDF may have to fund completion of £32.7 billion plant alone
- Britain took over CGN’s stake in a similar project last year
By Francois De Beaupuy, December 14, 2023
China General Nuclear Power Corp. has halted funding for the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear station in a fresh sign of tension between London and Beijing.
CGN skipped several installments in recent months, according to people familiar with the matter. That means Electricite de France SA, which was building the £32.7 billion ($41 billion) plant with CGN, may have to pay for its completion alone, they said, asking not to be named,
because the information isn’t public.
The withdrawal of funding comes
after the UK took over CGN’s stake in a similar nuclear project in
Sizewell last year following concerns over national security. Back then,
the government didn’t rule out that it might intervene in other cases of
Chinese involvement in UK energy supply, arguing that it would need to
consider risks to security and energy independence.
CGN’s plan to build a
Chinese-designed atomic plant in Southeast England is also up in the air.
It’s unclear whether the funding halt is temporary or definite, some of
the people said, adding that the project will continue in any case. A
spokesperson for EDF declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg, and CGN
didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg 14th Dec 2023
Fukushima nuclear plant worker exposed to radiation
TOKYO. 12 Dec 23 https://japantoday.com/category/national/fukushima-nuclear-plant-worker-exposed-to-radiation
A plant worker at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex may have ingested radioactive materials after his face was exposed to the substances, the plant operator said Monday.
The operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc said the man in his 20s was wearing a protective full-face mask and suit while working in a room near the plant’s No. 2 reactor building, decontaminating fences and other equipment ahead of the removal of 615 spent nuclear fuel rods from the building.
But radioactive material was found on his face during a routine radiation test as he was leaving the site and he was decontaminated immediately.
The incident follows one in October when two men were exposed to radioactive liquid while cleaning a water filtration facility at the same plant.
Chinese Nuclear Weapons and Canada: An Uncivil-Military Connection
The United States should take action to ensure that domestic and foreign actors are not boosting the nuclear programs of adversaries.
by Henry Sokolski, https://nationalinterest.org/feature/chinese-nuclear-weapons-and-canada-uncivil-military-connection-207727 6 Dec 23
For decades, the Defense Department made little or no connection between China’s civilian nuclear power program and its military nuclear weapons buildup. No longer.
For the last three years, the Pentagon has explicitly linked Beijing’s “peaceful” fast reactor power program to China’s ramped-up weapons plutonium efforts and the projection China will acquire more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. In its latest annual China military power report, the Defense Department went further and revealed that China is using its civilian nuclear reactors to produce tritium to fuel its thermonuclear weapons.
China is doing this by placing lithium rods in power reactors and bombarding the rods with neutrons. This produces tritium, which subsequently is separated, much like how America makes its weapons tritium. It’s unclear if China uses all its power reactors—American, Canadian, Russian, French, or Chinese-designed—for this purpose.
The Pentagon report, however, notes that China uses a tritiated heavy water extraction process to cull tritium produced when hydrogen atoms absorb neutrons and become tritium atoms. The only reactors in China that use heavy water are located in Haiyan and operated by China National Nuclear Power Corporation (CNNC)—Beijing’s premier nuclear weapons contractor.
Canada supplied these reactors through Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Canadian government-owned firm. In addition, AECL agreed to work with CNNC on advanced heavy water reactors and related technologies. In 2011, AECL sold its heavy water reactor business to SNC-Lavalin Inc. (recently renamed AtkinsRealis). AtkinsRealis continues to collaborate with CNNC on its heavy water reactors.
However, Canada’s nuclear transfers to China aren’t limited to reactors. In late October, the Canadian firm Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium suppliers, announced it had contracted to sell more than 97,500 metric tons of uranium to CNNC. Cameco says it will send the CNNC more than 12,700 metric tons annually for the next four years. 12,700 metric tons is roughly 200 to 300 metric tons more than China’s entire civilian sector consumes annually. The 200-to-300-ton surplus alone could fuel as many as 100 bombs each year.
This should raise eyebrows. With poor domestic uranium resources, China insists it’s only building up its uranium reserves for future nuclear power use. Perhaps, but there is no agreed way to verify this. The same is true with tritium. Currently, there are no effective controls on either nuclear substance to assure their peaceful end-use. Both, however, are critical to making nuclear weapons, and CNNC, China’s top weapons vendor, controls these materials.
What should be done?
First, our government needs to name and shame firms exporting critical nuclear materials and technologies to America’s nuclear-armed rivals. This would require spotlighting Canada’s Cameco and AkinsRealis. It also would require listing France’s nuclear firm, EDF, which this spring announced it would work with CNNC in developing advanced spent fuel recycling, a process critical to producing weapons plutonium. Yet, another entity that deserves dishonorable mention is Rosatom, Russia’s prime nuclear weapons developer, in addition to firms in business with the company. The House has already spotlighted Rosatom as a bad actor, asking the White House to sanction it for assisting China’s fast reactor program.
To expose these entities further, the Departments of Defense and the Intelligence Community should produce an unclassified annual report clarifying which domestic and foreign firms might be transferring nuclear materials and technologies to hostile states’ nuclear weapons entities.
Second, the U.S. government should prohibit government purchases and subsidies to these firms. Congress and the White House may be reticent to sanction firms for trading with hostile states’ nuclear weapons entities. But our government should, at least, not buy goods from such firms or subsidize them.
Finally, the United States and other like-minded nations should call on the International Atomic Energy Agency to track and safeguard tritium and unenriched uranium to prevent their diversion to make bombs. Fortunately, there is little commercial demand for tritium. Most of what is produced is then extracted from reactors for occupational safety reasons and is accounted for.
Similarly, most uranium ore is used to fuel legitimate civilian reactors. Yet, it too is critical to make nuclear weapons, and it is not currently tracked or safeguarded. Given that the government already tracks and sanctions certain oil and gas transfers—a daunting task—it’s difficult to understand why we don’t do the same for uranium and tritium. In the lead-up to the next Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2026, the United States should close this gap.
Henry Sokolski is the executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center in Arlington, Virginia, and the author of Underestimated: Our Not So Peaceful Nuclear Future (2019). He served as deputy for nonproliferation policy in the office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the George H.W. Bush administration.
Would A Nuclear Weapon Make South Korea Safer?
By Emma Sandifer, 4 Dec 23, https://armscontrolcenter.org/would-a-nuclear-weapon-make-south-korea-safer/—
The question of whether a nuclear deterrent might be necessary for South Korea has experienced a resurgence over the past few years, becoming a “mainstream feature of South Korea’s national security discourse”. With recent escalation in the pace of North Korea’s nuclear provocation, China’s aggressive buildup of its nuclear arsenal, and waning confidence in the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence, the public perception in South Korea has reflected a sense of increased vulnerability. Consequently, public polling in January of this year found that 71 percent of South Koreans support the return of nuclear weapons to their country — even if it means engaging in indigenous development. In 2023, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol spoke openly, for the first time, of the perceived need to either redeploy American non-strategic nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula or build their own. The reality is that it is not in South Korea’s national interest to have a nuclear weapon — politically, militarily or economically.
Despite this, the debate on the Peninsula is real and the country’s legitimate security concerns should be considered. With the North making regular threats, the trepidations of South Koreans are understandable and the need to take measures to reduce the threat from the North clear, but it remains questionable if nuclear weapons would serve such a purpose. More likely, a South Korean nuclear weapon would serve to fuel a destabilizing arms race in Asia and could actually undermine South Korea’s negotiating position vis-a-vis North Korea.
Politically, a nuclear weapon would not make South Korea safer. As an active member of multiple non-proliferation agreements including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the 1992 Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea uses these agreements to condemn North Korea’s proliferation and mobilize international support against the nuclear activities of its adversary. South Korea’s own proliferation would jeopardize its ability to do so as well as damage its standing in the international community and its relationship with its primary security ally, the United States.
Militarily, a nuclear weapon would not make South Korea safer. The ROK already has the conventional capabilities needed to strike any target in North Korea through the use of short-range ballistic missiles and precision strike weapons, has recently committed $81 billion toward strengthening its pre-existing defense capabilities, and has established a strategic command to oversee its “three-axis” defense system. Nuclear weapons would add little while increasing paranoia north of the DMZ.
To reinforce reliability of the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence, Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon announced the Washington Declaration in early 2023, as well as the creation of the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group. In early November, the two countries updated their Tailored Deterrence Strategy agreement for the first time in a decade to reflect their “ironclad” commitment to collective security underscored by the symbolic deployment of major U.S. military assets to the country, such as a nuclear ballistic missile submarine and a nuclear capable B-52 bomber. South Korea is not only conventionally capable of deterring a nuclear attack by North Korea, but it is also protected by a renewed commitment to extended deterrence by the United States, making the development of a nuclear weapon redundant and escalatory.
Economically, a nuclear weapon would not make South Korea safer. A withdrawal from the NPT would bring an array of potential sanctions with the ability to cause real economic damage. Even if the impact of these sanctions is mitigated by allies to protect regional security interests, the impact of potential Chinese sanctions would be severe. Moreover, this withdrawal would impact international cooperation with Seoul’s nuclear energy program, an economic and energy priority.
Thus, although a nuclear weapon might make South Koreans feel safer, at least temporarily, it would not make the country any more secure. Conversely, creation of a nuclear weapon will undermine South Korean efforts to protect itself against a North Korean threat. Instead, the legitimate security concerns voiced by South Koreans could be addressed by strengthening conventional capabilities as well as engaging with international arms control efforts and dialogue across the DMZ. Such measures would do more to promote confidence among Korean citizens than engaging in a destabilizing arms race.
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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