Chronology of Events Related to Nuclear Disarmament[1]

Events are categorized as taken by:
[IO] = International Organization/Regime;
[G] = National government(s);
[R] = Regional Organization; or
[NGO] = Non-Governmental Organization.

Jump to: 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990-1994 | 1995-1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

1940's

June 26, 1945: [IO] The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco by 50 of the 51 original member states. The Charter has no reference to the dangers of nuclear war since it was signed before the United States detonated its first nuclear explosive device.
July 16, 1945: [G] The United States detonates the world's first atomic device, exploded at the Trinity test site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
August 6, 1945: [G] The U.S. B-29 bomber drops an atomic bomb, "Little Boy" uranium gun-type bomb with an approximate yield of 15 kilotons, on Hiroshima, a Japanese port city with a population of 344,000. The bomb kills an estimated 140,000 people.
August 9, 1945: [G] The U.S. drops a second bomb, "Fat Man" plutonium implosion type bomb with an approximate yield of 21 kilotons, on the city of Nagasaki killing more than 70,000 people and injuring thousands more.
January 24, 1946: [IO] The UN General Assembly adopts its first resolution, which establishes an Atomic Energy Commission and calls for the "elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction."
June 14, 1946: [IO] At the first meeting of the UN Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. delegate Bernard Baruch presents a proposal to internationalize control of atomic energy.
December 30, 1946: [IO] The UN Atomic Energy Commission approves the Baruch plan calling for the creation of an international atomic development authority. In doing so, it rejects the Soviet plan which called for U.S. nuclear disarmament before any international agency is created.
January 1947: [G] The United Kingdom authorizes the development of nuclear weapons.
August 29, 1949: [G] The Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb, Joe 1 (10-20 kilotons), a plutonium bomb, at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan.
top

1950's

1950: [G] United States and USSR arms race begins.
January 11, 1952: [IO] The UN Disarmament Commission is formed after the dissolution of the UN Atomic Energy Commission.
October 3, 1952: [G] First British atomic bomb, "Hurricane," is tested at Monte Bello Islands, Australia, with a yield of 25 kilotons.
December 8, 1953:[G] U.S. President Eisenhower proposes a new idea, Atoms for Peace in his address at the United Nations General Assembly. The goal of the program is to allow the dissemination of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes to all interested nations that are willing to accept safeguards against military use of nuclear materials. He also calls for the creation of an international atomic energy organization. His address marks the beginning of the era of nuclear energy expansion. The U.S. nuclear cooperation program begins with U.S. inspections.
January 21, 1954: [G] The first nuclear submarine, U.S.S. Nautilus, is launched at Groton, Connecticut.
March 1, 1954: [NGO] The Lucky Dragon No.5 Japanese tuna fishing boat is exposed to and contaminated by nuclear fallout from a U.S. Bravo-H-bomb test on Bikini Atoll, and one person dies from acute radiation sickness. This incident fuels Japan's anti-nuclear movement.
July 7, 1955: [NGO] The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, a joint statement made by Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell called on the world's leaders to seek peaceful end to conflicts, recognizing that the next war would likely involve nuclear weapons and would threaten the survival of humanity. This manifesto was signed by leading intellectuals and became the founding charter of the Pugwash Conference.
1956: [G] The Soviet Union first proposes the idea of nuclear-weapons-free zones (NWFZs) to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
March 25, 1957: [R] The Treaty formally establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) is signed in Rome.
July 29, 1957: [IO] The Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), opened for signature on October 26, 1956 comes into force. The IAEA is established to facilitate the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, while ensuring that the assistance the Agency provides will not be used for military purposes.
July 2, 1957: [NGO] The first conference of the Pugwash Movement is held in Pugwash, Nova Scotia to discuss social responsibility and disarmament. Twenty-two scientists from ten countries attend. The stimulus for the gathering is the 1955 Manifesto issued by Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein.
October 2, 1957: [G,R] Poland proposes the Rapacki Plan to create the first NWFZ in Central and Eastern Europe. This plan is ultimately unsuccessful because the security environment in Cold War Europe representing two confronting groups—the Warsaw Pact and NATO—prevents serious negotiation of the plan.
November 1958 to September 1961: [G] U.S., U.K., and U.S.S.R. observe an informal moratorium on nuclear tests.
June 9, 1959: [G] The first U.S. Polaris nuclear missile-capable submarine enters into service.
October 31, 1959: [G] The U.S. deploys the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Atlas D.
November 20, 1959:[IO] On the initiative of Ireland, the UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 1380 (XIV), by which it suggests that the Ten-Nation Disarmament Committee consider the feasibility of an international agreement by which the nuclear-weapon Powers would not hand over control of those weapons to other Powers, and non-nuclear-weapon States would not manufacture such weapons.
December 1, 1959:[IO] The Antarctic Treaty is signed in Washington, stipulating that Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. It prohibits any measures of a military nature, including the testing of any type of weapons.
1956-1959: [G] 40 nations participate in Atoms for Peace program.

top

1960's

February 13, 1960: [G] The first French nuclear test occurs at Reganne, Algeria, in the Sahara Desert. It has a yield of 60-70 kilotons.
December 20, 1960: [G] On the initiative of Ireland, the UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 1576 (XV). This resolution calls on both nuclear and non-nuclear states to refrain from actions that would increase proliferation pending on a more substantial and in-depth agreement.
June 23, 1961: [R] The Antarctic Treaty enters into force, thereby prohibiting nuclear explosions, radioactive waste disposal, and military deployments in the Antarctic Treaty Area (ATA).
September 1, 1961: [G] U.S.S.R. resumes nuclear testing.
September 15, 1961: [G] U.S. resumes nuclear testing.
December 4, 1961: [G, IO] On the initiative of Sweden, the General Assembly adopts Resolution 1664 (XVI), by which it requests the secretary-general to inquire under what conditions states not possessing nuclear weapons would be willing to undertake not to acquire them.
December 4, 1961: [G, IO] An Irish draft resolution on the "Prevention of the wider dissemination of nuclear weapons" is unanimously adopted by the General Assembly as Resolution 1665 (XVI). This resolution is the first step leading to the adoption of the 1968 NPT. The resolution calls on "all States, and in particular the States at present possessing nuclear weapons, to use their best endeavors to secure the conclusion of an international agreement containing provisions under which the nuclear States would undertake to refrain from relinquishing control of nuclear weapons and from transmitting the information necessary for their manufacture to States not possessing such weapons, and provisions under which states not possessing nuclear weapons would undertake not to manufacture or otherwise acquire control of such weapons."
March 22, 1962: [G] Mexican Ambassador Manuel Tello proposes the establishment of the Latin American NWFZ at the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament in Geneva.
Midyear 1962: [G] The Brazilian representative to the United Nations General Assembly proposes making Latin America a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
October 16-28, 1962:[G] The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of nuclear war.
October 1962: [G] During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Brazil submits a draft resolution to the General Assembly calling for a NWFZ in Latin America. Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador support the resolution.
March 21, 1963: [G] During the President's News Conference when asked the status of the Partial Test Ban Treaty negotiations, Kennedy warns that "...I am haunted by the feeling that by 1970, unless we are successful, there may be 10 nuclear powers instead of 4, and by 1975, 15 or 20...I see the possibility in the 1970's of the President of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons. I regard that as the greatest possible danger and hazard." [2] This estimate was based on a briefing paper given to Kennedy by then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara that examined possible nuclear programs. Kennedy called on the Soviet Union to work with the United States to create a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to aid in the prevention of proliferation
July 26, 1963: In a television and radio address to the American people, President Kennedy stated that the negotiations on the partial test ban treaty were concluded in Moscow expressing his hope for the early entry into force of the treaty.[3]
August 5, 1963 [G] The Partial Test Ban Treaty is opened for signature in Moscow, London, and Washington.
August 17, 1965 [G] The United States submits to the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament a draft treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
October 10, 1963: [IO] The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) enters into force.
October 16, 1964:[G] China explodes its first atomic bomb test over the Lop Nor test site. Following the test, Premier Zhou Enlai calls for the elimination of all nuclear weapons and pledges that China will not be the first to use nuclear weapons.
August 17, 1965: [G] The United States submits to the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament a draft treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
September 24, 1965: [G] The USSR submits to the General Assembly a draft treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
November 19, 1965: [IO] United Nations adopts Resolution 2028, the conceptual basis for the NPT. This was accomplished through the initiative of eight non-aligned states.
September 24, 1966: [G] First French atomic bomb tested at Muruoa Atoll.
November 1966: [G] The General Assembly passes Resolution 2153 A (XXI), which calls upon the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament to give priority to the question of non-proliferation and also to consider the question of assurances to non-nuclear-weapon states.
January 27, 1967: [G] The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the Outer Space Treaty) is opened for signature (A/RES/2222 (XI), annex). The Treaty prohibits the placing of nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction in outer space, stipulating that that environment shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.
February 14, 1967: [R] The Treaty of Tlateloco establishing Latin America as a NWFZ opens for signature. Protocol II of the treaty contains the first U.S. negative security assurance, as it states: "the United States would have to consider that an armed attack by a Contracting Party, in which it was assisted by a nuclear-weapon state, would be incompatible with the contracting Party's corresponding obligations under Article 1 of the Treaty."
August 1967 [IO] The Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament considers two separate but identical draft texts of a nonproliferation treaty, submitted by the USSR and the United States, as well as a number of amendments submitted by other members.
October 10, 1967: [IO] The Outer Space Treaty enters into force. Parties agree not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction; and not to install such weapons on celestial bodies. In addition, the establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons, and the conduct of military maneuvers on celestial bodies became forbidden. December 19, 1967: [G] The General Assembly adopts Resolution 2346 A (XXII). The resolution requests the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament to present a full report on the negotiations on a nonproliferation treaty on or before March 15, 1968.
January- March 1968: [G] The ENCD examines the U.S. and USSR draft treaty texts and incorporates suggestions of the non-nuclear states. The revised draft is submitted to the General Assembly.
January 1, 1968: [G] The Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) enters into force
March 11, 1968: [G] United States and Soviet Union submit a revised joint draft of the NPT to the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee.
June 12, 1968: [G] Following revisions to the preamble and articles IV and V, the draft of the NPT is commended by the General Assembly and annexed to Resolution 2373(XXII)
June 19, 1968: [G] The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 255 (1968) on security assurances to non-nuclear states. The United States and Soviet Union promise not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon state parties to the NPT (with limited exceptions)
July 1, 1968: [IO] Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opens for signature.
April 25, 1969: [R] Treaty of Tlatelolco enters into force, and the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (OPANAL) is established. Latin America is officially declared a NWFZ.

top

1970's

1969-1972: [G] The United States and Soviet Union hold Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) aimed at limiting missile systems and other strategic armaments.
March 5, 1970: [IO] The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty enters into force.
February 11, 1971: [IO] The Sea-Bed Treaty is opened for signature.
November 27, 1971: [R] The five original members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur sign a Declaration on a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), forming the basis for the Southeast Asian NWFZ. However, members table the formal proposal for the creation of this zone in the mid-1980s, postponing the establishment of the NWFZ until later.
1972: [G] U.S. and USSR sign the Interim Agreement on strategic offensive arms and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty to constrain strategic missile defenses.
May 18, 1972: [IO] The Seabed Treaty enters into force. It prohibits states from implanting or placing on the seabed or ocean floor or in the subsoil thereof, beyond a 12-mile territorial zone, any nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction.
Mary 26 1972 [G] The United States and the Soviet Union sign two agreements to halt the growth in their strategic arms: the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and SALT I.
1974: [G] The ABM Treaty is modified to further limit deployment of missile defense systems.
May 18, 1974: [G] India conducts its first nuclear detonation, which it describes as a "peaceful nuclear explosion."
July 3, 1974: [G] The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.
November 24, 1974: [G] U.S. President Ford and Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev sign the Vladivostok Accord, agreeing to limit the number of strategic launchers (2400) and MIRV launchers (1320).
May 5-30, 1975: [IO] The First NPT Review Conference takes place. The number of states parties is 91. The conference decides to hold review conferences every five years thereafter to review the implementation of the NPT. The Final Document reaffirms commitment to treaty objectives and urges nuclear weapon states to comply with disarmament obligations.
May 28, 1976: [G] The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty.
May 23-June 30, 1978: [IO] The Tenth Special Session of the UN General Assembly devoted to disarmament adopts the Final Document including the Program of Action which identifies nuclear disarmament as the highest priority in disarmament negotiations.
1978: [G, IO] At the First United Nations Special Session on Disarmament, US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance formally states that the United States would not use nuclear weapons against an NPT non-nuclear-weapon state party unless attacked by such a state in alliance with a nuclear-weapon state. Specifically, the United States pledges to "not use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon state party to the NPT or any comparable internationally binding commitment not to acquire nuclear explosive devices, except in the case of an attack on the United States, its territories or armed forces, or its allies, by any state allied to a nuclear-weapon state or associated with a nuclear-weapon state in carrying out or sustaining the attack."
June 18, 1979: [G] U.S. and USSR sign SALT II Treaty but never ratify the agreement.

top

1980's

August 11-September 7, 1980: [IO] The Second NPT Review Conference convenes. The number of states parties is 112. The Review Conference fails to reach consensus on a Final Document. Many non-nuclear weapon states calls on the United States and USSR to ratify the SALT II, but the United States had withdrawn from the negotiation due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
November 18, 1981: [G] In a major policy address calling for a framework of negotiations on reductions in all types of arms, U.S. President Ronald Reagan proposes the "zero option" -- cancellation of planned INF missile deployments by the United States if the Soviet Union agrees to eliminate its SS-4, SS-5, and SS-20 missiles. The Soviet Union rejects the zero option as inequitable and proposes a freeze on any new deployments and subsequent cuts in existing forces.
June 24, 1982: [G, NGO] In the 2^nd Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki appealed to mayors around the world to reach out to each other and work for nuclear disarmament. This began the Conference of Mayors for Peace, which as of August 28, 2006, includes 1,416 cities in over 120 countries.
June 7-July 10, 1982 [IO, G] The General Assembly holds its second special session devoted to disarmament in New York. At the special session, China, France, and the USSR make declarations regarding unilateral security assurances.
November 4, 1982[NGO] The New York Times reports on the Nuclear Freeze Campaign's freeze issue on the November ballot as the largest single issue referendum in U.S. history. It was approved by a large majority.
July 11, 1984: [IO] The Moon Agreement enters into force, thus confirming the demilitarization of the moon and other celestial bodies as provided for in that treaty
August 27, 1984: [R] The South Pacific Forum endorses a set of principles proposed by Australia for establishing a NWFZ and appoints a working group to draft the relevant text. .
March 9, 1985: [G] President Reagan promotes the new MX Peacekeeper missile to replace aging Minuteman ICBMs. According to his radio address, doing so would strengthen the American position at arms control negotiations with the Soviets.
March 11, 1985: [G] Mikhail Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev declares economic reconstruction and nuclear arms reduction are high priority goals.
August 6, 1985: [R] The members of the South Pacific Forum open for signature the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (the Treaty of Rarotonga).
Aug 6 1985: [G] To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, the Soviet Union declares a moratorium on nuclear testing.
August 27-September 21, 1985: [IO] The third NPT Review Conference is held in Geneva. Parties to the treaty now number 131. Although a majority of the parties praises the NPT as a success, some argue that horizontal proliferation, particularly in Israel and South Africa, is threatening the treaty's objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The conference adopts the Final Document urging expansion of nuclear-weapon-free-zones and progress on nuclear disarmament.
October 11, 1985: [G] President Reagan adopts a "broad interpretation" of the 1972 ABM Treaty that would allow for research into space-based and mobile anti-missile systems. The new interpretation allows the president's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) plan to proceed.
November 21, 1985: [G, IO] At the Geneva Summit, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and U. S. President Ronald Reagan issue a joint statement on arms control, expressing a goal of 50 percent reduction in the nuclear weapons in the United States and the Soviet Union.
January 15, 1986: [G] In an address to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Premier Gorbachev announces a plan for total nuclear disarmament of the superpowers by the year 2000. This plan is contingent upon the U.S. abandonment of it Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
February 1986: [G] The United States proposes a limit of 140 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) launchers in Europe and concurrent proportionate reductions in Asia.
March 4, 1986: [G] At the INF negotiations, the United States proposes "a comprehensive verification regime that includes the use of national technical means (NTM) of verification and cooperative measures between the two governments, such as on-site inspection and data exchanges.
March 14, 1986: [G] President Reagan announces a new, specific proposal for on-site monitoring of nuclear tests to strengthen the verification provisions of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT) and Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Treaty (PNET). The proposal involves a new hydro-dynamic yield measurements method, known as CORRTEX, which Soviet scientists are invited to inspect at the U.S. nuclear test site where they will monitor a nuclear weapons test.
May 27, 1986: [M, G] President Reagan announces that the United States will no longer observe the SALT II treaty limits on long-range bombers. As the treaty has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate, Reagan's decision to no longer abide by it is tantamount to a U.S. withdrawal. The USSR denounces the U.S. action, but announces that it will continue to abide by SALT II limits "for the time being."
Oct 11-12, 1986 [G] At a summit meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev discuss limiting U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals to 1,600 strategic nuclear delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs). The meeting fails to produce a concrete agreement as the Soviets demand that the United States first cancel plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which the United States refuses to do.
December 1, 1986: [R] Three protocols to the Treaty of Rarotonga open for signature.
December 11, 1986: [R] The Treaty of Rarotonga (the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty) enters into force.
December 15, 1986 [G, IO] The Soviet Union signs the Protocols to the Treaty of Rarotonga.
1987: [G] U.S. and USSR sign Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
February 10, 1987: [G, R] China signs the protocols to the Treaty of Bangkok (Treaty on the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone) obligating them not to manufacture, acquire, test, or station any nuclear explosive device in the South Pacific. (The Soviet Union was the first nuclear weapon state to sign the protocols on December 15, 1986.)
February 26, 1987: [G] The Soviet Union ends an 18-month unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. The Soviet Union announces its willingness to resume the moratorium if the United States will do the same.
April 15, 1987: [G] U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz meets with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze in Moscow. The United States proposes that both sides commit to the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty through 1994. U.S. and Soviet adherence to the ABM Treaty would be contingent on the implementation of agreed Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) reductions. After 1994, either state could choose whether to deploy a defense system. The U.S. proposal also includes reciprocal measures to exchange data yearly on planned strategic defense exercises, to brief each other on strategic defense efforts, to allow visits to associated research facilities, and to agree to procedures for observation of strategic defense testing.
April 16, 1987: [IO] Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) established by United States, Canada, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and West Germany to monitor and control the proliferation of equipment and technology that could potentially be used in unmanned nuclear weapon delivery.
May 1987: [G] Israel tests long-range version of nuclear-capable Jericho II Missile, said to be capable of striking the southern USSR.
June 1987: [G] The New Zealand Parliament passes the Nuclear-Free Zone Arms Control and Disarmament Act. The legislation formalizes New Zealand's ban from its ports of nuclear powered ships and vessels believed to be carrying nuclear explosives. The New Zealand government refuses to accept the long-standing practice of the U.S. Navy to "neither confirm nor deny" whether a ship is carrying nuclear weapons.
August 1987: [G] Iraq test-fires a medium-range missile capable of delivering chemical weapons.
September 15, 1987: [G] U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign the Agreement on Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers. The accord establishes a second Moscow-Washington direct communications link for exchange of information on ballistic missile tests and other matters.
December 1987: [G, IO] Pakistan ratifies the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT).
December 8, 1987 [G] The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, thereby agreeing to the removal of their intermediate- and short-range missiles from Europe. The treaty marks the first time the superpowers agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and utilize extensive on-site inspections for verification.
December 9, 1987: [G] The United States and the Soviet Union agree to conduct the Joint Verification Experiment, allowing each side to monitor a nuclear test conducted by the other. The Soviet Union monitors a U.S. test August 17, 1988, and the United States a Soviet test on September 14, 1988.
January 26, 1988: [G] The U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) is established to carry out the on-site inspection, escort, and monitoring provisions of the INF Treaty.
February 18, 1988: [G] India successfully fires its first surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile, the Prithvi.
April 14, 1988: [G] The Danish Parliament passes a resolution instructing the government to inform visiting warships that nuclear weapons are banned from Danish territory in peacetime.
May 31, 1988: [G] The United States and Soviet Union sign the Agreement on Notification of Missile Launches. The Agreement stipulates that 24-hour advance notice is required before launching an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
June 1, 1988: [G, IO] INF Treaty enters into force.
February 9, 1989: [G] U.S. President George Bush announces that he will continue the Strategic Defense Initiative, a research program to study the feasibility of defensive measures against ballistic missiles.
April 7 1989: [G] Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announces that the Soviet Union will cease production of enriched weapons-grade uranium.
October 19, 1989: [G] The final Soviet underground nuclear test occurs at the Semipalatinsk testing site in Kazakhstan.
December 29, 1989: [G] The United States and Soviet Union exchange data on each country's aggregate stockpile size; the types of agents; percent of chemical agents in munitions, devices, or bulk containers; location of storage, production, and destruction facilities; and types of munitions at each storage facility.

top

1990 - 1994

June 1, 1990: [G] The United States and Soviet Union sign new verification protocols to the 1974 Threshold Test-Ban Treaty and the 1976 Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes Treaty, which provides for advanced notification and onsite inspection of tests above 35 kilotons.
February 26, 1990: [G] South African President de Klerk issues written instructions to dismantle South Africa's secret nuclear weapons program. The nuclear materials are melted down and returned to the AEC in preparation for joining the NPT. The government did not want to admit to the program before acceding to the NPT, so the nuclear program and the dismantlement project remained secret until 1993. The actual dismantlement of the weapons program began in July.
August 20-September 14, 1990: [IO] The fourth nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is held in Geneva. The number of states parties is 140; China and France attend as observers. The Review Conference fails to produce the Final Document due to disagreement over Article VI and frustration that CTBT negotiations had not progressed.
September 6, 1991: [G] By this date, all highly enriched uranium from South African weapons was removed, melted down, and returned to the AEC
September 25, 1990: [IO, G] The United States ratifies the Threshold Test-Ban Treaty. The treaty prohibits underground nuclear weapon tests with a yield exceeding 150 kilotons.
September 27, 1990: [G] The last of the U.S. Pershing II missiles leave West Germany. The United States withdrew the missiles in accordance with the INF Treaty, which eliminated and prohibited the possession of an entire class of ground-launched intermediate-range, and shorter-range missiles and their launchers.
October 24, 1990: [G] The Soviet Union conducts its last nuclear test before adhering to a unilateral moratorium.
December 11, 1990: [IO] New verification protocols for the 1974 Threshold Test-Ban Treaty enter into force.
January 7-18, 1991: [IO] The Amendment Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water meets in New York.
January 29, 1991: [G] The United States announces a revision of the SDI program from defense against a large-scale ballistic missile attack to protection from limited ballistic missile strikes. The new program would include some 1,000 space-based "Brilliant Pebbles" interceptors, 750 to 1,000 long-range ground-based interceptors at six sites, space-based and mobile sensors, and transportable theater ballistic missile defenses.
April 3, 1991: [IO] The UN Security Council passes Resolution 687 requiring the destruction of Iraq's nuclear capability, its chemical and biological weapons, and its missiles with a range over 150 kilometers. The council establishes a Special Commission (UNSCOM) to monitor the elimination of WMD in Iraq.
June 1, 1991: [IO] INF Treaty is fully implemented.
June 13, 1991: [G] The Soviet Union issues a formal statement linking the effectiveness and viability of START to compliance with the ABM Treaty. The United States replies, in a formal unilateral statement, that "changes in the ABM Treaty agreed to by the parties would not be a basis for questioning the effectiveness or viability" of START.
July 10, 1991: [IO, G] South Africa accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state after terminating its nuclear weapons program.
July 15, 1991: [G] France conducts its final nuclear test before entering into a unilateral moratorium that lasts until September 1995.
July 18, 1991: [G] Argentina and Brazil establish the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials.
July 31, 1991: [IO,G] The United States and Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), by which they undertake to reduce their nuclear weapons from then current levels of between 10,000 and 11,000 each to between 8,000 and 9,000 weapons each.
August 29, 1991: [G] Semipalatinsk, the primary Soviet nuclear test site, is permanently shut down.
September 3, 1991: [G] Russian President Boris Yeltsin calls for an international moratorium on nuclear testing.
September 27, 1991: [G] President Bush announces the cancellation of the MX rail-garrison ICBM and short-range attack missile (SCRAM II) programs and the withdrawal of all remaining army ground-based tactical nuclear weapons worldwide. (Air force and marine tactical nuclear weapons are not affected.) Bush also ends the 24-hour alert status of B-IB and B-52 bombers. Implicitly, the United States reserves the right to redeploy these arms in a crisis. Bush calls upon the Soviet leadership "to join us in taking immediate concrete steps to permit the limited deployment of non-nuclear defenses to protect against limited ballistic missile strikes."
October 5, 1991: [G] President Gorbachev announces that the Soviet Union will immediately de-alert all strategic bombers currently on day-to-day alert status and store their weapons; de-alert 503 ICBMs; stop the buildup of launching facilities for rail-based ICBMs; and discontinue development of short-range attack missiles for heavy bombers. Gorbachev also announces a one-year, unilateral moratorium on testing and calls for an end to all nuclear tests.
November 1991: [IO,G] In response to deteriorating conditions in the former Soviet Union the U.S. Congress initiates the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, which authorizes the Department of Defense to assist particular states of the former Soviet Union to: dismantle and destroy WMD; strengthen the security of nuclear weapons and fissile materials in connection with dismantlement; prevent proliferation; and help demilitarize the industrial and scientific infrastructure.
December 21, 1991: [G] At a conference at Alma-Ata, the Soviet Republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine pledged to return all Soviet tactical nuclear weapons on their territories to Russia by July 1, 1992.
Late 1991-Early 1992: [G] Russia agrees to eliminate its ground-launched tactical nuclear weapons.
January 1992: [G] Russian President Boris Yeltsin reaffirms Gorbachev's 1991 commitments and expands on them in response to a second round of unilateral U.S. nuclear weapons cutbacks focused on strategic forces. Yeltsin also reiterates Gorbachev's offer to negotiate with the United States on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).
January 20, 1992: [R] The Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is signed. The agreement is formally put into effect February 19-20.
January 28, 1992: [G] U.S. President George Bush in his State of the Union Address announces the cancellation of the Midgetman Missile Program and a halt to production of W-88 warheads and MX2 test missiles. He also announces that the production of the B-2 bomber will stop at 20 planes and that the production of advanced cruise missiles will be capped at 640 missiles.
January 31, 1992: [IO] At a meeting of the Security Council held at the level of Heads of State or Government, the Council emphasizes the threat that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction constitutes to international peace and security.
March 9, 1992: [IO,G] China accedes to the NPT as a nuclear-weapon state.
April 8, 1992: [G] French Premier Pierre Beregovoy announces that France will suspend nuclear testing.
May 21, 1992: [G] China conducts a one-megaton underground nuclear weapon test, its largest test ever.
May 23, 1992: [IO,G] The United States signs the Lisbon Protocol to START I with Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, as successor states of the former U.S.SR in connection with START I. Under the protocol, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine agree to adhere to the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon states in the shortest possible time and they agree to transfer to Russia all nuclear weapons that remained on their territories after the dissolution of the U.S.SR.
June 16, 1992: [IO] President Bush and President Yeltsin sign a joint understanding, which limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads to 3,000-3,500 for each country by 2003. The joint understanding will become the basis for the START II.
June 17, 1992: [G] Russian President Boris Yeltsin addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, stating that the nuclear weapons of the Cold War "turned out to be obsolete and unnecessary to mankind. And it is now simply a matter of calculating the best way and the best time schedule for destroying them and getting rid of them."
July 2, 1992: [IO] The Kazakhstani parliament ratifies START I. President Bush announces that the United States has completed the worldwide withdrawals of its ground- and sea-launched tactical nuclear weapons.
July 13, 1992: [G] President Bush announced a nonproliferation initiative that includes an end to the U.S. production of HEU and plutonium for weapons purposes.
August 3, 1992: [IO,G] France accedes to the NPT as a nuclear weapon state.
August 4, 1992: [G] The U.S. Senate votes 68 to 26 for a nine-month moratorium on nuclear weapons testing beginning October 1, 1992, and a final cut-off of all testing and completion of a comprehensive test ban treaty by September 30, 1996.
September 25, 1992: [G] The Nuclear-Weapon-Free Status of Mongolia is declared.
October 2, 1992: [G] President Bush signs the Hatfield Amendment into law and establishes a nine-month, unilateral nuclear testing moratorium. President Clinton will subsequently extend the moratorium through September 1994 and then through September 1996.
October 9, 1992: [R] The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the states that once formed the Soviet Union, sign the Bishkek Agreement pledging to support and implement the ABM Treaty.
October 19, 1992: [G] President Yeltsin extends the Russian nuclear testing moratorium until July 1, 1993.
October 22-23, 1992: [G] Belarus agrees to transfer its nuclear missiles to Russia.
October 27, 1992:[IO] The UN Secretary-General submits to the First Committee of the General Assembly his report entitled New dimensions of arms regulation and disarmament in the post–cold war era, in which he refers to the NPT as providing an indispensable framework for global non-proliferation efforts.
November 1992:[G] France decides to cease further production of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
November 3, 1992: [G] U.S. President-elect Bill Clinton announces his support of the development and deployment of theater missile defense (TMD) systems to protect U.S. troops from short- and medium-range missiles.
January 3, 1993: [IO,G] The United States and the Russian Federation sign START II. They agree to further reduce ICBMs by eliminating MIRVed ICBMs and cutting the number of overall nuclear warheads for each side to between 3,000 and 3,500.
January 7, 1993: [IO] The United States and 21 other nations announce revised guidelines to extend the scope of the MTCR to missiles capable of carrying chemical and biological weapons as well as nuclear weapons.
January 13, 1993: [G] France announces that it will observe a nuclear test moratorium provided that the United States and Russia continue to observe a nuclear test moratorium.
February 9, 1993 [G] Belarus accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state.
March 24, 1993: [G] South Africa announces it had a nuclear weapons program but dismantled its weapons before joining the NPT in July 1991. The South African government claims to have made six nuclear weapons and to have dismantled them all.
July 3, 1993: [G] U.S. President Clinton announces his intention to extend the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium until September 1994, provided that no other nation tests.
August 10, 1993: [IO] The Conference on Disarmament decides to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty. At the same time a special meeting of the Amendment Conference of the Partial Test-Ban Treaty is held in New York.
August 17, 1993: [G] Russian President Boris Yeltsin approves a new policy regarding security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states. The new policy declares that Russia will not use nuclear weapons against NPT signatory countries and non-nuclear nations except in two instances; first, if a non-nuclear state allied with a nuclear weapon state attacks Russia, Russia's armed forces, or Russia's allies and second, if a non-nuclear weapon state and a nuclear weapon state both attack Russia. The new negative security assurance does not rule out first use of nuclear weapons against a nuclear weapon state.
October 5, 1993: [G] China conducts a nuclear test at its Lop Nor test site in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. It is the first test by a nuclear weapon state in more than a year.
December 1993: [IO] UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 48/75L calling for the negotiation of a treaty to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear weapons devices (FMCT).
December 8, 1993: [IO,G] The U.S. Air Force demolishes an underground missile silo at Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri. It is the first of 500 silos to be destroyed under the terms of START I.
December 20, 1993: [G] Ukraine announces that it will dismantle all of its 46 long-range SS-24 nuclear-armed missiles by the end of 1994 rather than shipping them to Russia as required by the Lisbon Protocol.
January 1994: [IO] Negotiations on a CTBT begin in the Ad Hoc Committee at the Conference on Disarmament.
January 14, 1994: [G] Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin meet in Moscow and affirm both countries' support for a CTBT. Clinton and Yeltsin announce that, by the end of May, U.S. and Russian missiles will target no country. A declaration signed by the two presidents states, "For the first time since the earliest days of the Nuclear Age, the two countries will no longer operate nuclear forces, day-to-day, in a manner that presumes they are enemies."
January 25, 1994: [IO] The Conference on Disarmament begins consultations on the most appropriate arrangement to negotiate a treaty on the prohibition of the production of fissile material for weapons purposes (FMCT).
February 14, 1994: [IO,G] Kazakhstan accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state, and returns all Soviet nuclear warheads and ICBMs to Russia by 1995 and 1996, respectively
March 14, 1994: [G] President Bill Clinton extends the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium through September 1995.
June 3, 1994: [G] India test fires its Prithvi medium-range missile.
June 23, 1994 [G] U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin sign an agreement to shut down the remaining plutonium production reactors operating in Russia by the year 2000.
September 18, 1994: [G] President Clinton approves recommendations of the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). The 1994 NPR is the first such review in 15 years, and the first review ever to include policy, doctrine, and arms control. The United States in the post-Cold War era has sought ways to improve its national security and nuclear deterrent posture. Of primary concern in the 1990s was what to do with the large nuclear forces that remained in the U.S. strategic arsenal. Policy-makers, faced with an uncertain global security environment after the collapse of the Soviet Union, tried to incorporate the Cold War "legacy" nuclear forces into a new geostrategic situation.
September 28, 1994: [G] During a Washington, DC summit, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin issue a joint statement that they have "agreed on the fundamental importance of preserving the viability and integrity of the ABM Treaty" and that both sides have "an interest in developing and fielding effective theater missile defense systems on a cooperative basis."
October 4, 1994: [IO,G] Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen and U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher sign the "Joint United States-People's Republic of China Statement on Missile Proliferation." By signing the statement, China agrees to restrictions on missiles if they have the "inherent capability" to be modified to specifications covered under MTCR guidelines, "regardless of [their] demonstrated or advertised combination of range and payload." China does not sign the MTCR. However, China and the United States agree to "hold in-depth discussions" on the MTCR and the possibility of China's eventual membership in the regime.
October 23, 1994: [IO,G] The United States and North Korea sign the Agreed Framework, which freezes the latter's nuclear program and prevents its withdrawal from the NPT as long as the United States and South Korea cooperate in helping the DPRK build light-water reactors for power and provide it with oil.
November 27, 1994: [G] U.S. officials announce the completion of Project Sapphire. The United States purchased approximately half a ton of HEU from Kazakhstan and transported it to the United States. The materials were considered vulnerable to theft and to terrorists.
November 31, 1994: [IO] The United States and representatives from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine sign a document ensuring the continued implementation of the INF Treaty.
December 5, 1994:[G] Ukraine officially joins the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.
December 5, 1994: [IO] The five parties to the START I Treaty—the United States, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine—exchange instruments of ratification for START I at the Budapest Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe summit.
December 8, 1994: [IO,G] With all former Soviet nuclear successor states (Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine) adoption of the NPT, START I enters into force.
1994: [G] The French Ministry of Defence publishes the 1994 White Paper on Defence, which was first published since 1972. In the White Paper, the deterrent doctrine is confirmed although it acknowledges that the international situation has changed fundamentally.

top

1995-1999

January 30, 1995: [IO,G] The United States announces that it will extend its moratorium on nuclear testing until the CTBT enters into force.
March 23, 1995: [IO] The Conference on Disarmament agrees to a mandate for a committee to begin negotiations on a treaty to ban the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons (FMCT).
April 5-6, 1995: [G] All five nuclear weapon states issue new texts of their negative security assurances to non-nuclear weapon state parties to the NPT. U.S., Russian, U.K., and French negative security assurances are nearly identical, and all have major exceptions. Only China has a clear and absolute no-first-use policy.
April 11, 1995: [IO] The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 984, which recognizes negative security assurances issued by the NWS. France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States reaffirm that they will only use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states in the case of an invasion or any other attack on them, their territories, their armed forces, or their allies. Only China undertook not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones at any time and under any circumstance (no-first use).
April 17-May 12, 1995: [IO] The Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the NPT convenes. The NPT is indefinitely extended without a vote as part of a package of decisions that also included decisions on "Strengthening the review process for the Treaty," and "Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament" as well as a "Resolution on the Middle East". In terms of the program of action included in the "Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament" the state parties agreed to complete a CTBT no later than 1996 and the nuclear weapon states agree to exercise restraint until a CTBT comes into force. The state parties also agreed to the "immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations of a FMCT" at the Conference on Disarmament, while the nuclear weapon states agreed to pursue "systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons ..."
April 17-22, 1995: [NGO] Recognizing that nuclear abolition was not included in the NPT Review and Extension Conference agenda, activists gather to draft the founding document of the Abolition 2000 Campaign. By 2006, this group has over 2,000 member groups from 90 countries.
April 21, 1995 [G] The U.S. Army conducts its first flight test of a theater high altitude area defense (THAAD) missile interceptor at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
May 15, 1995: [G] China explodes a nuclear device in the 40-150-kiloton range, despite its pledge just days prior to and at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference to "exercise utmost restraint" regarding future nuclear testing.
June 13, 1995: [G] French President Jacques Chirac announces that France will end a three-year moratorium and conduct a series of eight nuclear tests in the South Pacific. The tests will begin in September 1995 and last until May 1996. Two months later, in the face of negative international and domestic reaction, France announces the tests will end sooner.
June 17, 1995: [G] The first shipment of low-enriched uranium (LEU) arrives in the United States from Russia. The shipment is part of the U.S.-Russian HEU Deal, a 20-year contract to sell to the United States 500 tons of HEU blended down to LEU.
July 31, 1995: [G] The U.S. Army conducts its second flight test of a THAAD missile interceptor at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
August 11, 1995: [G] President Clinton announces a total ban on all U.S. nuclear weapon testing, supporting a true zero-yield CTBT banning any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion.
August 17, 1995: [G] China conducts its 43rd nuclear weapons test at its Lop Nor test site. The explosion has a yield of 60 kilotons.
September 5, 1995: [G] France resumes nuclear testing in the South Pacific with a 20-kiloton explosion at the Muraroa atoll in the South Pacific.
September 14, 1995: [G] The United Kingdom announces its support for a zero-yield CTBT.
October 1, 1995: [G] France detonates a 110-kiloton nuclear warhead, which it plans to deploy on a new generation of nuclear submarines, at the Fangataufa atoll in the South Pacific.
October 13, 1995: [g] The U.S. Army conducts its third flight test of a THAAD missile interceptor at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
October 27, 1995: [G] France explodes a 60-kiloton nuclear device at Muraroa atoll.
November 21, 1995 [G] France conducts a 40-kiloton nuclear weapons test at Muraroa atoll.
November 26, 1995: [IO,G] Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating announces the formation of the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, a 17-member group of government leaders, scientists, disarmament experts, and military strategists from around the world. The Commission is charged with proposing "practical steps towards a nuclear-weapons-free world."
December 9, 1995: [G] Belarus agrees to transfer its last 19 Soviet strategic nuclear missiles to Russia, for a total of 70 nuclear missiles transferred to Russian control.
December 13, 1995: [G] The U.S. Army successfully conducts its fourth flight test of a THAAD missile interceptor at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
December 15, 1995: [R] The Treaty on the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (Treaty of Bangkok) is opened for signature.
December 27, 1995: [G] France conducts a 30-kiloton nuclear weapons test at Muraroa atoll.
January 1996: [IO,G] France conducts nuclear test at Fangataufa atoll in the South Pacific. Later, France signs the protocols to the South Pacific NWFZ Treaty and closes its nuclear test site in the region.
January 26, 1996: [IO,G] The U.S. Senate ratifies START II by overwhelming majority, but with agreed interpretations and conditions. The ratification text states that "the United States is committed to proceeding with a robust Stockpile Stewardship program, and to maintain nuclear weapons production capabilities and capacities that will ensure the safety, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear arsenal at the START II level."
January 27, 1996: [G] France conducts its sixth and final nuclear test, exploding a 120-kiloton nuclear device at Fangataufa atoll.
January 29, 1996: [G] France declares a moratorium on nuclear testing in the South Pacific, after conducting six tests—two short of the eight explosions originally planned. International protests, including New Zealand's unsuccessful appeal to the International Court of Justice at The Hague to stop the French tests, had prompted France to reduce the original number of nuclear tests.
February 22, 1996: [G] President Chirac announces that in an effort to economize, France will stop producing plutonium and weapons-grade uranium for nuclear weapons, scrap its 18 land-based nuclear missiles and dismantle the Hades short-range mobile missile.
March 6, 1996: [G] The United States announces a reoriented missile defense program that gives priority to theater missile defense systems (TMD) against short-range missiles. The United States will defer deployment decisions on the most advanced TMD systems (THAAD and the Navy upper-tier) until after the year 2000. The Navy upper-tier systems would engage enemy ballistic missiles further away from the target and at higher altitudes than TMD systems. The United States plans to begin a national missile defense (NMD) "3-plus-3" program. Over the next three years, the basic elements of an NMD system will be developed that could be deployed in three more years if a threat emerges that would justify such a decision.
March 25, 1996: [IO] The South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (the Treaty of Rarotonga) France, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign Protocol I to the Rarotonga Treaty, thus expanding its scope to American Samoa and Jarvis Island, and to the dependent territories of France and the United Kingdom. The three also sign Protocol II, which calls on NWS to refrain from the use or threat of use of nuclear explosive devices against parties to the treaty, and Protocol III, which prohibits the testing of nuclear devices within the zone.
March 26, 1996: [G] The U.S. Army's THAAD missile interceptor fails to intercept the target during a test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This is the fifth test of THAAD and the system's first failure to intercept a target.
April 11, 1996: [IO,R] The Treaty on the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (the Treaty of Pelindaba) is opened for signature. Forty-three nations sign the Pelindaba Treaty and thereby pledge not to build, test, or stockpile nuclear weapons. All the nuclear weapon states signs the protocol agreeing to abide by the terms of the treaty. (Russia signs the protocol November 5, 1996.)
June 1, 1996: [G] Ukraine transfers the last inherited Soviet nuclear warhead on its territory to Russia for destruction.
June 8, 1996: [G] China conducts its 44th nuclear weapons test at its Lop Nor test site. After the test, China announces it will conduct one more test later in the year.
June 20, 1996: [IO,G] India announces it will not sign the CTBT as drafted because it would still permit the nuclear weapon states to "continue refining and developing their nuclear arsenal" and because the CTBT does not require nuclear disarmament.
June 24, 1996: [G] The United States and Russia conclude an initial agreement that demarcates strategic ballistic missiles defenses (ABM systems) and certain defenses against non-strategic ballistic missiles ("lower-velocity" theater missile defenses). This agreement would permit all TMD systems with interceptor velocities up to and including three kilometers per second under the ABM Treaty. The interceptors cannot be tested against target missiles with velocities above five kilometers per second or ranges greater than 3,500 kilometers. The United States and Russia agree to continue discussions on demarcation of higher-velocity TMD systems.
July 8, 1996: [IO] The International Court of Justice issues an Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons. It concludes that humanitarian law does apply to the use of nuclear weapons, but that the use of nuclear weapons is not necessarily illegal in all circumstances. Specifically, if a retaliatory strike was consistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality, it might be legal in extreme circumstances.
July 25, 1996: [G] Russia successfully test-fires its Topol-M missile, a long-range missile. This is the third successful flight test for the Topol-M, which is the only new ICBM in production and as such it will become the backbone of Russia's ICBM force.
July 29, 1996: [G] China conducts its 45th nuclear test and then declares a moratorium on nuclear testing.
August 14, 1996: [IO] The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons issues its report, finding that nuclear weapons diminish the security of all states, including the nuclear weapon states. The Commission calls upon the five declared nuclear weapons states to commit themselves "unequivocally to the elimination of nuclear weapons and agree to start work immediately on the practical steps and negotiations required for its achievement."
September 10, 1996: [IO] The UN General Assembly adopts a CTBT by a vote of 158 to three no votes (India, Bhutan, and Libya), with five abstentions (Cuba, Lebanon, Syria, Mauritius, and Tanzania).
September 24, 1996: [IO] The CTBT is opened for signature in New York. Seventy-one states, including all five nuclear-weapon states, sign the treaty on that day.
October 31, 1996 [G] The United States and Russia cancel the signing ceremony for "first-phase" demarcation agreement on lower-velocity TMD systems (see June 24, 1996 entry above). The United States and Russia blame each other for the last minute cancellation. Russia refuses to sign and allow entry into force of the first-phase agreement unless a second-phase agreement on more capable systems is concluded. The United States wants the two agreements to remain separate and cancels the signing. (See entry from September 2, 1997.)
November 19, 1996: [IO] The Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization is established with its seat in Vienna.
November 23, 1996: [G] Belarus fulfills its START I and NPT obligations when it transfers its last 16 former Soviet SS-25 ICBMs and associated nuclear warheads to Russia and becomes a non-nuclear state.
November 27, 1996: [G] Belarus transfers the last missile from the Soviet nuclear arsenal remaining on its territory to Russia for destruction. Belarus joins Ukraine and Kazakhstan as former Soviet Republics that have given up all their nuclear arms.
February 27, 1997: [R] In the Almaty Declaration the five Central Asian presidents call for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in their region including five former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
March 6, 1997: [G] The U.S. Army's THAAD missile interceptor fails to intercept the target during a test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This was the seventh test of the system and the first mission in which the entire THAAD system was integrated and tested.
March 13, 1997: [R] The European Parliament calls on all members to support negotiations leading to the conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention.
March 20-21, 1997: [G] Presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin address a number of arms control issues during their summit meeting in Helsinki. In a "Joint Statement on Parameters on Future Reductions in Nuclear Forces," the presidents agree to extend the deadline for SNDV elimination under START II by five years and to immediately begin negotiations on a START III treaty once START II enters into force (subsequently modified to occur once START II is ratified). They also agree that START III negotiations will include four basic components: a limit of 2,000-2,500 deployed strategic nuclear warheads for each side by the end of 2007, measures relating to the transparency of strategic nuclear warhead inventories and to the destruction of strategic warheads, extension of the current START agreements to unlimited duration, and the deactivation by the end of 2003 of all SNDVs to be eliminated under START II.
April 7-18, 1997: [IO] The first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2000 NPT Review Conference is held in New York.
August 31, 1997: [G] North Korea test-fired a multi-stage Taepodong-1 missile over the main Japanese island of Honshu. In describing the test, North Korea reported that it had launched a satellite into orbit via a multi-stage rocket.
September 26, 1997: [IO,G] During a meeting in New York, the United States and Russia sign a protocol to the START II Treaty that extends the deadline for completing the nuclear reductions from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2007. Officials from Russia, the United States, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus also sign an ABM Demarcation Agreement. The agreement outlines criteria that distinguish TMD systems from strategic ballistic missile defense systems.
November 1997: [G] U.S. President Clinton signs Presidential Decision Directive 60 (PDD 60) on U.S. nuclear warfare policy. Under the directive, the U.S. military will no longer prepare to win a protracted nuclear war. PDD 60 would reserve the option to use nuclear weapons in response to a chemical or biological weapons attack against the United States.
December 1997: [IO,G] This is the warhead reduction deadline under START I; the United States is ahead of schedule.
December 19, 1997: [G] Russia's Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev announces that Russia will begin deploying a new ballistic missile, the Topol-M. The advanced version of the Topol ICBM carries a single nuclear warhead and can be deployed in silos or on mobile launchers. The new missile is cheaper and more accurate than its predecessor, and is intended to become the backbone of Russia's strategic forces.
December 22, 1997: [G] The last Minuteman II silo was destroyed outside of Whiteman AFB. The treaty-mandated destruction of the 150 silos and 15 launch control facilities begin on 8 December 1993. The removal of Minuteman II missiles began in July of 1992 and was completed in May of 1995.
March 1998:[G] The United Kingdom withdraws its last WE177 gravity bomb from service, resulting in reliance on a single nuclear weapon system.
March 1998: [G] The United States and Russia announce the successful field test of two Russian railcars with improved security features to protect the shipment of weapons-usable nuclear material. Rapid upgrades will begin on 31 railcars that are used to transport special nuclear material for the Russian Federation Ministry of Atomic Energy. The upgrades are part of the U.S. DOE's Material protection, control, and accounting (MPC&A) program.
March 19, 1998: [NGO] The Middle Powers Initiative holds its first meeting. The group strives to educate and assist middle power countries to move forward with swift and practical steps towards nuclear disarmament.
March 27, 1998: [IO,R] The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (the Bangkok Treaty) enters into force. None of nuclear weapon states has signed the protocol.
April 1998: [G] The Pentagon submits a highly classified report to Congress outlining nine proposals for reducing the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal to below the 6,000 nuclear warheads allowed by START I.
April 6, 1998: [IO,G] Britain and France become the first nuclear weapon states to ratify the CTBT, banning all nuclear weapons test explosions.
April 6, 1998: [G] Pakistan announces that it has successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-surface missile that is believed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
April 27-May 8, 1998:[IO] The second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2000 NPT Review Conference is held in Geneva. Despite several valuable proposals, the PrepCom fails to agree upon any substantive issues.
May 11-13, 1998: [G] India conducts five underground nuclear weapons tests, thus demonstrating to the international community that it is a nuclear-weapons capable state.
May 12, 1998: [G] The U.S. Army conducts an unsuccessful test of a THAAD missile interceptor at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It is the eighth test of the THAAD system.
May 28-30, 1998: [G] In response to India's nuclear tests (see entry from May 11, 1998 above), Pakistan conducts six underground nuclear weapons tests.
June 6 1998 [N] The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1172, condemning the nuclear tests conducted in India and Pakistan as a threat to global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. The resolution urges the countries to become parties to the NPT without delay or conditions.
June 1998: [G] The United States and Britain successfully complete Operation Auburn Endeavor, a secret mission to remove HEU from the former Soviet republic of Georgia to a permanent storage location in Scotland.
June 9, 1998: [IO] The foreign ministers from Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia (which later withdrew from the New Agenda), South Africa, and Sweden (hereafter the New Agenda Coalition) issue a joint declaration entitled "Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: The Need for a New Agenda." They call for substantive action by nuclear weapons states towards disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
June 18, 1998: [G] The British government announces plans to unilaterally cut the number of nuclear warheads on its Trident submarines by up to half and offers to provide on-the-record information about warhead numbers and fissile material.
June 22, 1998: [G] Iran test-fires a medium-range missile, the Shahab-3, which explodes about 100 seconds into the flight. The missile, with a range of about 800 miles, is capable of hitting Israel and Saudi Arabia, and is based on a North Korean Rodong missile.
July 1998: [G] The UK issues the 1998 Strategic Defense Review stating that the UK 'will maintain a stockpile of fewer than 200 operationally available warheads.' This language implies that Britain may hold some warheads in non-operational reserve in the same manner as the United States and Russia.
August 11, 1998: [IO] The Conference on Disarmament establishes an ad hoc committee to commence negotiations on a FMCT.
August 31, 1998: [G] North Korea tests a medium-range missile, the Taepodong-1, with a range of up to 1,240 miles. The test, which carries the missile's second stage over Japan, comes just days before de facto leader Kim Jong Il was expected to become president. North Korea claims the launch was a failed attempt to send a satellite into orbit.
September 2, 1998: [G] U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Joint Statement on the Exchange of Information on Missile Launches and Early Warning. The initiative provides for continuous exchange of information on the launches of ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles derived from each side's missile launch warning system, including the possible establishment of a center for the exchange of missile launch data operated by the United States and Russia and separate from their respective national centers. As part of this initiative, the United States and Russia will also examine the possibility of establishing a multilateral ballistic missile and space launch vehicle pre-launch notification regime in which other states could voluntarily participate.
October 7, 1998: [G] Russia successfully test-fires an RS-18 ICBM from the Baykonur test site in Kazakhstan to the Kamchatka test range. The missile had been in service with the Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF) for twenty years. The test was part of a program to confirm the combat readiness of older ICBMs and to collect information on extending their service life.
October 22, 1998: [G] Russia test-fires a Topol-M missile at the Plesetsk missile test site in northern Russia. According to initial official reports the purpose of the launch is to test the missile's self-destruction system. Shortly after launch, the missile is successfully destroyed. Later reports claim an unordered triggering of the self-destruct system caused the missile to explode.
December 1998: [IO,G] UN weapons inspections in Iraq cease following the U.S. military's Operation Desert Fox strikes Iraqi facilities.
December 27, 1998: [G] Russia deploys ten Topol-M nuclear missiles. Russian officials note that the deployment of the new Topol-M will allow Russia to ratify START II. They further note that the Topol-M increases Russian national security as it strengthens the ICBM component of the nuclear triad and replaces ICBMs that are nearing the end of their guaranteed service life.
February 20, 1999: [R] India and Pakistan sign the Lahore Declarations. The agreements are designed to reduce tensions between the two countries that increased after each country conducted nuclear tests in May 1998. The Declarations include advance warning of ballistic missile tests and a pledge to reduce the risks of accidental or unauthorized nuclear weapons launch.
March 29, 1999: [G] The U.S. Army successfully conducts the ninth THAAD flight test at White Sands Missile Range. This test is the ninth in a planned series of THAAD Program Definition and Risk Reduction flight tests to verify the THAAD prototype design and performance of its system elements.
April 11, 1999: [G] India successfully test-fires an intermediate-range ballistic missile, an Agni-2, from a rail platform located at a new test site on Wheeler Island in the Bay of Bengal. The missile flies for 11 minutes and splashes down in the Bay of Bengal.
April 14, 1999: [G] Pakistan responds to the April 11 Indian missile launch with the launch of its Ghauri 2 medium-range ballistic missile. The missile is fired from the Tilla Firing Range at Malute in Jhelum District, 40 miles east of Islamabad, and flies 12 minutes to the impact point near the coastal town of Jewani in Baluchistan.
April 15, 1999: [G] Pakistan successfully test-fires its Shaheen short-range ballistic missile. The test is conducted at the Sonmiani naval base, about 30 miles from the southern port city of Karachi on the Arabian Sea coast.
May 10-21, 1999:[IO] The third PrepCom meeting for the 2000 NPT Review Conference takes place in New York. Agreement on most substantive issues proves impossible.
June 1999: [IO,G] The United States and the Russian Federation agree to engage in discussions on START III negotiations.
June 3, 1999: [G] Russia successfully test-fires its ICBM Topol-M, the seventh such test since December 1994. The launch is unprecedented because it simulates maneuvers to avoid antimissile defense systems.
June 10, 1999: [G] The U.S. Army's THAAD weapon system successfully intercepts a target missile over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
July 19, 1999: [G] An upgraded Patriot Anti-Cruise Missile intercepts an MQM-107 drone simulating a cruise missile flying at low altitude at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The military considers the test a success and calls it a historical first. The new missile is part of the Patriot Advanced Capability-2, an updated version of the Patriot TMD system.
July 23, 1999: [G] Pakistan tests the engine for the new Ghauri 3 intermediate range ballistic missile.
July 25, 1999: [NGO] The Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament issues its report Facing Nuclear Dangers: An Action Plan for the 21st Century. The report warns that a renewed sense of commitment to both nonproliferation and disarmament is urgently needed. The report states that the nuclear weapon states that are party to the NPT should uphold their Article VI commitments (to move towards nuclear disarmament). The report also recommends that phased reductions should be adopted to eliminate nuclear weapons, that states should bring the CTBT into force, and introduce greater transparency measures to ensure that arsenal reductions are irreversible.
July 27, 1999: [G] The first of three Dolphin-class submarines, built in Germany for the Israeli Navy, arrive in Israel. According to defense experts, the submarine could be outfitted to give Israel a second-strike nuclear capability (the ability to sustain a nuclear strike and fire back).
August 1999: [IO] U.S.-Russian START III discussions begin.
August 2, 1999: [G] China test-fires its Dongfeng-31 ICBM within Chinese territory. The missile is reportedly launched from the Wuzhai Missile and Space Center in northern central China, about 250 miles southwest of Beijing, to a remote interior area, possibly near the Lop Nor nuclear test site in northwestern China. The Dongfeng-31 is a three-stage, solid fuel, road mobile missile system with a range of 8,000 kilometers and the ability to carry a nuclear warhead weighing up to 1,500 pounds. Deployment is expected to begin within three years.
August 2, 1999: [G] The U.S. Army's THAAD weapon system successfully intercepts a target missile over the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
August 17, 1999: [G] An advisory panel to the Indian National Security Council releases a draft nuclear doctrine, which states that India should develop the capability to deliver nuclear weapons by aircraft, submarines, and land-based ballistic missiles.
September 3, 1999: [G] Russia conducts its eighth successful test-launch of the Topol-M silo-based missile.
September 30, 1999: [G] India successfully test-fires its multi-target surface-to-air missile (SAM) Akash at Chandipur-on-Sea in Balasore, India. The Akash SAM, which has a range of 25 km, compares to the U.S. Patriot missile.
October 1, 1999: [G] Russia successfully test-fires the mobile RS-12M Topol from the Plesetsk testing ground. At the time of the test, the missile has been in service for 15 years, five years longer than its guaranteed service life.
October 2, 1999: [G] The United States successfully conducts its first missile intercept test for the development of a U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) program. The kill-vehicle succeeds in destroying the dummy warhead more than 100 miles out in space. Critics contend that a decoy balloon near the warhead may have inadvertently helped the missile find its target. The test is the first in a series of 19 intercept tests that are scheduled to take place before June 2000.
October 5, 1999: [G] India again test-fires its medium-range surface-to-air missile, Akash, from the interim test range at Chandipur-on-Sea.
October 18, 1999: [IO,G] The U.S. Senate rejects to the ratification of the CTBT by a vote of 51 to 48. The outcome draws widespread international condemnation.
October 20, 1999: [G] Russia successfully tests an RS-18 ICBM from the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The missile has been in service for approximately 25 years, and the test is to ensure that the RS-18 could perform in spite of its advanced age.
November 1, 1999: [G] An Israeli Arrow II missile successfully strikes a target missile over the Mediterranean and is officially declared capable of intercepting and destroying incoming tactical ballistic missiles.
November 3, 1999: [G] Russia test-fires one of its short-range anti-missile rockets, breaking a six-year moratorium. The test comes amid mounting U.S.-Russian differences over the ABM Treaty.
November 10, 1999: [G] Russia's Foreign Ministry threatens to scrap talks on nuclear arms reduction if the United States does not uphold the ABM Treaty.
November 17, 1999: [IO,G] Russian President Boris Yeltsin signs a bill approving the CTBT and sends it to the Duma for ratification.
November 17, 1999: [G] Russia test-fires two nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from a submarine in the Barents Sea in the Arctic north.
December 1999: [IO] This is the warhead reduction deadline under START I: the United States is ahead of schedule.
December 8, 1999: [G] Russia conducts a successful test launch of a Topol-M ICBM at the Plesetsk test site.
December 14, 1999: [G] Russia successfully launches a mobile, single-warhead Topol-M missile at the Plesetsk test site.
December 17, 1999: [IO] UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1284, creating the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in order to renew weapons inspections in Iraq. France, China, the Russian Federation, and Malaysia abstain.

top

2000

January 17, 2000: [G] Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin signs into law a new national security strategy that lowers the threshold on first-use of nuclear weapons. The National Security Concept of the Russian Federation allows the use of all existing forces including nuclear weapons to oppose any attack, nuclear or conventional, if other efforts fail to repel the aggressor and allows the first-use of nuclear arms "in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation." The new military guidance proclaims Russia's intention to oppose domestic unrest and secessionist challenges as well as American domination of the international arena. The doctrine states, "The Russian Federation must have nuclear forces capable of delivering specified damage to any aggressor state or a coalition of states in any situation."
January 18, 2000: [G] A U.S. prototype missile-defense kill vehicle fails to find and destroy the Minuteman-2 missile playing the role of an enemy missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Critics of NMD note that the unsuccessful test demonstrates that the technology is not developed enough to begin deployment.
January 26, 2000: [IO] The UN Security Council appoints Hans Blix of Sweden as the head of UNMOVIC, the UN weapons inspection agency for Iraq. Blix is the former head of the IAEA, which had co-responsibility with the UN Special Commission for Iraq for overseeing the destruction of Iraq's WMD in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.
February 3, 2000: [R] The Nuclear-Weapon-Free Status of Mongolia enters into force.
February 9, 2000: [G] Russia successfully test-fires a Topol-M ICBM from a silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
March 1, 2000: [G] Russian president-elect Vladimir Putin urges the Duma to ratify START II. Putin also reaffirms his intent to restructure Russia's nuclear industry.
March 2, 2000: [IO] Another round of U.S.-Russian talks on possible ABM Treaty revisions held in Geneva fails to produce any agreement. In its press statement, the Russian delegation states that it would not seriously consider revisions to the ABM Treaty.
March 14, 2000: [G] Russia and the Netherlands sign a cooperative agreement for the dismantling of old Russian nuclear warheads and nuclear submarines.
April 14, 2000: [IO,G] The Russian Duma ratifies START II, which Presidents George Bush and Boris Yeltsin signed in 1993. START II will reduce U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear warheads to 3,000-3,500 each from current levels of about 6,000 each. Treaty provisions do not, however, require warheads to be dismantled. Instead, START II focuses on reducing delivery systems. Because the U.S. Senate ratified START II in January 1996, it must vote on the ABM Demarcation Agreement (related to the 1972 ABM Treaty) and agreements to extend START II deadlines, both of which were concluded between the United States and Russia in September 1997.
April 17, 2000: [G] Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia was ready to conduct talks with the United States on TMD.
April 18, 2000: [IO] Another round of consultations on modification of the ABM Treaty achieves no progress in Geneva. The Russians say they would not be bound by any agreements should the United States withdraw from the Treaty and deploy an NMD system.
April 21, 2000: [IO,G] The Russian Duma ratifies the CTBT.
April 22, 2000: [G] Russia's new National Military Doctrine enters into force. The Doctrine stresses the importance of nuclear weapons for Russia's national security and notes that Russia is ready to further reduce its nuclear arsenal both on bilateral (with the United States) and multilateral levels (with other nuclear weapon states) to the minimum levels that are required to maintain strategic stability.
April 24-May 19, 2000: [IO] The Sixth Review Conference for the states parties to the NPT, held in New York adopts a fully negotiated final document. In the document the five nuclear weapon states give an "unequivocal undertaking ..... to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenal leading to nuclear disarmament" as part of 13 practical steps for the "systematic and progressive efforts" to implement Article VI of the NPT and the program of action contain in the 1995 "Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament" document.
May 4, 2000: [G] Russian President Putin signed into law the 1997 Protocols to the ABM Treaty.
May 10, 2000: [G] The U.S. House Armed Forces Committee defeats a proposal to unilaterally reduce the strategic forces to START II levels (3,000 to 3,500 long-range nuclear warheads) before the treaty enters into force.
June 7, 2000: [G] The U.S. Senate allows the president to make unilateral reductions in strategic nuclear weapons systems.
June 12, 2000: [G] U.S. President Bill Clinton issues an executive order to guarantee that money paid to Russia as part of the "Megatons to Megawatts" HEU Deal would not be seized by creditors. The order allows resumed shipments of Russian uranium from dismantled nuclear weapons to the United States.
July 7, 2000: [G] During a U.S. test to develop an NMD system, the interceptor missile fails to hit its target. The problem occurs after the kill vehicle fails to separate from its booster.
July 19, 2000: [G] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin issue a joint statement noting deep concerns about U.S. plans to deploy an NMD. The statement reaffirms the ABM Treaty as the "cornerstone of global strategic stability and international security and the basis of the structure of key international agreements on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive weapons and on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
August 11, 2000: [G] Russian President and his defense council decided that the Russian strategic arsenal would have to shrink to a level of 1500 warheads.
September 1, 2000: [G] U.S. President Bill Clinton announces that he will defer the decision on NMD deployment until the next president is elected. In a speech at Georgetown University, President Clinton says it is too early to commit the United States to a missile defense system, but orders the Pentagon to pursue a "robust program" to prove the effectiveness of the technology.
September 1, 2000: [G] U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov sign an agreement under which the United States and Russia will each dispose of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium. New facilities are scheduled to be built beginning in 2007 to convert some of the plutonium into mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for nuclear reactors, while the remainder of the waste will be immobilized. The process will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The U.S. Congress approved $200 million in aid to help Russia carry out its side of the agreement.
September 15, 2000: [G] India reaffirms its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and its commitment not to block the CTBT's entry into force. Later, India says that it would withdraw from the moratorium if its security were endangered.
September 25, 2000: [G] Pakistan announces that it would adhere to its moratorium on further nuclear testing, and would not be the first to resume nuclear testing.
September 27, 2000: [G] Russia test-fires the mobile Topol-M missile. The Topol-M will enter service after four more successful test launches. The mobile Topol-M is expected to replace the aging mobile RS-12M Topol, which is scheduled for retirement in 2010.
September 28, 2000: [G] The U.S. Army conducts two tests of the Ground Based Radar-Prototype (GBR-P) at the South Pacific Kwajalein Missile Range. In the first test, two Minuteman-3 missiles are fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The missiles release 20 different-shaped objects into space to test the ability of a prototype radar on Kwajalein to find real warheads in a missile attack. The second flight tests electronic components that will be incorporated into the future NMD system.
October 19, 2000: [G] In arms control talks between the United States and Russia, Russia repeats its proposal for deep cuts in both countries nuclear arsenals. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement says it supports a reduction in U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warheads to 1,500 or below on each side under a START III treaty. Russia warns that the proposed reductions depend on whether the United States abrogates the ABM Treaty by deploying an NMD system.
October 31, 2000: [G] General Vladimir Yakovlev, Commander of Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces, offers hundreds of decommissioned Russian ICBMs for use as space launch vehicles. General Yakovlev says he plans to sell decommissioned missiles to raise money for the Russian armed forces. The proceeds could reach up to 20 billion rubles ($722 million), which is equivalent to about one-tenth of Russia's 2001 defense budget.
November 1, 2000: [G] Russia successfully test-fires a single-warhead SS-19 ICBM at the Baykonur Cosmodrome. The test allows Russia to extend the service life of the missile by one year.
November 13, 2000: [G] In an official statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin sets out alternatives to the revision of the ABM Treaty, including ways to improve the political and legal mechanisms of missile nonproliferation, development of a new code of conduct in this field, creation of a Global System of Missile and Missile Technology Control, cooperation in the sphere of TMD, and use of the Moscow Center on Missile Launch Data Exchange.
November 13, 2000: [G] Russian Strategic Rocket Forces Commander General Yakovlev proposes the creation of an "ABM index" to be used in future negotiations on nuclear reductions if the United States insists on abrogating the ABM Treaty. The "ABM index" implies a constant aggregate index of both strategic offensive and defensive weapons and a link between them. Therefore, if a country sought to increase its defensive weapons, it would have to decrease its offensive weapons. Yakovlev also called for the re-MIRVing of ICBMs, which is prohibited by START II. Following this statement, Russian Defense Minister denied that this was an official position.
November 17, 2000: [G] The U.S. Department of Energy announces the completion of a project to consolidate and secure approximately 10 metric tons of weapons-usable nuclear material at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant in Siberia, Russia. The materials were moved from three separate storage locations to a new central storage facility equipped with comprehensive nuclear material security and accounting systems.
November 20, 2000: [IO] The UN General Assembly adopts the New Agenda Resolution (Resolution 55/33C), which underlines "the fundamental significance of the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are committed under Article VI of the Treaty." The vote is 154 to three, with eight abstentions.
December 1, 2000: [G,R] The U.S. Department of Defense releases a "Strategy Report for Europe and NATO" that outlines the U.S. vision of NATO's role in deploying an NMD system. The report claims that NMD "would reinforce the credibility of U.S. security commitments and the credibility of NATO as a whole."
December 5, 2000: [R] The NATO nuclear planning group states that little if anything of substance will come out of the upcoming nuclear policy review and that there would be no changes to nuclear planning or deployments.
December 30, 2000: [G] Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says his office seeks serious talks with the new U.S. administration on all complex disarmament problems, including preservation of the ABM Treaty.

top

2001

2001: [G] The Bush administration submits the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to Congress. The NPR establishes a new strategic triad composed of: (1) offensive strike systems, both nuclear and non-nuclear; (2) defenses, both active and passive; and (3) a revitalized defense infrastructure that will provide new capabilities in a timely fashion to meet emerging threats. The NPR also calls for shortening the test readiness time
January 17, 2001: [G] India successfully test-fires its Agni intermediate-range ballistic missile. The test is the second of the upgraded version of the Agni missile, which has a range of 1,250 miles.
January 26, 2001: [G] A U.S. Navy test of a missile designed to intercept incoming missiles is described as successful. The test, conducted at Barking Sands, Hawaii, was not intended to hit a target, but rather to test the computerized tracking aboard the U.S.S Lake Erie and assess the stability and control of the missiles. The Navy has scheduled nine tests of the system, all of which will be conducted at the Pacific Missile Range on Kauai.
February 16, 2001: [G] Russia test-fires two Topol-M ICBMs from the Plesetsk missile site, and an SLBM from an SSBN of the Northern Fleet in the Barents Sea.
February 20, 2001: [G] Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev presents Russian plans to build an all-European missile defense system to NATO Secretary-General George Robertson. The proposed Russian system would be based on using existing short-range weapons that can destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. According to NATO officials, the Russian system under consideration would probably be permissible under the ABM Treaty because the system is a theater system and not a nation-wide system.
February 27, 2001: [G] In an attempt to win approval for US plans to deploy its controversial National Missile Defense (NMD) system, President Bush calls for a review to assess how deeply the US nuclear arsenal can be reduced. Bush has stated that the US can unilaterally reduce the number of offensive nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
February 22, 2001: [G] North Korea threatens to discard a moratorium on long-range missile tests after the Bush administration announces it would take a "hard-line" policy toward Pyongyang. Reports indicate that North Korea is continuing to build up its military forces and is not reciprocating diplomatic and military overtures offered by South Korea and the United States. The Pentagon states that it will not reduce the 37,000 U.S. troops based in South Korea until it sees clear signs that the North Korean military is reducing its troop numbers.
February 24, 2001: [G] German intelligence reports that Iraq will have nuclear weapons capability within three years and will be able to deploy missiles capable of hitting targets in Europe by 2005. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was visiting the Middle East when the German statements were released, reiterates to neighboring countries the need for continued UN sanctions on Iraq.
February 27, 2001: [G] In an attempt to win approval for U.S. plans to deploy its controversial NMD system, President Bush calls for a review to assess how deeply the U.S. nuclear arsenal could be reduced.
March 1, 2001: [G] The U.S. Airborne Laser (ABL) test facility begins operations in Sunnyvale, California. The high-energy laser is designed to locate and track ballistic missiles in the boost phase and then accurately point and fire the laser to destroy the missiles over hostile territory. The technology could be used in an ABM system.
March 2, 2001: [G] In a marked shift on missile defense policy, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder proposes that Germany should take part in the technology and funding of a NATO missile defense system. France continues to oppose NMD as a destabilizing venture in military technology that would jeopardize current nonproliferation agreements. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has promoted the idea of Russia, China, and Europe collectively urging the United States to halt its NMD plans.
March 9, 2001: [G] Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says that tactical nuclear weapons should be included in START III talks.
March 12, 2001: [G] Russia announces that it would not immediately abandon the ABM Treaty if the United States begins deploying an NMD system. According to Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's International Cooperation Department, "Russia will not precipitate the collapse of the ABM Treaty. We will consult with European and other states and try to stop the process even after the United States clearly begins to deploy the system."
March 15, 2001: [G] Pakistan announces that it has developed a three-point "nuclear doctrine." Reportedly, the doctrine includes a moratorium on further tests, a commitment by the country to keep its nuclear program to a "middle level," and a ban on the export of weapons or technology.
March 31, 2001: [G] The U.S. Army successfully conducts a test flight of a Patriot Advanced Capability missile at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The intercept of a tactical ballistic missile target is the seventh consecutive successful intercept for the Patriot.
May 8, 2001: [G] A Japanese foreign ministry official states that TMD is vital for Japan's defense policy.
May 8-15, 2001: [G] Senior U.S. officials visit a number of states for consultations on the U.S. NMD plan, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Italy, Ukraine, and Canada. The Pentagon spokesman characterizes the reaction from the governments of the countries visited by the U.S. envoys as "mixed."
May 11, 2001: [G] The Russian Duma fully ratified an agreement with the United States to dispose of plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons by converting it into mixed-oxide nuclear fuel for use in civilian nuclear reactors. However, the government states that without international funding from the United States and other Western partners, the program will not become a reality.
May 29, 2001: [R] Unable to reach an agreement on the future of the ABM Treaty, a NATO ministerial meeting in Budapest, Hungary drops all references to the Treaty in its final communiqué.
June 8, 2001: [G] French President Chirac presents conclusions of its full nuclear review from 1999 to 2001 in his speech at the Institute for Higher Defense Studies. He lists three roles for the French deterrent: to guarantee the survival of the country if faced with a major threat; to preserve France from exposure to blackmail by a smaller power armed with weapons of mass destruction; and to contribute to the security of Europe and the Atlantic alliance.
June 26, 2001: [G] Pakistan announces that it had created an adequate nuclear deterrent by 1989, and it did not need more than 20-30 nuclear weapons to ensure deterrence.
June 27, 2001: [G] Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces successfully test-fire an RS-18 ICBM. The RS-18 is launched from a test silo at Kazakhstan's Baykonur Space Center. The mock-combat warhead travels more than 7,000 kilometers and hits a target at Kamchatka's Kura Test Range.
July 2, 2001: [G] Russian President Vladimir Putin repeats an offer to the US to reduce Russia's nuclear arsenal from some 6,000 warheads to 1,500 provided there is a controlled process of elimination and provided the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty remains intact. Putin reiterates the offer while meeting with French President Jacque Chirac. The two leaders issue a joint statement on international strategic issues. The statement notes that destruction of the ABM Treaty could lead to a new arms race and also that an international conference on nuclear proliferation would be useful.
July 15, 2001: [G] The United States successfully tests an interceptor missile for the proposed NMD system. The kill vehicle destroyed its target 224 kilometers above the Earth's surface.
July 22, 2001: [IO] At the Group of Eight (G8) Summit, in Genoa, Italy, Presidents Putin and Bush announce that talks on missile defense will be linked to talks on cutting strategic nuclear weapons. The G8 summits bring together the heads of state from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, and Russia, who meet to discuss global political and economic issues.
August 24, 2001: [G] The last Minuteman III silo destroyed at the Grand Forks, N.D. missile complex. The treaty-mandated destruction of all 450 silos began in October of 1999.
August 31, 2001: [g] The Pentagon executes its first flight-test of the booster intended to launch its ballistic missile kill vehicles. The test was declared a success as the booster stayed on course, though the BMDO and the manufacturer, Boeing, acknowledged a problem with the booster's roll control, which helped stabilize the booster during flight.
October 30, 2001: [IO,G] Ukraine completes its compliance obligation under the START I Treaty by destroying its last SS-24 ICBM silo.
November 1, 2001 [G] The last nuclear missile silo in Ukraine is destroyed.
November 13, 2001: [G] U.S. President Bush announces sharp reductions in the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal, which will bring the number of operationally deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012. He does not say whether the warheads removed from operational strategic systems will be destroyed.
November 28, 2001: [G] Russia begins destroying mobile launchers for the SS-24 Scalpel.
December 3, 2001: [G] In a test of its missile defense technologies, the Pentagon successfully intercepted a test warhead with an exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The test was the second successful intercept in a row for the system and the third successful hit in five attempts since October 1999.
December 5, 2001: [IO,G] The United States and Russia complete the nuclear strategic arms reductions required by the START I treaty, which entered into force in 1994.
December 13, 2001: [G] The Bush administration announces its intention to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 180 days, as permitted by the treaty, arguing that the pact prevents the United States from protecting itself against terrorist or rogue-state missile launches. The United States sends a required notice of its intention to withdraw to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin responds that the move is "mistaken," but also says that it does not threaten Russia.
December 13, 2001: [G] The Pentagon conducts its second test-flight of the booster eventually to be used in launching ballistic missile kill vehicles; however, the flight is aborted seconds into the test when the booster flies off course and is subsequently destroyed. The failure came hours after the administration announced its intention to withdraw from the ABM Treaty.
December 14, 2001: [G] Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Edward C. "Pete" Alridge announces the termination of the Navy's program to develop sea-based, short- and medium-range missile interceptors. Alridge cites the facts that the program, known as "Navy Area Wide," is behind schedule and over-budget, having already received $2.4 billion in funding, as reasons for the cancellation.

top

2002

January, 2002 [NGO] The Middle Powers Initiative and the Global Security Institute form an alliance to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
January 4, 2002: [G] The U.S. Department of Defense renames the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and emphasizes the increased importance of the agency's activities to the administration's security agenda.
January 25, 2002: [G] India successfully tests the Agni ballistic missile, with a range of more than 400 miles and the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead.
March 9, 2002: [G] The Los Angeles Times reports on the classified Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), revealing that the United States includes North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya—none of which are recognized nuclear-weapon states—among the list of nations it targets, along with China and Russia. The NPR further discusses the use of nuclear weapons "against targets that non-nuclear weapons could not destroy; in response to attacks with weapons of mass destruction; and 'in the event of surprising military developments'." The NPR also suggests the need to develop smaller, tactical nuclear weapons, which is in conflict with a provision to the FY 1994 defense authorization bill that prevents national laboratories from research and development of nuclear weapons of a yield below 5 kilotons.
March 10, 2002: [IO,G] Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan announces that Iraq will not allow the return of UN weapons inspectors, despite recent talks between UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri al-Hadithi to reinstate the inspection regime.
April 8-19, 2002: [IO] The first session of the Preparatory Committee (Prep Com) for the 2005 NPT Review Conference is held at the United Nations in New York. The PrepCom adopts no final report. Instead, the PrepCom chairman issues a Chairman's Summary.
April 25, 2002: [G] The U.S. Army claims "partial success" in a test of the PAC-3 terminal missile defense system. Later analysis by the Army, however, shows that while one of the two missiles tested hit its target, it did not destroy it. The second missile fails to launch.
May 1-3, 2002: [IO,G] Iraq and the UN hold a second round of talks aimed at resuming weapons inspections in Iraq. UN officials call the meetings "useful and frank." Iraq seeks a guarantee that sanctions, including the imposition of the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, be lifted if Iraq is shown to be in compliance with previous disarmament resolutions.
May 24, 2002: [IO,G] U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty in Moscow (Treaty of Moscow). In this treaty, each side agrees to reduce its number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1700-2200 by the year 2012. The treaty allows each side to determine for itself the composition of its nuclear forces within these limits. The parties agree that START I remains in force in accordance with its terms. The treaty does not contain any specific verification or compliance provisions. For purposes of implementing this treaty, the parties shall hold meetings at least twice a year of a Bilateral Implementation Commission.
May 25-27, 2002: [G] Pakistan successfully completes three ballistic missile tests, including the first-ever tests of its Hatf-2 and Hatf-3 missiles with a range of up to 290 kilometers. Although India criticizes the tests, both India and Pakistan agree that the tests are routine and are not related to the current tensions between the two over Kashmir.
May 26, 2002: [G] Iran announces the successful test of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile. The missile has a range of 800 kilometers. Iran claims that it has no plans to develop Shahab-4 or Shahab-5 missiles, but argues that American efforts to deny foreign assistance to Iran's missile program will have no effect.
June 6, 2002: [G] Russia begins scrapping the first Akula-class strategic nuclear submarine at Severodvinsk. Work on disassembling twenty others is to begin in June. One hundred others are scheduled for destruction in the next few years.
June 13, 2002: [G] U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty takes effect.
June 14, 2002: [IO,G] Russian President Vladimir Putin declares that Russia is no longer bound by its signature of START II, ending his country's efforts to bring the treaty into force.
June 27, 2002: [G] The U.S. Senate passes a resolution banning the research, development, and deployment of nuclear-tipped anti-ballistic missile interceptors. On the same day, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution that praises such interceptors as "a prudent step" in defending the United States from missile attack.
July 5-6, 2002: [IO] Negotiations between Iraq and the UN fail to result in an agreement on resuming weapons inspections.
Mid-July 2002: [G] China test launches a CSS-5 medium-range ballistic missile from a base in southern China. The missile is rigged with several decoy warheads that might be used to overwhelm regional missile defense systems, such as those being developed by the United States and Japan.
August 8, 2002: [G] Russia announces that it has refitted and is preparing to test launch its SS- 18 Satan and SS-19 Stiletto, both multi-warhead ICBMs. These missiles had been scheduled for deactivation, but Moscow ordered they be refitted in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.
August 14, 2002: [G] The Pentagon announces that the PAC-3 terminal missile defense system is ready for deployment. Missile Defense Agency Director General Ronald Kadish claims that although problems do exist with the system, they can be fixed. At this point, 30 batteries of the system are ready for deployment.
September 17, 2002: (G) President Bush releases the "United States National Security Strategy", espousing an assertive and pre-emptive policy towards WMD proliferation among rogue states, significantly modifying traditional notions of deterrence.
September 25-27, 2002: [R] Experts from five Central Asian states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—agree to the text of a treaty creating a Central Asian NWFZ during a meeting in Uzbekistan. This marks the conclusion of five years of talks that began in 1997 following the first formal proposal for a CANWFZ made by Uzbek President Islam Karimov at the 48th session of the UN General Assembly in 1993.
Late September 2002: [IO,G] Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix meets with Iraqi officials in Vienna to discuss the creation of a new inspection regime under current UN mandates. Iraq insists that it will not accept new terms imposed by any subsequent UN Security Council Resolutions.
October 2002: [G] In a memo to the Nuclear Weapons Council, Edward Aldridge, U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistic, suggests that the U.S. labs "readdress the value of a low-yield testing program...under very restricted testing conditions." His recommendation is made under the guise of questionable reliability of the U.S. arsenal, concerns that many argue can be sufficiently addressed through the Stockpile Stewardship program.
October 1, 2002: [G] Crews at F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming began dismantling the first of 50 Peacekeeper missiles, each capable of delivering 10 independently targetable warheads at variable yields.
October 10, 2002: [g] A conference committee of U.S. House and Senate members approve $15 million to research Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, or nuclear "bunker busters." The approval, however, includes the requirement that the military first submit a report to Congress detailing where and how the weapons might be used, as well as the ability of conventional weapons to complete similar missions.
October 14, 2002: [G] The Pentagon tests its missile defense system and successfully intercepts a mock warhead. This test uses the same decoys as the previous test in March, but a modified warhead. The ship-based SPY-1 radar observes the test for the first time, to assess the radar's capacity to track long-range missiles.
October 23, 2002: [IO,R] The Treaty of Tlatelolco comes into full effect as Cuba deposits its instrument of ratification.
October 23, 2002: [G] President George W. Bush signs the $354.8 billion defense appropriations bill for 2003. The bill provides $7.4 billion for the national missile defense program, but includes language which bans military spending on research into nuclear-tipped interceptors for use in such a defense system. Another new nuclear program, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or so-called "nuclear bunker busters", however, receive the requested $15.5 million in research funding.
October 31, 2002: [G] Bulgaria completes the dismantlement of its stockpile of 100 Soviet-built SS-23 Frog and Scud ballistic missiles.
November 8, 2002: [IO] The United Nations Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 1441, which offers Iraq a "final opportunity" to disarm or face "serious consequences." The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Britain, creates a new, tougher inspection regime that is to have unlimited access in Iraq.
November 27, 2002: [IO] UNMOVIC begins the first weapons inspections in Iraq in nearly four years. Initially, 17 inspectors begin the search for WMD, but the number will increase to nearly 100. The search is expected to take about one year.
December 11, 2002: [G] The Pentagon tests its missile defense system but the test fails because the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) fails to separate from the interceptor and the booster rocket.
December 19, 2002: [G] Indian External Affairs Minister Digvijay Singh announces that India will extend its unilateral moratorium on nuclear weapons testing.

top

2003

January 3, 2003: [G] A senior Russian official announces that Russia will increase cooperation in 2003 with the United States and the IAEA to dispose of highly enriched uranium (HEU) at up to two dozen nuclear research facilities located primarily in the former Soviet Union or former Soviet satellite states. About 350 sites in 58 countries possess HEU, according to nonproliferation experts. Of those sites, about two dozen have enough material to build an atomic weapon, leading to concerns that the material might be at risk of theft by terrorist organizations or states of proliferation concern. Most of these countries are former Soviet republics or were allies of the Soviet Union and, therefore, received nuclear assistance from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
January 9, 2003: [IO] In a briefing to the UN Security Council, UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix states that weapons inspectors in Iraq have not yet uncovered a "smoking gun" that would confirm that Iraq is indeed pursuing nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons in violation of several UN resolutions calling for its disarmament. The current round of inspections, which began in November 2002, is mandated by Security Council Resolution 1441. The resolution threatens Iraq with "serious consequences" if it is found to be in "material breach" of its obligations to disarm.
January 9, 2003: [G] India conducts a successful flight test of a shorter-range variant of its Agni ballistic missile. The missile, which has a range of 600-900 kilometers and can be launched from mobile systems, is tested in the eastern state of Orissa over the Bay of Bengal. The nuclear-capable missile is expected to improve India's military capabilities against Pakistan.
January 10, 2003: [IO,G] The DPRK officially announces that it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, effective immediately.
January 27, 2003: [IO] UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei present updates to the UN Security Council on the first 60 days of inspections in Iraq. The reports are required under UN Resolution 1441. Blix criticizes Iraq for failing to provide any convincing evidence it had destroyed its stockpiles of anthrax, and for not accounting for "several thousands of chemical rockets." ElBaradei states that no evidence has yet been found to support claims that Iraq has begun to reconstruct its nuclear weapons program. Both Blix and ElBaradei urge that more time is needed to determine if Iraq possesses clandestine WMD programs.
February 24, 2003: [G] North Korea launches a short-range, anti-ship missile into the Sea of Japan. U.S. officials estimate the missile's maximum range to be nearly 100 miles. This would suggest that the test does not constitute a violation of Pyongyang's self-imposed missile test moratorium, which applies only to missiles of ranges greater than 180 miles. Reports in the Japanese media suggest the missile is a Chinese-made Silkworm missile. China, however, denies supplying North Korea with the missile.
March 2, 2003: [G] Iraq destroys six of its banned al-Samoud 2 missiles under the supervision of UNMOVIC missile inspectors. To date, Iraq has destroyed 16 such missiles. Iraqi technicians also complete destruction of a casting chamber used to produce parts for the system, and begin destruction of a second.
March 5, 2003: [G] Iraq destroys three al-Samoud 2 missiles, bringing the total to date to 19. Iraqi technicians also destroy an al-Samoud 2 missile launcher, five missile engines, and complete the destruction of a second casting chamber for al-Samoud 2 components.
March 6, 2003: [IO,G] The U.S. Senate approves the U.S.-Russian Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty on a vote of 95-0. During the debate, two proposed amendments to the pact fail. One would have required the CIA to provide annual reports on Russian compliance with the pact; the second would have required Senate approval of any decision to withdraw from it. The Senate's advice and consent does place two conditions on the administration: the president is required to submit annual reports on American reductions and on ways the Cooperative Threat Reduction program can be used to help Russia comply with the treaty.
March 6, 2003: [G] The Bush administration announces to Congress its desire to repeal a nine-year-old ban on research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons. The request, which is included in the Pentagon's fiscal 2004 defense budget request, includes a provision to repeal the 1993 Spratt-Furse Amendment, which bans research and development of nuclear weapons with yields below five kilotons. The text justifies the repeal by stating that research and development on low-yield weapons may be necessary for national security, for responding to international security challenges, and for training young scientists.
March 10, 2003: [G] North Korea test fires an anti-ship missile into the Sea of Japan. It is the second such test in two weeks. The short-range missile falls into the sea about 68 miles from North Korea's east coast. North Korea warned of the test in advance, notifying mariners to avoid the area between March 8 and 11.
March 14, 2003: [IO] UNMOVIC missile inspectors supervise the destruction of al-Samoud 2 missiles and related equipment in Iraq, and also inspect a destroyed ballistic missile launcher at a site west of the northern city of Mosul. IAEA inspectors conduct a radiation survey northwest of Baghdad.
March 14, 2003: [IO] The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation, launched in November 2002, grows to 102 members with the accession of Mozambique.
March 15, 2003: [IO] UNMOVIC missile inspectors supervise the destruction of al-Samoud 2 missiles and related equipment and place tags on five al-Fatah missile warheads in Iraq.
March 18, 2003: [G] Russian lawmakers decide to delay consideration of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, citing the expected U.S. military action against Iraq as the rationale. A new date to resume discussion of the nuclear weapons disarmament agreement is not set. The Duma Council, which sets the agenda for the legislative body, is expected to revisit the issue in a month.
March 19, 2003: [IO] Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix presents a proposed new program of work for disarming Iraq to the Security Council. The proposal would require Iraq to present any remaining chemical or biological agents along with credible evidence that such agents have been destroyed. Blix's program would also require Iraq to present any remaining chemical or biological munitions, including aerial bombs, rocket or missile warheads, artillery shells, cluster munitions, and fragmentation rounds. The proposal comes as all weapons inspectors have officially vacated Iraq in anticipation of an imminent U.S.-led attack.
March 27, 2003: [G] Russia test launches an 18-year old Topol ICBM at a target on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The missile hits its target.
April 3, 2003: [G] The Belarusian Interior Ministry announces that Belarus has completed destruction of 584 shorter- and intermediate-range nuclear-capable missiles, including their launchers and auxiliary equipment. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry states that the destruction of the these systems is required by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which Belarus joined in 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
April 12, 2003: [G] The U.S. Department of Defense releases a selected acquisition report sent to the U.S. Congress, which predicts that the costs of developing a national missile defense system by 2009 will be nearly $20 billion more than previously expected.
April 13, 2003: [G] The U.S. Enrichment Corporation announces that the U.S.-Russian "Megatons to Megawatts" program has eliminated 175 metric tons of Russian highly enriched uranium, or the equivalent of 7,000 nuclear weapons. Under this program, Russian uranium is purchased and used as fuel in American reactors, supplying electricity to roughly one in ten American homes and businesses.
April 28- May 9, 2003: [IO] The second session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2005 Review Conference (RevCon) is held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, under the chairmanship of Ambassador László Molnár of Hungary. The purpose of the PrepCom is to prepare for the RevCon in terms of assessing the implementation of each article of the NPT and facilitating discussion among states parties prior to the start of the conference. The chairman issues a Chairman's Summary.
May 13, 2003: [R,G] During a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Moscow, NATO and Russian officials agree to cooperate on a pilot program for a theater missile defense system. Russia and the 19 NATO members will each contribute the financial resources necessary for the project.
May 14, 2003: [IO,G] The Russian Duma votes 294-134 to approve the Treaty of Moscow, also known as the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, which limits each Russia and the United States to between 1700 and 2200 strategic nuclear warheads.
May 20, 2003: [G] On a 51-43 vote along party lines, the U.S. Senate rejects an amendment to the $400.5 billion fiscal year 2004 Defense Authorization Bill. The amendment would have preserved the 1993 Spratt-Furse Amendment, which bans research and development which could lead to the production of low-yield nuclear weapons, weapons with a yield of under five kilotons. The vote fuels speculation that the Pentagon is preparing to develop new nuclear weapons. A second amendment, which would require Congressional approval before production of any such weapons could begin, passes by a 59-38 vote. On the same day, however, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld claims that the United States is only seeking to research low-yield weapons, but has no plans to develop, produce, or deploy them.
June 1, 2003: [IO,G] At a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, U.S. President George W. Bush and Russia President Vladimir Putin exchange instruments of ratification of the 2002 Moscow Treaty. The treaty, also known as the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, immediately enters into force. The two leaders also urge North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and agree on the necessity of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
June 18, 2003: [G] The U.S. Navy conducts its first test of a sea-based missile defense system. A Standard Missile 3 interceptor is launched from the USS Lake Erie and begins to track an Aries target missile, launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. The test ends in failure, however, as the interceptor misses the target. Pentagon officials later blame misfiring control jets for the failure.
July 7, 2003: [G] A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry announces that Iran has successfully tested the Shahab-3 ballistic missile. With a range of 1,300 kilometers, the missile can reach Israel from Iran.
July 25, 2003: [G] The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) confirms that the United States has allowed the 1998 Plutonium Science and Technology agreement, signed with Russia in 1998, to expire. The agreement established scientific and technical cooperation between the United States and Russia on removing plutonium from nuclear weapons in Russia. The NNSA cites the agreement's lack of liability protection for U.S. companies involved in the projects.
August 1, 2003: [G] The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announces that it is suspending a project to develop a space-based system to destroy enemy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. The agency explains that the project is "not mature enough" to continue, but notes that the project is not cancelled indefinitely.
August 15, 2003: [G] The U.S. Missile Defense Agency announces it has selected the western Alaskan island of Adak as the site of an X-Band Radar base. An agency spokesman claims that the site's western longitude will give the ballistic missile defense system more time to distinguish between decoys and actual warheads. The radar is scheduled to begin operations in 2005.
August 21, 2003: [G] The Japanese Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper claims that the Japanese Defense Agency made a budget request for over $1 billion to begin introducing a missile defense system over Japan in 2004. The request includes plans to deploy PAC-3 missiles, and to refit Japanese Aegis destroyers with higher technology SM-3 missiles. These missiles are scheduled for deployment in 2007, in the Tokyo area, with deployments over the rest of the country to follow.
August 27, 2003: [IO] Representatives from the United States, North Korea, China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia meet in Beijing for multilateral talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. Although the talks do not result in a resolution to the crisis, the six parties agree upon the importance of holding further talks.
October 2, 2003: [G] North Korea announces that it has successfully extracted plutonium from the 8,000 spent fuel rods taken from the Yongbyon reactor. This is the third time this year North Korea has made this claim. U.S. officials are unable to verify that North Korea has reprocessed the fuel rods, a step that would provide North Korea with enough plutonium to produce three to six additional nuclear weapons.
October 3, 2003: [G] Pakistan conducts a test launch of its Hatf-3 ballistic missile, now renamed the Ghaznavi. Pakistani officials claim that the test is the first in a series of tests conducted to meet Pakistan's technical needs. Indian officials receive advance warning of the tests.
October 8, 2003: [G] Pakistan successfully tests its nuclear-capable Hatf-4 ballistic missile, also known as the Shaheen-1. The missile has a range of roughly 700 kilometers.
October 14, 2003: [G] Pakistan conducts another test of its Shaheen-1 ballistic missile. It is the third time this month that Pakistan has tested a ballistic missile. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher calls on both Pakistan and India to "show restraint" in their nuclear and missile programs.
November 17, 2003: [G] France and Italy award a $3.5 billion contract to defense firms MBDA and Thales for the development and production of the SAMP/T Block 1 ballistic missile defense system. The system will support the new European and NATO rapid-reaction forces.
December 2003:[G] The UK Ministry of Defense presents the 2003 Defence White Paper entitled Delivering Security in a Changing World. It sets out the future of the British military, and builds on the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responds to the challenges raised by the War on Terror. The White Paper also underlines a shift in emphasis since the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) of 1998, away from arms control and disarmament and towards a decision on whether to replace Trident sometime in the 2020s, while clearly signaling an end to traditional Cold War strategic planning.
December 5, 2003: [g] Russian test launches an SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in an effort to test the missile's performance and systems. The launch is part of Moscow's effort to extend the service life of the 25-year-old weapon.
December 10, 2003: [G] U.S. President Bush rejects North Korea's offer to freeze its nuclear weapons program in exchange for a series of economic and diplomatic concessions. The ultimate goal, as expressed by the U.S. administration, is not to freeze the program but rather to dismantle it in a clearly irreversible manner.
December 19, 2003: [G] Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi agrees to "disclose and dismantle" all WMD programs and to "immediately and unconditionally" allow international inspectors from the IAEA to visit nuclear sites in Libya. Several motives may have led Qadhafi to pursue this path, including the strong intent to rejoin the international community while seeing economic sanctions lifted. The October 2003 seizure of a Libyan-bound ship, the BBCChina, carrying centrifuge parts may also have influenced his decision.

top

2004

January 6, 2004: [G] Libya signs CTBT
January 14, 2004: [G] President George Bush announces plans to build a permanent base on the moon by 2020.
January 22, 2004: [IO,G] Libya surrenders to the International Atomic Energy Agency drawings of a device similar to a nuclear warhead. This is the first time that substantial proof of Libya's intention to develop nuclear weapons has been offered.
January 23, 2004: [G] India conducts a test of its nuclear-capable, short-range ballistic missile from its Chandipur-on-Sea test site in eastern India. The Prithvi missile has a range of 300 kilometers.
January 26, 2004: [G] The United States conducts a successful test of its primary missile defense booster rocket, launching the rocket from the U.S. test facility on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket, developed by Orbital Sciences Corp., was not intended to intercept a target.
February 8, 2004: [G] A project meant to destroy the plutonium from thousands of retired Russian and American nuclear weapons has been delayed due to deadlock on liability rules for American workers and contractors that would help build the necessary plant in Russia.
March 9, 2004: [G] Russian President Vladimir Putin dismantles the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry and reassigns its activities to other cabinet-level ministries as part of a widespread government reorganization. This change triggers some concerns about effects on U.S.-Russian nonproliferation efforts conducted through the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program.
April 28 2004 [IO] The UN Security Council unanimously approves Resolution 1540 thereby requiring states to adopt measures to deny terrorists and other non-state actors access to weapons of mass destruction. The resolution also requires all states not to provide support to non-state actors that attempt to develop nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. Another provision mandates that all states adopt and enforce laws that prohibit non-state actors from manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.
May 4, 2004: [IO,G] The U.S. Commerce Department amends its national export control regulations to implement decisions made during last year's plenary meeting of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The control regime aims to restrict the spread of critical missile technologies by establishing common export controls among its 33 members. The changes that are now in effect include amended language for some current control list entries and the addition of inhibited red fumic nitric acid, which is used in missile fuel, to the list of items that must be licensed for export.
May 7, 2004: [IO] The 2004 Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting of parties for the 2005 Review Conference to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ends in disarray, after delegates fail to resolve differences on numerous political and procedural issues. Member states adopt only parts of a final report containing the most minimal agreements to enable the 2005 Review Conference to take place.
May 26, 2004: [G] Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announces to delegates at the International Atomic Energy Agency a comprehensive global initiative known as the Global Threat Reduction Initiative. The cooperative effort would secure and remove high-risk nuclear and radiological materials that pose a threat to the United States and the international community.
June 4, 2004: [G] In a classified report submitted to Congress, the Bush administration says it plans to reduce the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal by nearly half over the next eight years. Linton Brooks, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, says when fully implemented, the stockpile reduction plan would leave the United States with "the smallest nuclear weapons stockpile we've had in several decades," by reducing the number of "operationally deployed" strategic warheads by about two-thirds by 2012. The United States would then possess no more than 2,200 warheads.
June 8, 2004: [G] Israel develops its first surface-to-surface cruise missile, the Delilah-GL-- a converted air-launch missile -- with a range of 300 kilometers according to Israeli defense officials. While the Israeli military industry is keeping the details of the missile's payload capabilities secret, it is believed that the missile can carry a 30-kilogram high-explosive warhead.
June 10, 2004: [IO,G] Russia and Canada approve an agreement to cooperate in the destruction and disposal of Russian chemical weapons and Soviet-era nuclear submarines. The approval comes during the G8 summit where the G8 Global Partnership is meeting to discuss issues related to nonproliferation, largely focused on Russia.
June 22, 2004: [R] An agreement is reached between India's Foreign Secretary Shashank and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar to develop a formal system for advance pre-test notification of missile flight tests carried out by the two nuclear-armed rivals. This agreement concludes one set of nuclear confidence-building measures meant to improve the confidence the two countries place in the information they receive.
July 6, 2004: [G] Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill signs an agreement with the United States to help develop a controversial missile defense shield. The memorandum of understanding commits Australia to working on the program with its strong ally over a 25-year period. Although critics argue that the U.S. program is similar to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's failed "Star Wars" missile defense shield, Hill maintains that new technologies would increase the potential of protection against incoming ballistic missiles.
August 6, 2004: [G] As part of the U.S. missile defense effort, the United States, Denmark, and Greenland sign an agreement to modernize a U.S. early warning radar system at Thule Air Base in northwestern Greenland. Secretary of State Colin Powell says that the "Radar Upgrade Pact" will assist in meeting the security challenges of the 21^st century, ranging from missile defense to international terrorism.
October 6, 2004: [G] The United States releases a 918-page report (the "Duelfer Report") containing the Iraq Survey Group's findings on the state of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program following the Gulf War in 1991. The report concludes that the 1991 Gulf War and the subsequent UN sanctions and inspections effectively put an end to all of Iraq's WMD programs, and eliminated its long-range missile inventory and production capabilities. The report drew on interviews with captured Iraqi experts and regime officials, physical inspections of suspected WMD sites, and tens of millions of pages of documents recovered after the war.
November 22, 2004: [G] In a major setback to the Bush administration's nuclear weapon strategy (set forth in the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review), Congress decides to exclude $36.6 million in funding for research and development of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator program and the Advanced Concepts Initiative from the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator program explores new capabilities for striking deeply buried facilities. The Advanced Concepts Initiative includes studies on such topics as improving the safety, security, and control of cruise missiles with nuclear weapons, using nuclear weapons for the destruction of chemical and biological agents in storage, and substituting existing warheads with longer-lasting warheads. Critics have pointed out that these programs would weaken U.S. efforts to convince other countries to halt nuclear weapons proliferation. According to U.S. Representative Edward Markey, the cuts represent "the biggest victory for arms-control advocates in Congress since 1992."

top

2005

January 10, 2005: [G] U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in a memo to Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abrahms, calls for the next budget to include funding for research and design of an earth-penetrating nuclear weapon.
January 26, 2005: [G] The United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the United Kingdom's Trade and Industry Ministry sign a Memorandum of Understanding in order to assist Russia in getting rid of weapons-grade plutonium. Both countries support the permanent shutdown of the plutonium production reactor in Zheleznogorsk, Russia. The United Kingdom has pledged to contribute up to $20M to NNSA's Elimination of Weapons-Grade Plutonium Production Program (EWGPP).
February 3, 2005: [IO] Within the framework of the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Canada and Russia are joining forces to dismantle decommissioned Russian nuclear-powered submarines. The Canadian government has allocated up to $300 million Canadian dollars to fund these projects in Russia.
February 7, 2005: [G] The Department of Energy announces the delay of a 1998 agreement to convert 70 tons of weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for commercial reactors. Because of a liability dispute between US and Russian officials, construction of the $1.5 billion reprocessing plant at the Savannah River Site has been delayed at least a year.
February 10, 2005: [G] The North Korean government declares publicly for the first time that it has nuclear weapons. In today's statement, Pyongyang announces that it has "manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the D.P.R.K." According to the North Korean Foreign Ministry, its government further rejects rejoining U.S.-sponsored regional talks aimed at reaching a settlement over its nuclear program. While other member countries of the six-party forum still hope that talks would resume this spring, it is uncertain whether North Korea will suspend its participation in the talks for an indefinite period of time.
February 24, 2005: [G] Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that his country will not participate in a planned missile defense system with the United States. Although Pentagon officials had long anticipated that Canada would not join the system, Canada's decision is a symbolic setback for the Bush administration's attempt to heal divisions with its allies that emerged from the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
March 11, 2005: [R] After ten years of discussions, NATO countries decide to proceed with a new single theater missile defense system to protect deployed troops. The system is expected to be ready by 2010. According to a NATO official, the system "will combine existing national systems (such as the US-made Patriot missile)."
March 15 2005 [G] White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan reports that while the Bush administration has in essence concluded its investigation of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs after the U.S.-led invasion of that country in March 2003, a number of related investigations still continue. A report issued in September 2004 by Charles Duelfer, the principal adviser of the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), concluded that Iraq had no WMD stockpiles; however administration officials argue that the invasion was necessary because deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had the capability and intend to develop such weapons. Although the physical search has more or less ended, McClellan states that ISG will continue to undertake WMD-related work, such as examining seized Iraqi documents.
March 15 2005:[G] The U.S. Department of Defense issues its draft nuclear doctrine , entitled Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, including aggressive nuclear postures such as modernization of nuclear weapons on a high alert status and preemptive attacks
March 19, 2005: [G] Pakistan successfully test fires a Shaheen-2 long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. According to military officials, Pakistan informed neighboring countries in advance of the test.
March 30, 2005: [G] Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and United States Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announce that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to assist with the permanent closure of one of the final operating weapons-grade plutonium production reactors in Russia. Under the MoU, Canada will contribute $9 million Canadian (US $7 million) to the US Department of Energy's Elimination of Weapons-Grade Plutonium Production (EWGPP) program.
April 5, 2005: [G] The Bush administration announces that it seeks to replace the U.S. nuclear arsenal with a new, reduced arsenal that includes smaller weapons that provide new military uses, including "bunker buster" nuclear weapons.
April 5, 2005: [G] The United States, France, Japan, and Iran oppose a five-year moratorium on the development of new uranium enrichment and plutonium processing facilities. The Bush administration says it would back the treaty if it could remain exempt from it, according to a reporter from the Financial Times.
April 11, 2005: [G] North Korea rejects a plan to dismantle its nuclear weapons program through a "step by step" process. A U.S. expert recently returned from Pyongyang states that if the conditions were right, North Korea might consider a freeze on its nuclear program.
April 22, 2005: [G] The Belgian Senate unanimously approves the gradual removal of all U.S. nuclear weapons from Kleine Brogel Air Base. The facility contains 20 weapons deliverable by fighter aircraft s part of a 400-weapon stockpile maintained by NATO.
April 26, 2005: [G] U.S. inspectors do not believe that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction or weapons materials were transferred to Syria before the 2003 invasion, according to the final report released by U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group in Iraq.
May 2005 [G] The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) Project Officers Group and the Technology Coordinating Committee are established.
May 2005: [G] Russia issues a report stating that it has reduced its tactical nuclear arsenal "by four times" since 1991 and intends to "further reduce the level of these weapons."
April 26-28, 2005: [IO] A three-day international conference on NWFZ is held in Mexico City bringing together for the first time all states parties to the four existing NWFZ . States parties argue that the lessons learned from negotiating and establishing NWFZ should be used to further the nonproliferation and disarmament goals under the NPT. The issue of legally-binding negative security assurances is one of the main topics discussed.
May 2- 27, 2005: [IO, G] The 2005 Nonproliferation Review Conference is held at UN Headquarters in New York. The Conference fails to reach any substantive agreement. The month-long Review Conference was marked by a number of contentious issues that remain unresolved. No agreement is reached on controlling the nuclear fuel cycle, making withdrawal from the NPT more difficult, or dealing with states that are not party to the NPT. Member states fail to adopt a final document based on consensus and do not agree on any new objectives.
May 5, 2005: [IO,G] Russia announces it is willing to cut its nuclear arsenal more deeply than required by the 2002 Treaty of Moscow between Russia and the United States. The treaty requires each country to reduce its arsenal to fewer than 2,200 nuclear warheads; Russia could reduce its arsenal to as low as 1,500 deployable nuclear warheads by 31 December 2012.
May 5, 2005: [G] German Defense Minister Peter Struck announces that Germany would raise the issue of reviewing NATO's nuclear policy within NATO. But at the alliance's June 9 Nuclear Planning Group meeting, Germany only informs other NATO members of the growing debate in Germany on the matter, according to a NATO official.
May 10, 2005: [G] North Korea "successfully completes" extraction of 8,000 spent fuel rods from its Yongbyon reactor. North Korean defense officials state that North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal for self-defense.
May 16, 2005: [G] Two Russian officials say that the country is open to reducing its strategic nuclear arsenal to levels lower than required by the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) with the US. Lt. General Vladimir Verhoytsey, Deputy Director of the Defense Ministry's Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, says that Russia is "ready to reduce to 1,500 warheads or less."
May 26, 2005: [G] Latvia returns three kilograms of highly enriched uranium used in a decommissioned nuclear facility to Russia.
May 27, 2005: [IO] The Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ends without having achieved significant progress on a wide range of arms control issues.
June 3, 2005: [G] Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker told Arms Control Today that it is "premature" to hold negotiations on lowering U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warhead levels further than currently planned concluded just three years ago.
June 8, 2005: [G] The U.S. Congress denies funding to the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator or "Bunker Buster" program.
June 11, 2005: [G] Taiwan successfully test fires its first cruise missile, which would allow the island to hit major military targets in southeast China. The Hsiung Feng cruise missile has a range of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles). It was developed by the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
June 14, 2005: [G] The lower house in Japan's parliament passes a bill that creates the legal basis for intercepting incoming ballistic missiles. The bill also authorizes Japan's armed forces to intercept incoming missiles without approval from the Prime Minister or the Cabinet. Defense hawks argue the authority to shoot down incoming missiles without explicit executive consent is necessary because missiles fired from North Korea, for example, would strike Tokyo within minutes of launch. Only if time permits, Japanese defense forces would seek consent of the Prime Minister. The bill must pass the Upper House to become law.
June 16, 2005: [G] China test fires the Ju Lang-2, a new, nuclear capable long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The Ju Lang-2 is a modified version of the Dong Feng-31, an intercontinental ballistic missile that has a range of about 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). US officials say this test marks a major advance in Beijing's long-range nuclear program.
June 17, 2005: [G] Following Congress' refusal to fund it, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approves money for the Air Force to continue research on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator ("Bunker Buster") program through the 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.
July 2005: [G] Russia, as part of its 1991 START reporting obligations, revealed that it removed 20 SLBMs and their 200 nuclear warheads from service during the previous six months. Data for the rest of 2005 has not yet been publicly released. Moscow also noted that it eliminated 26 ICBM launchers with some 150 warheads over the first six months of last year. A Department of State official told Arms Control Today Dec. 13 that Russia continued reductions through the end of the year, including scrapping its last rail-based SS-24 systems. Together, the ICBM and SLBM reductions left Russia with approximately 4,350 deployed warheads by START's terms.
July 5, 2005: [G] South Korea announces the purchase of Patriot missiles to replace Nike air-to-ground missile systems. South Korea is likely to purchase an undisclosed number of U.S.-made Patriot missiles from Germany in 2006.
July 15, 2005: [G] A U.S. Department of Energy task force recommends upgrades to the U.S. nuclear arsenal to provide safer and more reliable warheads. The report notes that a Cold War era nuclear arsenal could be outdated and the U.S. nuclear arsenal needs to be more "responsive" and "robust."
July 18 2005 [G] U.S. President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Singh announce plans to pursue nuclear cooperation by easing domestic and international restrictions on the export of nuclear technologies. Critics question the cooperation on nuclear technology with India, which is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and which conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998.
July 20, 2005: [G] The U.S. Defense Department reports that China is upgrading nuclear and missile capabilities to effectively target all of the United States. Within two years, China could develop a legitimate second-strike capability.
July 21, 2005: [G] The U.S. Senate increases potential funding for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by $5 million to $19.4 million. If approved, the Senate proposal will partially counteract a budget cut proposed by the Bush administration for 2006. The Bush administration remains opposed to the ratification of this treaty.
July 22, 2005: [G] The U.S. Senate votes to remove several restrictions on the Defense Department Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. The plan works to reduce and destroy unconventional weapons in Russia and other countries. The removal of the restrictions makes it easier for the United States to support nations destroying WMD; specifically, annual certifications will no longer be required before funding can be authorized.
July 28, 2005: [R] In the Six Party Talks in Beijing, North Korea officially declines the 2004 U.S. proposal to end the standoff on North Korea's nuclear program. In the June 2004 talks, the United States offered security guarantees in return for Pyongyang agreeing to verifiably dismantle its nuclear programs. Negotiations continue as the United States and North Korea hold one-on-one talks, a significant change in previous U.S. official policy of not negotiating directly with North Korea.
July 29, 2005: [G] For the first time, the U.S. delegation presents North Korea with specific evidence supporting accusations that Pyongyang is pursuing a clandestine uranium enrichment program alongside its plutonium reprocessing program. Included in the U.S. testimony is evidence that Pyongyang received technology and assistance from Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.
August 17, 2005: [NGO] In the 2005 edition of the SIPRI Yearbook (published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), experts report that nuclear stockpiles are decreasing. An estimated 13,470 nuclear weapons are deployed worldwide by eight countries, with another 14,000 weapons in reserve. The number of total nuclear weapons dropped from 31,500 in 2004 to 27,600 this year.
August 25, 2005: [G] The U.S. Missile Defense Agency says it is again delaying intercept testing of its flagship anti-ICBM program until next year, even as it continues to deploy additional interceptors in Alaska. The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system has not yet demonstrated, through realistic flight testing, that it could ever be effective against a real attack.
September 14-16, 2005: [IO] The UN World Summit fails to address any issues on disarmament and nonproliferation in the Final Document.
September 15, 2005: [G] The U.S. State Department's congressionally mandated "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments" report, a review of international disarmament pacts, declares Russia in violation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, among others. Russia has prevented U.S. inspectors from examining ICBMs to ensure that Moscow is meeting treaty obligations. The report was rejected by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
September 15, 2005: [R] At the six-party talks, North Korea tentatively commits to abandoning all its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and to returning to the NPT and allowing IAEA inspections. The DPRK also states that it has a right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In return, the United States agrees not to attack the DPRK, and all parties agree to undertake economic and energy cooperation. The parties agree to hold another round of talks in November to work out the details and timetable for implementing the agreement.
September 19, 2005: [G] The retirement of MX Peacekeepers from service is completed. However, the silos and launch control centers are maintained in a caretaker status so that the missiles may be able to return to service.
October 2005: [G] The navy decommissions the Trident IC4 missile after 26 years of service in late October 2005. The navy also completes the first phase of downloading the warheads from all Trident II missiles in 2005 to keep pace with SORT goals. The navy is reducing the number of warheads on its SLMBs gradually over several years towards the SORT deadline of 2012. The four oldest Ohio class SSBNs have been removed from nuclear missions and are being converted into cruise missile submarines.
October 3, 2005: [R] India and Pakistan sign a Missile Notification Pact, an agreement to notify each other in advance of ballistic missile flight tests. Under the accord, the country's defense ministries will provide their counterparts at least 72 hours of notice before conducting a ballistic missile flight test.
October 3, 2005: [NGO] The Middle Powers Initiative sponsors the Article VI Forum at the United Nations. This forum's goal is to conduct high-level meetings between diplomats, experts, consultants, and activist to find a way to break the NPT deadlock.
October 11, 2005: [G] Kazakhstan's plan to destroy weapon-useable uranium by converting it to nuclear fuel nears completion. Kazakhstan inherited more than 1,400 nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev praised the progress, looked forward to future efforts, and called on the United States to consider reducing its uranium stockpiles as well.
October 26, 2005: [G] The Bush administration has decided to shelve research on a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator or "Bunker-Buster" warhead in favor of developing a conventional weapon to reach deeply buried, hardened targets. An administration official confirmed that the administration would now focus on a conventional alternative to the bunker buster.
November 4, 2005: [G] Work on the United States Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator or "Bunker Buster" may continue under a new name. The House and Senate conferees for the fiscal 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations bill agreed to withhold $4 million requested by the Bush administration for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator study.
November 8, 2005: [G] The United States plans to eliminate 200 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (enough for 10,000 nuclear weapons) in the coming decades by converting the uranium to nuclear fuel useable by the U.S. Navy. The program is similar to "Megatons to Megawatts," which has converted 250 tons of Russian HEU to nuclear fuel. The program will reduce the U.S. stockpile of HEU by half when it is finished.
November 17, 2005: [G] A U.S. Navy Aegis warship shoots down a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean. It is the sixth successful intercept for the sea-based missile defense system since testing began in 2002. Previous intercept tests have used Scud-like missiles carrying mock warheads; this trial is the first using a warhead that had separated from a medium-range missile.
February 2005: [R] The five Central Asian states finalize the text of a draft treaty of a Central Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (CANWFZ).

top

2006

2006 [G] The Department of Energy announces that it had resumed production of small-scale warhead pits, the fissile core of a nuclear warhead, at the Los Alamos national Laboratory in 2003 after a 14-year moratorium. While none of the arms control treaties between the United States and Soviet Union/Russia obligates the parties to dismantle nuclear warheads, re-establishing pit production facilities has caused controversy over designing new types of nuclear weapons.
January 3, 2006: [G] The United States Congress approves a 2006 test of a mock Robust Nuclear earth Penetrator, or "bunker buster." The test was thought canceled but $4 billion in funding was provided after Congress agreed, "To authorize no funding for the RNEP study under the Department of Energy, but instead authorize a related study effort within the Department of Defense."
January 18, 2006: [R] The chief U.S. and North Korean envoys to multilateral nuclear disarmament talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan, meet in Beijing. They are joined by Wu Dawei, China's chief negotiator. The officials discussed Washington's accusations of Pyongyang's involvement in illicit financial activities and the illegal drug trade, and the corresponding effects on multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.
January 19, 2006: [G] French President Jacques Chirac announces that Paris is prepared to use nuclear weapons in response to any terrorist attack on French soil. Chirac's warning intended to show that "one does not leave the monopoly of deterrence to the Americans," Dominique Moisi of the French Institute of International Relations told Agence France-Presse. "It was a Gaullist-inspired speech aimed at giving renewed legitimacy to France's deterrent arsenal, within the context of Europe," said Moisi.
February 6, 2006: [G] In the president's more than $6 billion fiscal year 2007 budget request for nuclear weapons activities submitted to Congress, the National Nuclear Security Administration is seeking $28 million for its Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program.
February 10, 2006: [G] France announces changes to its nuclear arsenal that allow an increase in range and greater precision in targeting. The changes will allow France to have the possibility of a "targeted and limited response." "Our country has modified its capacity for action and from now on has the possibility to target the control centers of an eventual enemy," French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie states.
February 23, 2006: [G] The United States tests a missile from Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex. The purpose of the exercise was to test upgrades to an early warning radar installed in 1980 at Beale Air Force Base, California. The missile flew 2,500 miles and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
March 9, 2006: [G] In the spirit of missile defense cooperation, Japan and the United States successfully complete a first test of a new nosecone device that is designed to open like a clam shell and fire a kinetic device to intercept an approaching missile. The test was conducted off the coast of Hawaii's Kauai island on a U.S. cruiser with an advanced Aegis weapon system.
April 6, 2006: [G] The United States announces a modernization plan for U.S. nuclear forces. The plan includes manufacturing and research sectors, and allows for the modernization of 10 warheads a year, moving toward the production of 125 new nuclear weapons to be produced annually by 2022. Thomas D'Agostino, head of nuclear weapons programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, states that the plan was part of an ongoing effort to replace the aging nuclear arsenal of the United States.
April 19, 2006: [IO] A multinational team completes the transfer of 139 pounds of spent research reactor fuel from Uzbekistan to Russia. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration-funded the effort as part of its Global Threat Reduction Initiative, a program intended to reduce the risk of terrorists stealing nuclear weapon-usable materials.
May 18, 2006: [IO,G] The United States proposes a draft treaty to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva that would ban the new production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium used to build nuclear weapons, but would not address existing stockpiles of these materials. The U.S. proposal is controversial because it does not contain a verification provision and does not require states to dispose of existing fissile material. Also, the U.S. draft does not require non-NPT states with nuclear weapons to ratify the treaty for it to enter into force.
May 24, 2006: [G] Russia plans to base missile interceptors in neighboring countries in response to U.S. plans to deploy interceptors for its missile defense system in Europe. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the Russian system would be deployed over the next four years
June 2006:[G] In June 2006, the United States National Nuclear Security Administration announces that it had completed dismantling its entire stockpile of W56 warheads. The W56 warheads were deployed on Minuteman I and II until the 1990s. In addition, all W62 warheads are scheduled to be retired by 2009.
June 1, 2006: [NGO] Hans Blix, the former United Nations weapons inspector, unveils the report by the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission detailing a 60-step strategy aimed at mitigating the threat of weapons of mass destruction around the world. The report calls for all countries to help limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction, especially with regards to nuclear weapons.
June 16, 2006: [G]: The United States and Russia renew until 2013 an agreement governing U.S. programs to help Russia secure and eliminate its excess unconventional arms and nuclear materials. The agreement spells out legal rights and responsibilities affecting the Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, as well as some similar Department of Energy ventures.
June 27, 2006: [G] Russian President Vladimir Putin called for talks with the United States to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the Associated Press reported. "We call for the renewal of dialogue on key weapons-reduction issues first of all, we propose to our American partners to launch negotiations on replacing the START treaty," Putin said. He added that it was vital to help alleviate "stagnation" in disarmament efforts.
July 4, 2006: [G] North Korea launches seven missiles including one long-range missile, the Taepodong 2, two medium-range Nodong missiles, and four short-range Scud missiles fired from mobile launchers. While the short- and medium-range missiles are reportedly considered successful launches, the Taepodong 2 missile failed 43 seconds after launching. This is the DPRK's first test of a long-range missile since 1998.
July 9, 2006: [G] Indian government officials announce a first test of India's longest-range missile. The missile, which is nuclear capable, has a reported range of over 1,800 miles, but it is unclear whether or not the test is considered successful.
July 17, 2006: [R] The United States and South Korea announce that they will reopen multilateral communication regarding North Korea's nuclear activities, regardless of whether North Korea decides to join. The six-party talks could be deemed the five-party talks if North Korea refuses to participate, but as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State said, "six is better than five, but five is better than none."
July 24, 2006: [NGO] Experts at the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) release a report stating that satellite imagery indicates that Pakistan is building a second nuclear reactor inside the existing Khushab complex. The new reactor, a heavy water production reactor, allegedly will be capable of producing over 200 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium annually, which translates into a production capability of 40-50 nuclear weapons. To date, Pakistani officials have refused to comment publicly on the matter.
July 26, 2006: [G] The United States House of Representatives passes legislation that clears the way for nuclear trade between the United States and India. Although the terms of the agreement have yet to be defined, the deal could allow the sale of U.S nuclear technology to India. In exchange, India is required to open up its civil nuclear program for international inspection, among other conditions.
July 26, 2006: [IO,G] U.S. officials announce that in conjunction with Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency, authorities have removed another three kilograms of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) from Libya, bringing the total of removed HEU to 20 kilograms since Libya renounced its nuclear and other WMD programs in 2003.
July 28, 2006: [G] U.S. government officials announce that sanctions will be imposed on two Indian firms for selling missile parts to Iran. The announcement comes just after the House of Representatives voted in favor of a U.S.-India nuclear trade agreement, sparking harsh criticism from Democrats, arms-control experts, and others who believe that the Bush administration purposely withheld the information until after the House deliberated.
August 9, 2006: [G] The U.S. National Nuclear Security Agency removes 45 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium from a research reactor outside Warsaw, Poland and transfers it to Russia.
August 21, 2006: [IO] The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that in 2005, there were more that 103 confirmed incidents of illicit trafficking of nuclear or radioactive material.
August 25, 2006: [G] In response to heightened activity at a suspected North Korean nuclear test site, the Japanese government has increased its monitoring of that nation. The United States also believes that North Korea may be planning to test a nuclear weapon; experts believe that North Korea has enough fissile material for six or more bombs.
August 28, 2006: [NGO] The Mayors for Peace announces that 1,416 cities from 120 countries have joined the campaign.
August 31, 2006: [IO] The IAEA Director-General submits to the IAEA Board and UN Security Council a report on the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in Iran. The report finds that Iran has continued enrichment activities in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 1696, and has not addressed outstanding verification issues or solved the mystery of HEU found at the Karaj Waste Storage Facility. The IAEA plans to continue its investigation into whether Iran's nuclear activities are solely peaceful although stymied by Iran's lack of complete cooperation.
September 8, 2006: [R,G] The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan sign the treaty establishing a Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ). Surrounded by neighbors with nuclear weapons, these countries offer a powerful example of commitment to disarmament and nonproliferation. The treaty is able to move forward despite efforts by the United States, United Kingdom, and France to derail the process, citing lack of consultation during the drafting of the treaty and national security concerns
October 9, 2006 [G] North Korea declares that the country conducted its first nuclear weapon test. The details of the nuclear test remain unclear. There are several conflicting reports regarding the location of the test and the yield of the blast. The Security Council adopts Resolution 1718 on October 14, condemning the test and imposing certain sanctions on North Korea.
Dec 4, 2006 : [G] British Prime Minister Tony Blair presents a paper, “The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent” to Parliament that urges legislators to retain Britain’s nuclear capacity. He proposes a plan to replace Britain’s four nuclear-powered submarines equipped with Trident D5 nuclear missiles with new generation submarines that will cost as much as $40 billion. Britain’s existing submarines are scheduled to go out of service in 2022, and the country has been debating whether to retain any nuclear deterrent.

top

2007

January 4, 2007 [NGO] Four former high ranking U.S. governmental officials-- George Schultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn-- co-authors an op-ed "A world free of nuclear weapons" for the Wall Street Journal calling on the leaders of the countries in possession of nuclear weapons to "turn the goal of a world without nuclear weapons into a joint enterprise." The op-ed raises massive reactions from arms control and disarmament communities and creates momentum for nuclear disarmament.
March 14, 2007: [G] By a vote of 409-161, Britain’s Parliament approves a $40 billion program to renew Britain’s Trident nuclear missile system.
July 2007 : [G] Reliable documents indicate that the United States appears to have withdrawn an estimated 130 U.S. nuclear weapons from the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, reducing the total number of U.S. nuclear weapons deployed in Europe to 350 B 61 bombs.
Sept 30, 2007: [G] Negotiators of the Six Party talks reach a tentative deal to disable North Korea’s nuclear program before the end of the year. The deal, which is still subject to approval by the governments of the participating states, establishes a schedule for resolving remaining issues related to shutting down North Korea’s nuclear facilities
December 18, 2007: [G] The White House announced that the 2004 decision to reduce the size of the DOD’s nuclear weapons stockpile by nearly 50 percent from the 2001 level was accomplished in December 2007.

2008

January 15, 2008 [NGO] Following up on the previous year’s op-ed “A world free of nuclear weapons,” former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Senator Sam Nunn contribute a new op-ed “Toward a Nuclear-Free World” (link to http://www.nti.org/c_press/TOWARD_A_NUCLEAR_FREE_WORLD_OPED_011508.pdf) to the Wall Street Journal. A number of leading security experts endorses the initiative.
January 28, 2008: [G] Colombia ratifies the CTBT (link) becoming the 35th Annex II State (link) to do so.
February 5, 2008:[G] At the Conference on Disarmament, UK Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne (link to http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches08/1session/Feb5UKDefSecDesBrown.pdf)illustrated its concrete plan on how to contribute to dismantling nuclear warheads, including a technical cooperation initiative between the UK’s Atomic Weapons Establishment and the Norwegian government to develop technology to verify warhead dismantlement. As a next step, the UK offered to host a technical conference of P5 nuclear laboratories on nuclear disarmament verification before the 2010 NPT Review Conference.
June 9, 2008: [G] Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, after his visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, announces plans to create an international panel to promote nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.
June 26, 2008:[G] North Korea issues a declaration of its nuclear activities and holdings which was due at the end of 2007. The declaration addresses North Korea's plutonium production and related operations but does not provide details of its warhead arsenal or of suspected uranium enrichment and nuclear proliferation activities.
June 30, 2008: [NGO] Four former high ranking U. K. governmental officials co-author an essay "Start Worrying and Learn to Ditch the Bomb," advocating nuclear disarmament.
July 9, 2008:[G] At the G-8 Toyako Summit in Hokkaido, Japan, the G-8 leaders call for "upholding, strengthening and universalizing all relevant multilateral nonproliferation and disarmament instruments" in the final document(http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/doc/doc080709_06_en.html).
October 24, 2008: [NGO] U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offers his five-point proposal to eliminate weapons of mass destruction.
December 8-9, 2008: [NGO] One hundred international leaders launch Global Zero to eliminate nuclear weapons globally.

2009

March 21, 2009: [NGO] The Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) Treaty enters into force. Ratification of the Treaty was completed on December 11, 2008 after action by the upper house (Senate) of the parliament of Kazakhstan. Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan previously ratified on November 12, 2008, March 22, 2007, April 2, 2007, and April 19, 2008, respectively.
April 1, 2009: [G] U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev release a joint statement agreeing to start new talks on reducing their nuclear stockpiles.
April 5, 2009: [G] President Obama makes remarks on a world without nuclear weapons at Hradcany Square in Prague, Czech Republic.
April 27, 2009: [G] Hirofumi Nakasone, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, issues a statement on achieving global nuclear disarmament, entitled, "11 Benchmarks for Global Nuclear Disarmament"
May 4-15, 2009: [NGO] The third and final preparatory committee for the 2010 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) review conference was held in New York. This was the first preparatory committee held under the Obama Administration.
May 25, 2009: [G] North Korea performs its second underground nuclear test, with a yield estimated to be between 2 and 6 kilotons.
July 8, 2009: [G] President Obama and President Medvedev release a Joint Understanding for the START Follow-on Treaty.
July 15, 2009: [NGO] The African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty) enters into force thirteen years after it opened for signature in Cairo on April 11, 1996.
September 4, 2009: [G] DPRK Permanent Representative sends a letter to President of UNSC, rejecting UNSC Resolution 1874 (sanctioning the DPRK) and claims "Reprocessing of spent fuel rods is at its final phase and extracted plutonium is being weaponized."
September 11, 2009 [G]: The United States agrees to accept Iran's offer for face-to-face talks about Iran's nuclear program.
September 24, 2009: [IO] The United Nations Security Council Summit on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Disarmament presided by President Obama unanimously adopts UNSC resolution 1887 to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons.
September 24, 2009: [IO] CTBTO Article XIV Conference commences. The conference adopted a Final Declaration and Measures to Promote the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The United States participated in discussions after a 10-year absence from the biannual conferences, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed U.S. commitment to ratify the CTBT.
September 25, 2009 [G]: The United States, France, and Britain announce that Iran is building a second centrifuge facility near Quom.
October 1, 2009: Iran agrees "in principle" to have LEU from Natanz enriched abroad and fabricated into fuel from the Tehran Research Reactor.
October 16-20, 2009: [NGO] International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament holds its fourth and final meeting in Hiroshima, Japan. Its draft report is expected in early 2010.
December 5, 2009: [G] The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired without a formal successor or binding interim agreement in place. The US and Russia issued a Joint Statement on December 4th pledging to continue to work together in the spirit of the START treaty following its expiration.

[1] For additional information visit the "WMD 411 Chronology" at www.nti.org or the "NWFZ Tutorial Chronology" at www.nti.org.

[2] John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters,The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database), www.presidency.ucsb.edu.

[3] Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, www.jfklibrary.org.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2010 by MIIS.


	China August 25
	United States August 25
	Russia August 25
	France August 25

DISARMAMENT ISSUES
Interactive Map Stockpile Chart Treaty Chart Timeline Reduction & Disarmament National Proposals Resources Glossary