Nuclear Weapons
Solutions to the North Korea issue no longer include denuclearisation
On 25 October, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told the National Assembly that North Korea had completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test. While the exact date of…
The remote Marshall Islands complicate US Pacific policy
The Marshall Islands, clustered in the vast reaches of the Pacific between Australia and Hawaii, are set to renew an agreement with the United States in a process that carries…
If Russia breaks the nuclear taboo
Your main aim is to show that Europe’s security order cannot be altered without Russia’s tacit approval. You must set NATO an intolerably high price for joining the fight against…
Hot button issue: North Korea’s bold new nuclear stance
In fewer than ten days, North Korea has fired a series of five missile launches, heightening tensions in the region. Although missile tests and threats coming from North Korea are…
Australia and the Nuclear Ban Treaty
The first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) took place in Vienna from 21 to 23 June. The new Australian government sent an …
Patiently waiting for North Korea’s next nuclear test
Is North Korea going to test a nuclear weapon, or not?
The question has reverberated since March, when the supposed hawk Yoon Suk-yeol succeeded Moon Jae-in as South Korea’s…
For North Korea, military parades come before the people’s wellbeing
A military parade in the streets of Pyongyang last month gave North Korea another chance to show off its new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile while marking the 90th…
Washington rediscovers “nuclear responsibility” in the Ukraine crisis
Aside from Donald Trump’s bluster about “fire and fury” and Kim Jong-un’s similarly theatrical replies in the manufactured “crisis” of 2017, serious nuclear threats made during an…
Damage limitation and US nuclear strategy
Almost four years ago, I argued in The Interpreter that Vladimir Putin’s decision to pursue a range of weapons specifically designed to defeat America’s Ballistic Missile Defence …
Crisis stability as a priority in US-China relations
Prospects for US-China arms control run hot and cold.
China continues to vociferously oppose the recent Australia-UK-US agreement to cooperate on Australia’s acquisition of…