Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Comment: Towards nuclear disarmament

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon recently called for nuclear states to work toward nuclear disarmament outling a five-point plan.

Recently, the arms race has been heating up again. With the building of a ballistic missile shield by the US, China and Russia have undertaken extensive modernization programs. Russia is building a new type of warhead for both its land-based and submarine-based platforms that will be much faster and harder to knock down than anything before.

China is deploying new solid-fuel ICBMs and is building a fleet of possibly up to eight ballistic missile-carrying submarines. Some of the subs may carrying up to 24 missiles with at least three warheads each.

Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, there are still an estimated 26,000 nuclear weapons in the world today.



Vancouver Sun

UN chief outlines five-point nuclear disarmament plan
AFP - Oct 24, 2008
It was signed by the five nuclear powers and ratified by Britain, France and Russia but not by China and the United States. Ban also underscored the need ...
UN asks N-states to work toward nuclear disarmament Press Trust of India
Ban Ki-moon sets new proposal on nuclear disarmament Toronto Star
UN wants world nuclear disarmament PRESS TV