DPRK Blames U.S. For ‘Little Progress’ in Achieving Peace on The Korean Peninsula

By UN News

Photo: Kim Song, Chair of Delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s General Debate. (30 September 2019) UN Photo/Cia Pak

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Lack of progress in achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula is “entirely attributable” to the United States, a senior official from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) told the UN General Assembly on September 30. [2019-10-01]

Nobel Peace Laureates Call for Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

By J Nastranis

Image credit: World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ten Nobel Peace Laureates and 30 organisations bestowed that honour have expressed profound concern that 74 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons “continue to pose an existential threat to humankind”, reiterated the warning of “the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war”, and accentuated the need to strengthen basic freedoms. [2019-09-30]

UN Chief Warns of Nuclear Disarmament Going Reverse

By Shanta Roy

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (fourth from left) and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (left), President of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, attend the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas. 26 September 2019.

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations commemorated its annual International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons September 26, Secretary-General António Guterres underlined two political realities facing the world community. [2019-09-29 |17] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH

12 States Join the Nuclear Ban Treaty at Signature Ceremony

By Santo D. Banerjee

Photo: Group photo at the signature and ratification ceremony of the treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Credit: UN.

NEW YORK (IDN | UNODA) – For the second year in a row, the “core group” of StatPhoto: Group photo at the signature and ratification ceremony of the treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Credit: UN.es supporting the Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) convened a signature and ratification ceremony on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, September 26. [2019-09-29]

A New Iran Deal French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France. Credit: G7 France,

The following are extensive extracts from an that analysis first appeared on the website of Arms Control Association (ACA) on September 24. Daryl G. Kimball is ACA Executive Director and Julia Masterson research assistant.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. [2019-09-27]

Military Confrontation with Russia in Kaliningrad Is Dangerous

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

Photo: Local residents in Kaliningrad at "Immortal regiment", carrying portraits of their ancestors who fought in World War II, on Victory Day in Kaliningrad, 9 May 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow. [2019-09-24]

Nuclear Free World Concerns Everyone – Learning from Karipbek Kuyukov

By Ilya Kursenko *

Photo: Karipbek Kuyukov is an artist and nuclear non-proliferation activist born without arms as a result of his parents exposure to radiation from nuclear weapons testing. He has devoted his life and art to making sure that no one else suffers the devastating effects of nuclear weapons testing. Credit: CTBTO.

MOSCOW (IDN) – Nuclear weapons do not seem to cause as much concern to people today as these did to our parents who grew up during the Cold War with the awareness of the fragility of peace. But when one understands what arms race implies or meets those who have been its victims, one realises that the horrors of the previous century should not be perpetrated in the age we are living. [2019-09-15] JAPANESE 

Concerns About Military Build-up in Iceland

By Lowana Veal

Photo: Protest in Reykjavik organised by peace, LGBTQ and women’s groups during U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence on September 4, 2019. Credit: Lowana Veal | IDN-INPS.

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – It was widely believed that the U.S. military left Iceland in 2006 when they abandoned the base adjoining Iceland’s international airport at Keflavik on the southwest tip of the island.

But recent developments, in particular the visit of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence to Iceland in early September and perhaps a previous visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February 2019, reveal other motives. [2019-09-14 |16] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWEDISH

Special UN Meeting Calls for Entry into Force of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

By J Nastranis

Photo: CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo addressing UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on 9 September 2019 to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests (29 August). Credit: CTBTO

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ten years ago, on December 2, 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on August 29, 1991. [2019-09-13 | 15] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

Russian Weapons Accident Raises Nuclear Concerns

By Greg Webb

Photo: Officials examine a radionuclide detector stationed on the roof of the Vienna International Centre, home of CTBTO headquarters. Russia has deployed seven such detectors on its territory as part of the CTBTO's monitoring system, but some stopped transmitting information after a Russian weapons accident on August 8. Credit: CTBTO

The writer is editor of Arms Control Today, the Arms Control Association’s flagship publication.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – An accidental explosion on Russia’s White Sea coast has triggered questions about the Kremlin’s strategic weapons development efforts and concerns that Russia may have shut down sensors to deny information to international observers. [2019-09-13]