Washington: In the late 1970s, Central Intelligence Agency had information that China might have provided a fairly comprehensive package of proven nuclear weapons design information to Pakistan, a recently declassified document has revealed. According to recently declassified CIA data, obtained by the National Security Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, the CIA had evidence suggesting close Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation, to the point of facilitating a nuclear weapons capability, although the intelligence community saw this as possibly a special case based on an alliance that had existed since 1963.
"This allegation has come up before, for example in a State Department document and in major news stories but this is the first time the CIA has released some of its own information," according to the set of two documents obtained by the National Security Archive. "The estimate highlights some of the main developments, including "verbal consent [in 1974] to help Pakistan develop a 'nuclear blast' capability", "hedged and conditional commitment" in 1976 to provide nuclear weapons technology, and unspecified excised information that raised the "possibility that China has provided a fairly comprehensive package of proven nuclear weapon design information," the NSA said.
...
more
12:47 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Pyongyang: North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery bombast that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent. Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth - the centennial - but this time the day was simply the start of a...
08:27 PM, Apr 15, 2013
Washington: North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, an unclassified US intelligence report says, amid heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's saber-rattling. DIA (Defence Intelligence Agency) assesses with moderate confidence the North Korea currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivering by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low, Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn said during a Congressional hearing on Thursday. The Pentagon, however, said...
12:47 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Seoul: Staff at embassies in North Korea appeared to be remaining in place on Saturday despite an appeal by authorities in Pyongyang for diplomats to consider leaving because of heightened tension after weeks of bellicose exchanges. North Korean authorities told diplomatic missions they could not guarantee their safety from next Wednesday - after declaring that conflict was inevitable amid joint US-South Korean military exercises due to last until the end...
12:30 AM, Apr 07, 2013
North Korea said on Tuesday it will restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material, in what outsiders see as its latest attempt to extract US concessions by raising fears of war. ...
06:40 AM, Apr 03, 2013
Amidst escalating tension in the Korean peninsula, the US Navy is moving a warship and a sea-based radar platform closer to the North Korean coast as a shield against any missile attack by North Korea and in order to monitor Pyongyang's military moves. ...
12:20 PM, Apr 02, 2013
North Korea will restart all nuclear facilities including its shuttered Yongbyon nuclear reactor, its official KCNA news servce said on Tuesday. ...
11:40 AM, Apr 02, 2013
North Korean nuclear weapons act as a deterrent to potential aggressors and as a foundation for its prosperity, the country's leader said in a speech delivered on Sunday and published in full by the country's KCNA news agency on Tuesday. ...
10:20 AM, Apr 02, 2013
Arguing that North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, the US on Tuesday said that Pyongyang should choose the path of peace and comply with its international obligations. ...
09:00 AM, Mar 27, 2013
Greeting Iranians on the occasion Nowruz, US President Barack Obama, has said that it is now time for Iran to take immediate and meaningful steps to reduce tensions and work towards an enduring, long-term settlement of the nuclear issue. ...
11:15 AM, Mar 19, 2013
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions against North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank, the country's main foreign exchange institution, for its role in supporting Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, President Barack Obama's national security adviser said. ...
10:35 AM, Mar 12, 2013
Iran indicated that some progress was made in talks with the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, but that the two sides again failed to finalise an elusive framework deal over the Islamic state's disputed atomic activity. ...
02:46 AM, Feb 14, 2013
Pakistani scientist Pervez Hoodbhoy has written a book 'Confronting The Bomb', in which he talks about the possible nuclear threat from Pakistan. ...
02:51 PM, Feb 01, 2013
Expanding its nuclear arsenal at a rapid pace, Pakistan is now aiming to develop smaller and lighter atomic warheads more suitable for use on missiles, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has said. Pakistan is expected to surpass Britain's nuclear stockpiles in a decade, the journal said, referring to the rapid development of nuclear warheads by Islamabad. ...
11:45 AM, Jan 15, 2013
Park has said she will hold talks with North Korea and resume aid to the isolated and belligerent country, but only if it abandons its nuclear weapons program. ...
06:20 PM, Dec 20, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that drawing a "clear red line" against Iran was the only way to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu was speaking at the UN General Assembly. Elaborating on his statement, the Israeli PM said that there was little difference between Iran and the al-Qaeda with nuclear weapons. ...
12:34 PM, Sep 28, 2012
New Delhi: In a delicate balancing act, India Tuesday renewed its pitch for universal, time-bound nuclear disarmament, but underlined that it will not be part of any arms race and will continue to maintain credible minimum deterrence to deter others from trying out "nuclear coercion or blackmail". Reiterating India's commitment to no-first use of nuclear weapons, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna also highlighted the dangers of nuclear weapons falling into...
01:39 AM, Aug 22, 2012
Shimla: Making a strong plea for a world free from nuclear weapons, former president A P J Abdul Kalam on Saturday said "universal pressure" should be built to ensure destruction and non-proliferation of such arms. "Universal pressure should be built for a nuclear-free world," Kalam said while addressing a gathering at the historic Gaiety Theatre in Shimla. "Nuclear energy is required for power but nuclear weapons lead to mass destruction...
08:20 PM, Jul 14, 2012
Washington: Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about $ 2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report has said. "Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, and testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles," said the report 'Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernisation...
09:15 AM, Apr 11, 2012
Islamabad: The new Special Response Force created to protect Pakistan's nuclear arsenal held a passing out parade on Monday, with a top official saying that "all available resources" had been put in place to effectively guard the strategic assets. The newly raised Special Response Force will be part of the security force of the Strategic Plans Division, which is responsible for maintaining the nuclear arsenal. The passing out parade at...
03:58 AM, Apr 03, 2012
