Showing posts with label
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Show all posts
Showing posts with label
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Show all posts
By Jenny Park
On March 3, 2015, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, addressed Congress regarding the Iranian nuclear crisis. Netanyahu
called for Iran to completely abandon its nuclear program and for the US and
Europe to impose tougher sanctions against Iran. Subsequently, Republican
senators warned Iran that any international deal on the Iranian nuclear
program could be revoked when President Obama leaves the office. This strong
rhetoric attempts to undermine the current negotiations among Iran and the six
world powers, scheduled for preliminary agreement by the end of March and to be
finalized by the end of June.
Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), which requires all signatory
states to use nuclear material, if any, only for peaceful purposes. As part of
this commitment, the signatory states must work with the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), an independent branch of the UN that works to ensure that
states do not use nuclear material for military purposes. After a signatory
state implements safeguards and submits a declaration of the state’s nuclear
materials and facilities to the IAEA, the IAEA verifies its implementation and its continuing
compliance.
By Catherine Kent
Thirty years
have now passed since North Korea joined the international Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1985. As nuclear
weapons have come to the forefront, the rhetoric and hostility between North
Korea and the United States has been escalating. It seems, however, that
neither the U.S., nor North Korea can gain the upper hand.
The U.S. has
made its presence known to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),
and kept the country on notice that if need be, the U.S. will come to the
defense of South Korea. Each year, South Korea hosts joint U.S.-South Korea
military exercises. These drills, lasting several weeks, mainly focus on
maintaining preparation for a North Korean assault against South Korea. The annual
joint exercises do not typically put North Korea in a pleasant mood; in
fact, the reaction is generally pretty poor. Last year, the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (DPRK) stated that the U.S. and South Korea would “have to
pay a dear price” for the exercises.
By Jenny Park
When North Korea makes belligerent threats of nuclear
annihilation and actually carries out nuclear tests and ballistic missile
launches, the world’s response is surprisingly lukewarm. This is an odd phenomenon
considering the tougher sanctions against Russia for supporting the separatists in Ukraine, and against Iran for a multitude of
transgressions, including continued illicit nuclear activities.
But North Korea’s violations of international law are quite extensive. To name a few, North
Korea developed nuclear weapons after withdrawing from the international
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and tested them out not only once in 2006,
but also in 2009 and in 2012. Mind you, China, the U.S., Japan, Russia, and the
two Koreas have engaged in six-party talks from 2003 to 2007 to
try to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue to no avail. Furthermore, the multiple
UN sanctions (UNSecurity Council Resolutions 1718, 1874, and 2094) that imposed
economic and commercial pressures against North Korea also proved to be
ineffective.
