Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Tag: North Korea

  • U.S. to Launch Another Provocative Minuteman III ICBM Test

    For Immediate Release

    Contact:
    Rick Wayman: (805) 696-5159; rwayman@napf.org
    Sandy Jones: (805) 965-3443; sjones@napf.org

     

    U.S. to Launch Another Provocative Minuteman III ICBM Test

    Vandenberg Air Force Base – Amidst mounting tensions between the United States and North Korea, and just one week after a test launch of a U.S. unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the U.S. has scheduled another Minuteman III ICBM missile test for Wednesday, May 3, between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. PDT from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Like last week’s test, according to Air Force Global Strike Command, “The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.”

    David Krieger, President of the Santa Barbara-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), noted, “How does one test the effectiveness of a weapons system that is designed as a deterrent, that is, to prevent others from ever using nuclear weapons against us? Such effectiveness cannot be assumed from a missile test no matter how ready we are to fire the missile or how accurate the missile proves to be. In other words, so-called ‘effectiveness’ is a psychological concept that cannot be proven by a missile test. This is a very dangerous game we are playing.”

    Rick Wayman, Director of Programs at NAPF, commented, “It is significant to note that this nuclear-capable missile test will take place on the second day of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference. This treaty requires all parties to negotiate in good faith for an end to the nuclear arms race.”

    Wayman continued, “Conducting a test-launch of a missile whose sole purpose is to deliver nuclear warheads anywhere around the world is a glaring example of bad faith and violates the spirit of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. It’s exactly this kind of double standard that undermines U.S. credibility when insisting that other nations not develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.”

    North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on April 29, the day after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson convened a special session of the U.N. Security Council, calling for new economic sanctions on North Korea and other “painful” measures over its nuclear weapons program.

    The Trump administration’s strategy of “maximum pressure and engagement” towards North Korea seems to rule out immediate military intervention, though U.S. officials have continued to say that “all options are on the table.”

    Continued ballistic missile tests by both parties can only be perceived as provocative in nature and an escalation of an already dangerous situation. Surely our political and military leaders can and must do better.

    An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 12:03 a.m., PDT, April 26, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark P. Mackey)
    An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 12:03 a.m., PDT, April 26, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo by Mark P. Mackey)

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    If you would like to interview David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation or Rick Wayman, Director of Programs, please call the Foundation at (805) 965-3443.

     The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons and to empower peace leaders. Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations. For more information, visit wagingpeace.org.

  • Tell Your Senators: No Military Action Against North Korea

    President Trump has summoned all 100 U.S. Senators to meet at the White House tomorrow, April 26, regarding the situation in North Korea. This sounds ominous. President Trump and members of his cabinet have stated that “all options are on the table.” Preemptive military action, not sanctioned by the UN Security Council, would be illegal, immoral and unwise. It could lead to a prolonged war in the Korean peninsula, and could lead to the use of nuclear weapons.

    In addition, the U.S. has scheduled a test of its nuclear-capable Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile for the early morning hours of April 26, just before Trump’s meeting with Senators. Continually escalating the nuclear threat level with North Korea endangers us all.

    Write your Senators today insisting upon a diplomatic – rather than a military – solution to the conflict with North Korea.

  • U.S. to Test Launch ICBM Amidst High Tensions with North Korea

    For Immediate Release

    Contact:
    Rick Wayman: (805) 696-5159; rwayman@napf.org
    Sandy Jones: (805) 965-3443; sjones@napf.org

    VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE – A test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26, between 12:01 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The U.S. currently deploys some 400 Minuteman III ICBMs with nuclear warheads in silos spread across Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.

    The U.S. Air Force tested this Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile on February 20, 2016. Photo | U.S. Department of Defense
    The U.S. Air Force tested this Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile on February 20, 2016. Photo | U.S. Department of Defense

    According to Air Force Global Strike Command, “The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system.”

    Col. John Moss, 30th Space Wing commander said, “These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities.”

    The test comes at a time of extraordinary tension between the U.S. and North Korea, with each side flexing its military muscle and making implicit and explicit threats.

    David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, upon learning of the planned missile test, commented, “When it comes to missile testing, the U.S. is operating with a clear double standard: It views its own tests as justified and useful, while it views the tests of North Korea as threatening and destabilizing.” Krieger went on to note, “What is needed is diplomacy rather than military provocations. Threats, whether in the form of tweets, nuclear-capable aircraft carrier groups, or nuclear-capable missile launches, only increase the dangers to us all.”

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    If you would like to interview David Krieger or Rick Wayman, Director of Programs, please call the Foundation at (805) 965-3443.

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons and to empower peace leaders. Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations. For more information, visit wagingpeace.org.

  • North Korea’s Nuclear Test

    This article was first published by A New Map.

    hellman_bookEarlier today, North Korea conducted its fifth and most successful nuclear test, with an estimated yield close to that of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. This dangerous and deplorable situation was predictable—and probably preventable—as noted on page 197 of my wife’s and my book, A New Map for Relationships: Creating True Love at Home & Peace on the Planet:

    If we continue to engage in regime change around the world and encourage it in North Korea via crippling sanctions, that nation’s leaders will maintain or increase their nuclear arsenal in order to deter such efforts. It’s a matter of self-preservation for them. Regime change probably would result in their being killed.

    I have included a longer book excerpt immediately following my signature line. If you agree it’s time we got smart about ending nuclear proliferation, order a copy of the book—it’s now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other booksellers—and then follow the suggestions in the section “A Call to Action,” which starts on page 271. Actions you can take right now include signing up for updates and alerts, and encouraging friends to read A New Map through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media. One more thing: We need more reviews posted on Amazon. Thanks very much for any help you can provide.

    Martin Hellman

    EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK’S SECTION ON NORTH KOREA

    By the end of this section, you’ll have seen how our failing to take in the bigger picture—failing to think holistically—played a role in North Korea building its nuclear weapons and is unintentionally encouraging that nation to expand its arsenal. …

    As always, I’ll focus on places where our nation has power to improve what appears to be an impossible relationship—in other words, I’ll focus on mistakes our nation has made and therefore can correct. But my focus on our mistakes is not to excuse the many despicable acts committed by the rulers of North Korea. Rather, that focus recognizes that we do not have direct control over their actions, and scolding them tends to make them dig in their heels. I see it as a hopeful sign that we have options for improving relations even with a regime as abhorrent as North Korea’s. The sad part is that, thus far, we have squandered those options by allowing repugnance to override our national interests. …

    My Stanford colleague and former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Dr. Siegfried Hecker, has visited North Korea seven times on unofficial missions sanctioned by our government. In a 2010 paper, he gave his perspective on how the deal fell apart (emphasis added):

    The Agreed Framework was opposed immediately by many in Congress who believed that it rewarded bad behavior. Congress failed to appropriate funds for key provisions of the pact, causing the United States to fall behind in its commitments almost from the beginning. … [In 2002,] the Bush administration killed the Agreed Framework for domestic political reasons and because it suspected Pyongyang of cheating by covertly pursuing uranium enrichment. Doing so traded a potential threat that would have taken years to turn into bombs for one that took months, dramatically changing the diplomatic landscape in Pyongyang’s favor. … We found that Pyongyang was willing to slow its drive for nuclear weapons only when it believed the fundamental relationship with the United States was improving, but not when the regime was threatened.

    Hecker’s last sentence provides the key to defusing the Korean crisis. If we continue to engage in regime change around the world and encourage it in North Korea via crippling sanctions, that nation’s leaders will maintain or increase their nuclear arsenal in order to deter such efforts. It’s a matter of self-preservation for them. Regime change probably would result in their being killed.

    Holistic thinking would require us to take in the perspective of North Korea’s leaders. We don’t have to like them, but we do have to understand them. If we were to consider their perspective, we would recognize that, as distasteful as the North Korean government is, encouraging regime change is not in our best interests, because it will lead to the North maintaining, and probably increasing, its nuclear arsenal. If we were to think things through more rationally, new possibilities would open up.

    … in January 2015, North Korea offered to suspend nuclear testing in return for cancellation of the joint US-South Korean military exercises. Those war games started a month later, and North Korea conducted a nuclear test in January 2016. We don’t know if suspending our war games would have prevented that test. Only if we had taken North Korea up on its offer would we have useful information on whether or not the country’s leaders had been serious.

  • NAPF Strongly Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test; Urges Broader Perspective

    NUCLEAR AGE PEACE FOUNDATION

    For Immediate Release
    Contact:
    Rick Wayman
    (805) 696-5159 / (805) 965-3443
    rwayman@napf.org

    NAPF Strongly Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test; Urges Broader Perspective

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) deplores the continued testing of nuclear weapons and the provocative statements by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Today’s nuclear test – the fifth by North Korea – makes apparent the growing nuclear dangers in the Northeast Asian region, and generally throughout the world.

    The world’s other eight nuclear-armed nations have tested a great deal. Over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted worldwide, and the United States alone has conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests.

    The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which has been open for signature for over 20 years, has still not entered into force. Forty-four key nations, known as “Annex 2 States,” must sign and ratify the CTBT before it can enter into effect. Of these, North Korea, India and Pakistan have neither signed nor ratified the treaty. China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed the treaty, but have not ratified it.

    While all nations other than North Korea have been observing a moratorium on explosive nuclear tests, many nuclear-armed nations, including the United States, have continued conducting sub-critical tests and computer simulations. NAPF believes that all nuclear testing must stop. This includes North Korea’s provocative yield-producing explosions, as well as the sub-critical tests and computer simulations that other nuclear-armed nations engage in.

    Tests of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles, such as last Monday’s launch of a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by the U.S. Air Force, are also dangerous and destabilizing. The modernization of nuclear arsenals and production infrastructure by all nine nuclear-armed nations is driving a perilous nuclear arms race.

    The Korean War has never officially come to an end. North Korea has asked numerous times to bring the war footing to an end, and has been rejected each time. The U.S. still keeps around 28,000 troops in South Korea and conducts annual war games targeting North Korea. All parties must negotiate an end to the hostilities, instead of relying on a 63 year-old Armistice Agreement.

    Finally, NAPF urges all nine nuclear-armed nations to fulfill their obligations under existing international law. Nuclear-armed countries have an obligation to convene negotiations in good faith for an end to the nuclear arms race and for nuclear disarmament, as required by Article VI of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and customary international law. As North Korea’s continued nuclear testing shows, the only way to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used is to negotiate their complete abolition.

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    For further information, contact Rick Wayman at rwayman@napf.org or (805) 696-5159.

    The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – NAPF’s mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons and to empower peace leaders.  Founded in 1982, the Foundation is comprised of individuals and organizations worldwide who realize the imperative for peace in the Nuclear Age. The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with consultative status to the United Nations.

  • North Korea: How Many Wake-Up Calls Will It Take?

    North Korea has been sounding alarms since it withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.  Its latest wake-up call in early 2016 was its fourth nuclear test.  This time it claimed to have tested a far more powerful thermonuclear weapon, although seismic reports do not seem to bear this out.

    North Korea has been roundly condemned for its nuclear tests, including this one.  To put this in perspective, however, the U.S. has conducted more than 1,000 nuclear tests, continues to conduct subcritical nuclear tests, has not ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, is in breach of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, regularly tests nuclear-capable missiles, and plans to spend $1 trillion modernizing its nuclear arsenal.  The U.S. and the other nuclear-armed countries are quick to point fingers at North Korea, but slow to recognize their own role in fanning the flames of nuclear catastrophe.

    What does an awakened world actually mean?

    As the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have repeatedly warned, “We must abolish nuclear weapons before they abolish us.”  This will require good faith negotiations to end the nuclear arms race and achieve nuclear zero.  And these negotiations must be convened and led by the US and Russia, the two most powerful nuclear-armed countries in the world.

    If we are not awakened by North Korea’s latest test, what will it take?  What other, louder alarm is necessary for the world to come together and work toward achieving nuclear zero before nuclear weapons are used again and we all become victims of a war from which humanity will never awaken?

  • Responding to North Korea’s Fourth Nuclear Test

    This article was originally published on Defusing the Nuclear Threat.

    Tonight’s PBS Newshour covered North Korea’s fourth nuclear test that occurred earlier today. Wendy Sherman, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and advisor to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, called for further sanctions “to ensure that we not allow North Korea to blackmail the international community, but that we take resolute action to tell them, this is not acceptable.” The only problem with her call to action is that it is more of the same that has gotten us nowhere good over the last thirteen years.

    The other guest on the show, former Director of Los Alamos, Siegfried Hecker (now my colleague at Stanford) pointed out that problem in his response to the host’s question: “Everyone, as Wendy Sherman has pointed out, is calling for resolute action … What difference does that make for a rogue state like North Korea?” Here’s his answer (emphasis added):

    Quite frankly, I think none – because we’ve been through this at least since 2003, or so, when North Korea pulled out of the Nonproliferation Treaty, and the attempts, not only by the United States, but by the international community, has been in essence to threaten North Korea, to sanction North Korea, to isolate North Korea, and it simply hasn’t worked. I think we failed to engage North Korea appropriately when we had opportunities in these last twelve or thirteen years – whatever engagement was there didn’t work. The bottom line is, over this time, from 2003, when they most likely built their first primitive device, which they tested in 2006, until today, they have gone from building a device in 2003, testing one that didn’t work so well in 2006, to just now, where they have the fourth test – a successful test – and in the meantime, at the same time, they have scaled up their ability to make more bombs. And so, where we used to have the problem of having this country that could perhaps build a simple nuclear device, today they appear to have a nuclear arsenal. That’s a great concern and to me that means that we have to do something different than was done over the last twelve years.

    Hecker, who has been to North Korea seven times on “track two” diplomatic missions has been saying similar things for years. For example, in a 2010 paper: “Pyongyang was willing to slow its drive for nuclear weapons only when it believed the fundamental relationship with the United States was improving, but not when the regime was threatened.”

    Our use of economic sanctions against North Korea is usually portrayed in terms of our efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. But, if we were to be honest with ourselves, we’d admit that underneath that socially acceptable veneer we hope that government will implode and produce regime change. A page 1 story in Thursday’s (7 January) New York Times brings  that into clearer focus when it said (emphasis added):

    The United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea for its nuclear test on Wednesday, but there was no evidence yet that the North’s most powerful backer, China, was willing to stiffen sanctions in a way that could push the unpredictable country to the point of collapse or slow its nuclear progress.

    We need to deal with reality, not how we’d like things to be. And the reality is, so long as North Korea feels threatened by us, not only will it not give up its nuclear weapons program (as Gaddafi did to his great harm), but it will build an ever larger arsenal. As distasteful as the Kim Jong-un regime is, we need to learn how to live with it, rather than continue vainly trying to make it collapse. As Dr. Hecker points out, that latter approach has given us an unstable nation with a nuclear arsenal.

    Insanity has been defined as repeating the same mistake over and over again, but expecting a different outcome. Isn’t it time we tried a new experiment?

  • More Madness in a Mad World, North Korea with the H-Bomb

    ruben_arvizuVaya aquí para la versión española.

    Like a ghastly nightmare, North Korea has announced:  “The republic’s first hydrogen bomb test has been successfully performed at 10:00 am on January 6, 2016.” Experts, however, doubt that the test was any more powerful than previous North Korean nuclear tests.

    In 2006, North Korea joined the ranks of the exclusive club of nuclear-armed nations.  What a great achievement, now they can alsothreaten with the use of the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. They are the only country currently testing nuclear weapons.

    On a planet under siege and suffering the gravest ecological destruction since the dawn of man, instead of looking for the urgent needed solutions, we bring the Doomsday scenario.

    It is ironic that a mere 89 years separated the publication of Darwin’s “The Origin of the Species” in November 24, 1859 to the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945.  We have come from searching for where and how we came to this world, to the capability of annihilating all life on the planet.  The present international situation is more than daunting. We face an undeniable climate change with all its related impacts; sectarian wars; terrorism; waves of refugees as never seen since WWII; and the list goes on and on.

    The consequences of the expansion of nuclear nations project a dark shadow in the goals to have a Zero Nuclear world.  Our voices at NAPF have for more than two decades focused on the awareness and empowerment of the people demanding to stop more nuclear armaments and to comply with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003.

    More than ever it is necessary to try the best diplomacy while including economic sanctions on North Korea.  The international community must support these actions unanimously.  We still have a long road ahead to achieve a world free of the menace of a nuclear catastrophe.   We do not need to add more madness to an already troubled humanity.

    Ruben Arvizu is Director for Latin America of NAPF,  Ambassador of the Global Covenant of Cities on Climate and Director General for Latin America of Jean-Michel Cousteau’s  Ocean Futures Society.

  • Más locura en un mundo ya loco, Corea del Norte con la Bomba H

    ruben_arvizuClick here for the English version.

    Como una pesadilla espantosa, Corea del Norte ha anunciado: “La primera prueba de la bomba de hidrógeno de nuestra república se ha realizado con éxito a las 10:00 de la mañana del 6 de enero de 2016.” Sin embargo, varios expertos dudan que la explosión haya sido más poderosa que las anteriores pruebas nucleares norcoreanas.

    En 2006, Corea del Norte se unió a las filas del “exclusivo” club de naciones con armas nucleares. ¡Qué gran logro!, ya también puede amenazar con el uso de la última arma de destrucción masiva. Es el único país que actualmente efectúa pruebas nucleares.

    En un planeta en estado de sitio y sufriendo la destrucción ecológica más grave desde los albores del hombre, en lugar de buscar las soluciones necesarias urgentes, traemos el escenario del Día del Juicio.

    Es irónico que tan sólo 89 años separan la publicación de “El Origen de las Especies” de Charles Darwin, el 24 de noviembre de 1859,  a la primera detonación de un arma nuclear el 16 de julio de 1945.  Hemos pasado de buscar de dónde y cómo llegamos a este mundo, a la capacidad de aniquilar toda vida en el planeta. La actual situación internacional es muy desalentadora. Nos enfrentamos a un cambio climático innegable con todos sus impactos relacionados; guerras sectarias, el terrorismo, oleadas de refugiados como nunca se había visto desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial y la larga lista continúa.

    Las consecuencias de la expansión de las naciones nucleares proyecta una tenebrosa sombra en las metas para tener un mundo Nuclear Cero. Nuestras voces en NAPF desde hace más de dos décadas se han centrado en la sensibilización y el empoderamiento de las personas que demandan detener más armamentos nucleares y cumplir con el Tratado de no Proliferación de Armas Nucleares, Corea del Norte se retiró del tratado en 2003.

    Más que nunca es necesario probar la mejor diplomacia, incluyendo sanciones económicas contra Corea del Norte si el reclamo de una exitosa prueba de bomba H resulta ser verdad. La comunidad internacional debe apoyar estas acciones por unanimidad. Todavía tenemos un largo camino por recorrer para lograr un mundo libre de la amenaza de una catástrofe nuclear. No necesitamos añadir más locura a una humanidad ya más que perturbada.

    Rubén Arvizu es Director para América Latina de NAPF, Embajador del Pacto Global de Ciudades sobre el Clima y Director general para América Latina de Ocean Futures Society de Jean-Michel Cousteau.

  • North Korea’s Nuclear Ambition and the US Presidential Campaign

    Robert DodgeWith the news of North Korea testing another nuclear weapon its leadership continues the fallacy of nuclear deterrence promoted by the nuclear powers of the world. This action by North Korea must be condemned just as the continued possession of nuclear weapons by all of the nuclear states. This action is against the growing international consensus for a universal treaty banning all nuclear weapons and making their possession illegal just as chemical and biological weapons have been prohibited.

    In a year of U.S. presidential elections, where is the voice of reason? Who among the candidates or media has spoken to the legal obligations of the United States and all nuclear powers to work in good faith for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Particularly in view of the current climate science confirming that a small regional limited nuclear war using only ½ of 1 percent of the global nuclear arsenals has the potential to cause the deaths of more than 2 billion people from the ensuing climate change following such a war. Who has the courage to speak the truth and put forth a plan to eliminate these weapons?

    Where is the media in it’s investigative obligation and engagement of dialogue on this issue in the campaign. Outlets like PBS continue to cover the arms race and modernization of our Trident submarines, each with the potential for the above scenario many times over, as though it is an acceptable outcome of global doomsday if they are activated. This is accepted without question as a fait accompli. We must ask the candidates if they are actually aware of this science and if so under what circumstance they are ready to end life as we know it becoming defacto suicide bombers. For it would be only a matter of time before the global climatic effects of such a use would result in our own deaths. There can be no doublespeak in this response. You are either in favor of the status quo with existing arsenals that drive the arms race and promote nations like North Korea to develop their own capabilities or you work in earnest to eliminate these weapons.

    Time is not on our side. The chance of accidental or intentional nuclear war is placed by probability theorists at 1% per year or more. A child born today is not likely to reach their 30th birthday without some nuclear event occurring in their world. Is this the world we want for our children and grandchildren?

    The candidates and the media must overcome their cowardice in addressing this issue at this critical time.

    We must demand answers to these questions about the greatest imminent existential threat to our world. We cannot rely on the hope that someone else will take care of this or the notion that I cannot make a difference. In our democracy each of us has a duty and responsibility to be informed and to take action.

    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.

    Robert Dodge is a family physician practicing full time in Ventura, California. He serves on the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles serving as a Peace and Security Ambassador and at the national level where he sits on the security committee. He also serves on the board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions. He writes for PeaceVoice.