Summary of news
- The US does not see nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus as announced by Russia.
- US officials have no indication that Vladimir Putin will move nuclear weapons.
- Putin has stated that he will take the same stance as the US on the use of weapons in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last Saturday Mikhael Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin/EFE/EPA 3/28/2023
The United States said on Tuesday it had seen no evidence of Russian preparations to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a deal with Minsk.
“We have seen no movement on the part of Mr. Putin to do what he promised,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a virtual news conference.
Additionally, Kirby said he saw “no indication” that Putin “inclines, is close, or has shown any indication” that he would make preparations to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
The US spokesman warned that this could have serious consequences, although he noted that the US had “not changed” the strategic position on nuclear deterrence.
Last Saturday (25th) Putin announced an agreement with Belarus on the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of that country bordering Ukraine.
“There’s nothing out of the ordinary here. First, the United States has been doing this for decades. They stationed their tactical nuclear weapons long ago on the territory of their allies, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. in Europe. In six countries, if I remember correctly: Germany, Turkey, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Greece,” Putin told Russian public television.
Putin stressed that this agreement does not violate Russia’s commitments on nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and expected that training of the Belarusian military will begin on April 3 and the construction of a silo to store these weapons in the country will be completed by July 1 to place neighboring country.
Kim Jongun inspects nuclear weapons depot
leader of North Korea Kim jong un defended the increase in arms production and also the manufacture of more powerful weapons, the state press said. the appeal of Kim coincides with the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in South Korea on Tuesday (28).
In the photo, Kim poses with military personnel next to an alleged nuclear weapon from his country’s arsenal.
In a meeting with members of the Nuclear Weapons Institute, the North Korean dictator said the country must prepare to deploy its missiles “anytime, anywhere,” state news agency KCNA reported. Kim Called for a “proactive expansion of weaponsgrade nuclear material production to implement the plan to exponentially increase nuclear arsenals”
In the picture, the North Korean dictator is talking to soldiers from his army
The North Korean leader “also encouraged continued production of powerful nuclear weapons,” the agency added. Photos released by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper show Kim, surrounded by soldiers, inspects a set of alleged nuclear warheads identified as Hwasan31, which means volcano in Korean. Such greencolored warheads can be mounted on different types of missiles according to the tables and diagrams on the walls.
SEVENTH NUCLEAR TEST?
North Korea last year declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power Kim recently advocated an “exponential” increase in weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons. The staterun press published a series of reports on the nuclear issue on Tuesday, an indication that the country is preparing for the seventh nuclear test in its history, analysts said. “North Korea has unveiled a significantly reduced tactical nuclear warhead, and many are wondering if it can actually detonate,” said Cheong Songchang, a researcher at the Sejong Institute. “It increases the likelihood that North Korea will conduct its seventh nuclear test with these tactical nuclear warheads,” he told AFP.
Pyongyang has announced a series of missile tests in response to military exercises by the US and South Korea, weighing heavily on the impoverished country. “North Korea has warned of an overwhelming response to any joint military exercise, but given the number of missiles fired, this cannot continue indefinitely,” Park Wongon, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha University, told AFP.
“In that case, the seventh nuclear test will mark some kind of end, they will have to declare themselves a nuclear power and they will return to negotiations with the United States,” he predicts. If North Korea has “impeccably” prepared its weapon systems, “the enemy will fear us and not dare to challenge our sovereignty, our system and our people,” he said. Kimaccording to KCNA.
The isolated communist country is also trying to diversify its nuclear weapons delivery systems and announced on Tuesday that it had conducted a second test of what it calls an “undersea nuclear attack drone”. The first test of this new weapon, an unmanned submarine called Haeil (Tsunami in Korean), whose capacity has analysts wondering about, took place last week in response to major military maneuvers organized by South Korea and the United States.
Pyongyang announced that the Haeil had maneuvered underwater for more than 41 hours following a simulated 600kilometer route. The North Korean military also conducted test firing Monday to simulate a nuclear strike using tactical ballistic missiles, KCNA said.