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Nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

An activist holds a single-person picket in front of the US embassy in central Moscow on November 5, with a poster reading “We Support Changing the Nuclear Doctrine to Allowing to Retarget Nuclear Weapons at the United States”. Photo: AFP

Letters | Nuclear deterrence is mute on how to resolve root of conflict

Readers discuss Russia’s threat of nuclear strikes and North Korea’s role in the Ukraine war, Cheung Chau’s fading charms, and Hong Kong’s outstanding healthcare service.

9 Nov 2024 - 11:30AM

Opinion | Trump 2.0 signals more drawing of lines between West and the rest

8 Nov 2024 - 5:20PMvideocam

Trump’s victory is ‘good news’ for North Korea. But will Kim denuclearise?

8 Nov 2024 - 3:37PM

How rise of Kim Jong-un’s daughter raises questions on North Korea’s leadership

Kim Jong-un’s daughter is emerging in the public eye, but her future leadership role in North Korea remains a mystery.

5 Nov 2024 - 9:18AMvideocam

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae visit the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers’ Party of Korea last month. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP

US accuses Russia and China of ‘shamelessly’ shielding North Korea

UN ambassadors trade barbs over North Korea’s test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

5 Nov 2024 - 10:38AMvideocam

US nuclear bomber joins drills with S. Korea, Japan after Pyongyang missile test

South Korea’s military said the drills showed the resolve of the ROK and the US to strengthen their deterrence against North Korea.

3 Nov 2024 - 3:02PM

Opinion | North Korea’s missile test days before US election sends powerful message

No isolated act of aggression, the missile test was a calculated show of a strengthened alliance and a preview of mounting challenges.

3 Nov 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

This picture taken and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 31 shows the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a test-fire conducted by the Missile Administration at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo: KCNA via KNS/ AFP

North Korea says record test was new Hwasong-19 ICBM

North Korea lauded the Hwasong-19 that was test-fired Thursday as ‘the world’s strongest strategic missile’.

1 Nov 2024 - 4:25PMvideocam

Amid Ukraine war tensions, Pyongyang’s ICBM test may be sign of things to come

Missile test is Pyongyang’s way of showing its deepening ‘nuclear alliance’ with Russia and a message to the US ahead of the election, analysts say.

1 Nov 2024 - 9:37AMvideocam

North Korea’s Kim says longest ICBM test is a warning to enemies

Missile on Thursday recorded a flight time of 87 minutes, longer than the last ICBM test launch in December 2023.

31 Oct 2024 - 1:51PMvideocam

A test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo: KCNA via AFP

North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, US says

Some advance units have already arrived in the Kursk region, and ‘the likelihood is pretty high’ that Moscow will use them in combat.

31 Oct 2024 - 7:04AMvideocam

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin give a joint press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Australia to boost missile stockpiles, citing China’s ICBM test

The Indo-Pacific region is on the cusp of a new missile age, Australia’s defence industry minister said, vowing more domestic production.

30 Oct 2024 - 3:04PMvideocam

Russia fires missiles to simulate ‘massive’ response to a nuclear attack

Moscow has repeatedly signalled that it will respond if the West allows Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with longer-range weapons.

30 Oct 2024 - 3:35AM

Opinion | Ukraine and Gaza wars offer a lesson on the merits of nuclear weapons

Nuclear arms on both sides of tensions can prevent escalations into outright war, as has been the case in South Asia.

24 Oct 2024 - 5:50PMvideocam

The Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at the Plesetsk testing field in Russia on April 20, 2022. The number of nuclear weapons in the world is set to rise in the coming decade after 35 years of decline as global tensions flare, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry/AFP

US election winner might find North Korea ‘most dangerous flashpoint’ with China

Kim Jong-un’s ratcheting up of nuclear tensions may leave China in a no-win situation as he seeks to pile pressure on the next president.

22 Oct 2024 - 11:35PMvideocam

Chinese researchers put data link hardware to the doomsday test: paper

Engineers push communications equipment to the limit to see if it could survive a nuclear attack.

20 Oct 2024 - 10:00PMvideocam

Putin calls Zelensky comments on Ukraine nuclear arms ‘dangerous provocation’

The Ukrainian leader has clarified that what he wants is Nato membership, which is ‘better than any kind of weapon’.

19 Oct 2024 - 2:51AM

Opinion | Bomb survivors’ Nobel Prize a reminder to world on edge of nuclear war

As the world lurches towards nuclear conflict, we cannot afford to forget the catastrophe unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

18 Oct 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | US-China-Russia strategic stability hangs in the balance

Quiet revolutions in military affairs are taking place just as arms control is declining – and precisely when cooperation should increase.

17 Oct 2024 - 10:42PMvideocam

Can India’s nuclear submarine boost help it close the gap with China?

India’s domestic capability is still ‘below the median’ and will need to develop longer-range submarines to catch up with China, analysts say.

16 Oct 2024 - 7:53PMvideocam

Opinion | China’s ICBM test may well redraw the global security landscape

More than a show of tech strength, it represents a shift in nuclear strategy and alliance stability that could redefine global security.

16 Oct 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

How China’s ‘paper tiger’ transformed it into a nuclear weapon superpower

On the 60th anniversary of the nation’s first atomic weapon test, experts trace how policy, politics and purpose laid a foundation for China’s nuclear might.

16 Oct 2024 - 9:04AMvideocam

China’s DF-41: deadly missile could be game-changer in nuclear deterrence

Last month’s launch of Beijing’s deadliest intercontinental ballistic missile outside Chinese airspace puts spotlight on its fast growing nuclear arsenal.

13 Nov 2024 - 12:24PMvideocam

Explainer | ‘Unspeakable horror’: the nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a group of bomb survivors who loudly oppose the use of nuclear weapons.

11 Oct 2024 - 9:00PM

‘Not welcome’: China ally Kiribati criticises Chinese ICBM test

China conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead that landed in the Pacific Ocean late last month.

8 Oct 2024 - 11:13AM

Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau (left) walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony in Beijing in 2020. Photo: AP

South Korean leader says North Korea wants US attention by showing off nuclear might

Yoon is also on a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia and says North Korea’s weapons programme will be on the agenda.

6 Oct 2024 - 3:56PMvideocam

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol waves as first lady Kim Keon-hee bows next to him before their departure to the Philippines on the first leg of a three-nation tour. Photo: EPA-EFE/Yonhap

Backed into a corner by Israel, Iran may quicken nuclear weapons push

Experts fear Tehran may accelerate its nuclear programme as a deterrent against Israel, potentially sparking a regional arms race.

4 Oct 2024 - 9:45AMvideocam

What do we know about the DF-31 variant used in China’s ICBM test?

The missile fired into the Pacific travelled around 12,000km and appears to have been a model that can be fired from a mobile launcher suited to rough terrain.

27 Sep 2024 - 9:00PM

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Nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

Nuclear weapons continue to be a topic of tension in the modern world, particularly with concerns from the US and its partners over Iran's nuclear development programme, which Iran says is for medical and industrial use only. Such armaments can be delivered by intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have with a range of over 5,500km (3,400 miles).

last updated:

9 September, 2024