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The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT. Proliferation has been opposed by many nations with and without nuclear weapons, as governments fear that more countries with nuclear weapons will increase the possibility of nuclear warfare, de-stabilize international or regional relations, or infringe upon the national sovereignty of nation states.
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on 3 September 2017, stating it had tested a thermonuclear weapon. The United States Geological Survey reported an earthquake of 6.3-magnitude not far from North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site. South Korean authorities said the earthquake seemed to be artificial, consistent with an underground nuclear test. The USGS, as well as China Earthquake Networks Center, reported that the initial event was followed by a second, smaller, earthquake at the site, several minutes later, which was characterized as a collapse of the cavity formed by the initial detonation.
Hong Sung-mu is a North Korean nuclear weapons scientist and a Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) official working with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and space programs. He is the deputy director of the party's Machine Building Industry Department (MBID) and plays a key part in the country's nuclear weapons program.
References
- ↑ "RI HONG-SOP". un.org. United Nations Security Council . Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- ↑ Jeffries, Ian (2012). North Korea, 2009-2012: A Guide to Economic and Political Developments. Routledge. p. 109. ISBN 1135116989.
- ↑ Chaim Braun; Siegfried Hecker; Chris Lawrence; Panos Papadiamantis (27 May 2016). North Korean Nuclear Facilities After the Agreed Framework (PDF). Center for International Security and Cooperation (Report). Stanford University. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ↑ ENERSEC Conference Series Nuclear Energy and Security (NUSEC) Book of Abstracts (PDF). IAEA. 2005. p. ix.
- 1 2 "North Korea's nuclear scientists take center stage with H-bomb test". Reuters . September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- ↑ Choe Sang-hun; Rich, Motoko; Renau, Natalie; Carlesen, Audrey (15 December 2017). "Rocket Men: The Team Building North Korea's Nuclear Missile". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
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