Latest news with #nuclearweapons
NHK
a day ago
- Politics
- NHK
US survey: 35% of Americans say US atomic bombings justified
A recent US survey has found that Americans have mixed views about whether their country's use of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was justified. Pew Research Center surveyed about 5,000 people aged 18 or older between June 2 and 8, ahead of next month's 80th anniversary of the bombings of the two Japanese cities. The results were released on Monday. Thirty-five percent of the respondents said the bombings were justified, while 31 percent said they were not. Thirty-three percent said they were not sure. The approval rate was higher for older Americans. Among respondents aged 65 or older, 48 percent said the bombings were justified. The figure was 40 percent for those aged 50 to 64, followed by 29 percent for those aged 30 to 49, and 27 percent for those 18 to 29. By contrast, the number of respondents who said the bombings were not justified was higher among younger age groups, including 44 percent for those aged 18 to 29. The survey also asked Americans whether the development of nuclear weapons has made the world safer. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said it has made the world less safe, far exceeding the 10 percent who said the world has become safer.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Kim Jong Un's sister says Trump must accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed the United States' stated intent to resume diplomacy on denuclearisation, urging Washington to accept her country as a nuclear weapons state. Kim Yo Jong insisted a new approach is needed to restart talks, suggesting Pyongyang would only return to the negotiating table if the US offers rewards for a partial surrender of its nuclear capability. This firm stance comes as some experts believe US President Donald Trump could still seek a diplomatic achievement with North Korea. Mr Trump has recently spoken of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed hopes of reigniting nuclear diplomacy between them. Their high-stakes discussions in 2018-19, which occurred during Mr Trump's first term, collapsed after he rejected Mr Kim's demands for extensive sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling his main nuclear complex, a limited denuclearisation step. Mr Kim has since executed weapons tests to modernise and expand his nuclear arsenal. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said the personal relationship between her brother and Trump 'is not bad'. But she said if their personal relations are to serve the purpose of North Korea's denuclearisation, North Korea would view it as 'nothing but a mockery'. She said North Korea's nuclear capability has sharply increased since the first round of the Kim-Trump diplomacy and that any attempt to deny North Korea as a nuclear weapons state would be rejected. 'If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-US meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the US side,' Kim Yo Jong said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. She said it would be 'advisable to seek another way of contact". Kim Yo Jong is a key official on the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party. She handles the country's relations with South Korea and the United States, and South Korean officials and experts believe she is the North's second-most powerful person after her brother. Kim Yo Jong said she was responding to reported comments by a US official that Trump is open to talks on denuclearisation. She likely was referring to a Saturday article by Yonhap news agency that cited an unidentified White House official as saying Trump 'remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearised North Korea'. 'North Korea wants to say it's not interested in talks on denuclearisation and the US must determine what benefits it can give to the North first,' said Nam Sung-wook, a former head of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea's spy agency. Mr Nam said Mr Trump's likely desire to win a Nobel Peace Prize would prompt him to seek talks with Kim Jong Un and give him corresponding benefits for taking phased denuclearisation steps. Mr Nam said North Korea would want broad sanctions relief, a suspension of US-South Korea military drills that it regards as invasion rehearsals and other economic incentives. Kim Yeol Soo, an analyst at South Korea's Korea Institute for Military Affairs, said US and North Korean officials could meet if they narrow some differences on terms for restoring talks. But he said Mr Trump's unpredictability would make it extremely difficult to predict what concessions the Americans would offer. Other experts have earlier said that North Korea — now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia — sees no urgent need to resume diplomacy with the US and South Korea. On Monday, Kim Yo Jong rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying its 'blind trust' in the country's alliance with the US and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor. Nam said prospects for an early resumption of US-North Korea diplomacy would depend on whether the Russia-Ukraine war ends soon and U.S. tariff negotiations with other countries are proceeded in a direction that Trump wants. Mr Kim said Mr Trump may use his likely attendance of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea this autumn as a chance to travel on to North Korea or a Korean border village to meet Kim Jong Un. Kim Yo Jong on Monday described as 'a daydream' a reported South Korean idea of inviting her brother to the regional summit.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
US ‘likely' moved nuclear arms to UK
The US has likely deployed nuclear weapons to Britain for the first time in over 15 years, in a potential warning to Russia, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing open-source data and defense experts. On July 16, a US military transport aircraft flew with its transponder active from Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico – an installation known to house nuclear weapons – to RAF Lakenheath in eastern England, the report says. The aircraft is believed to have carried B61-12 thermonuclear bombs, which would mark the first known US nuclear deployment to the UK since 2008, according to several defense analysts. Former senior NATO arms control official William Alberque said leaving the aircraft's transponder on was intentional and appeared to be aimed at sending a message to Moscow. 'This is a down payment that there's more to come on shifting NATO's deterrence posture toward strengthening,' he said. 'Returning US nuclear weapons to the UK is no small feat.' Neither the US nor the UK has confirmed the move. It is also unclear how many weapons the US may have redeployed. NATO's nuclear posture in Europe has remained largely unchanged since the end of the Cold War, with tactical nuclear weapons currently stationed in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Türkiye. Any movement of nuclear assets closer to Russia would likely be regarded as a major escalation. The Bloomberg report comes after the UK – which has nuclear weapons of its own – confirmed plans in June to acquire at least 12 F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying US B61-12 bombs. London called the move 'the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation.' Last year, former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was considering deploying more of its nuclear weapons to deter Russia and China – which he described as 'potential adversaries.' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the remarks 'yet another fueling of tensions.'
NHK
a day ago
- Politics
- NHK
Kim Jong Un's sister suggests talks with the US are possible but with conditions
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suggested the possibility of new summit talks with the US, but ruled out Pyongyang giving up its nuclear-weapons program. Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, issued a statement via the state-run media on Tuesday. She said, "I do not want to deny the fact that the personal relationship between the head of our state and the present US president is not bad." But Kim added that if the personal relations of the two are to serve the purpose of denuclearization, "it can be interpreted as nothing but a mockery of the other party." She reiterated North Korea's "irreversible position" as a nuclear-weapons state. Kim stressed that "it is by no means beneficial to each other for the two countries possessed of nuclear weapons to go in a confrontational direction," suggesting that fresh talks with the US are possible. But her remarks are viewed as a rejection that any future talks would be based on the premise of North Korea's denuclearization. US President Donald Trump met Kim Jong Un three times in 2018 and 2019 during his first term. Trump was not able to reach agreement with Kim but is still willing to meet him again in his current term. Reuters news agency quoted a White House official as saying, "Trump remains open to engaging with Kim to achieve a fully de-nuclearized North Korea."
National Post
a day ago
- Politics
- National Post
North Korea rejects U.S. goal to resume denuclearization talks, as Pyogyang and Moscow strengthen ties
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the U.S.'s intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea's denuclearization, saying Tuesday the North flatly opposes any attempt to deny its position as a nuclear weapons state. Article content In his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has bragged of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed hopes of restarting nuclear diplomacy between them. Their high-stakes diplomacy in 2018-19 unraveled due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions against North Korea. Kim has since executed weapons tests to modernize and expand his nuclear arsenal. Article content Article content Article content In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said she doesn't deny the personal relationship between her brother and Trump 'is not bad.' But she said if their personal relations are to serve the purpose of North Korea's denuclearization, North Korea would view it as 'nothing but a mockery.' Article content Article content She said it was worth considering that the year is 2025, not 2018 or 2019 — which was during Trump's first term — and any attempt to deny North Korea as a nuclear weapons state would be rejected. Article content 'If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK- U.S. meeting will remain as a 'hope' of the U.S. side,' Kim Yo Jong said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Article content She said she was responding to reported comments by a U.S. official that Trump is open to talks on denuclearization. She likely was referring to a Saturday article by Yonhap news agency that cited an unidentified White House official as saying Trump 'remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.' Article content Article content Meanwhile, on Sunday a regular air link between Moscow and Pyogyang started, a move reflecting increasingly close ties between the two countries. Article content Article content The first flight operated by Russian carrier Nordwind took off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport carrying over 400 passengers. Russia's Transport Ministry said there will be one flight a month to meet demand. Article content North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. But the country hasn't said if it would fully resume international tourism. Article content Article content Russia and North Korea have sharply expanded military and other ties in recent years, with Pyongyang supplying weapons and troops to back Russia's military action in Ukraine. Article content Experts have said previously that North Korea would only be interested in talks on a partial surrender of its nuclear capability in return for sanctions relief and other benefits, while retaining some of its nuclear weapons.
