WMD 411 Chronology — 1988

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Produced by the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies

KEY: [B] Biological, [C] Chemical, [M] Missile, [N] Nuclear, [O] Organization [T] Terrorism

Jan 1988 [N] India leases Russian nuclear submarine in first-ever transfer of such a system.

Jan 26 1988 [M] The U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) is established to carry out the on-site inspection, escort, and monitoring provisions of the INF Treaty.

Feb 16 1988 [C] Iraqi warplanes attack the Kurdish city of Halabja, Iraq, with mustard and nerve agents, killing up to 5,000 people, mostly civilians.

Feb 18 1988 [M] India successfully fires its first surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile, the Prithvi.

March 20 1988 [C] Iraq uses chemical weapons (CW) against Iraqi Kurds in the Halabja Massacre.

March 22 1988 [M] U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz presents a new initiative to Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze that would permit the development, testing, or deployment of space-based sensors without restriction.

April 14 1988 [N] The Danish Parliament passes a resolution instructing the government to inform visiting warships that nuclear weapons are banned from Danish territory in peacetime.

May 31 1988 [M] The United States and Soviet Union sign the Agreement on Notification of Missile Launches. The Agreement stipulates that 24-hour advance notice is required before launching an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

June 1988 [M] China transfers CSS-2 "East Wind" nuclear-capable missiles to Saudi Arabia; these missiles have a 2,200-mile range.

June 1 1988 [M] INF Treaty enters into force.

July 28 1988 [C] In a speech to the CD, U.S. Ambassador Max Friedersdorf declares the location of all U.S. CW production facilities and outlines plans for their elimination under the proposed CW ban. The United States calls on the Soviet Union and other states to do the same.

Aug 1988 [N] Iraq, victorious in war with Iran, is believed to have resumed its nuclear weapons program.

Sept 1988 [M] Israel orbits a satellite using a rocket that could be used as an ICBM.

Sept 3 1988 [N] Brazil adopts a new constitution that states, "Any nuclear activities within the national territory will be permitted only if for peaceful purposes and if approved by the National Congress."

Sept 26 1988 [C] U.S. President Ronald Reagan, in a speech to the UN General Assembly, urges the parties to the 1925 Geneva Protocol and other concerned states to convene a conference to reverse the rapid deterioration of respect for international norms against chemical weapons use.

Dec 31 1988 [N] Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi sign the "India-Pakistan Non-Attack Agreement," an agreement not to attack each other's nuclear installations.

Late 1988-Early 1989 [N] U.S. satellites discover the construction of a plutonium (Pu) extraction plant in North Korea; its purpose is presumed to be the production of materials for nuclear weapons.

 

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2008 by MIIS.