WMD 411 Chronology — 1993

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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 3 1993 [N, M] The United States and the Russian Federation sign START II. They agree to further reduce ICBMs by eliminating MIRVed ICBMs and cutting the number of overall nuclear warheads for each side to between 3,000 and 3,500.

Jan 7 1993 [M, C, N, B] The United States and 21 other nations announce revised guidelines to extend the scope of the MTCR to missiles capable of carrying chemical and biological weapons as well as nuclear weapons.

Jan 13 1993 [C] The CWC opens for signatures in Paris.

Jan 13 1993 [N] France announces that it will observe a nuclear test moratorium provided that the United States and Russia continue to observe a nuclear test moratorium.

Feb 4 1993 [N] The Belarus Supreme Council ratifies START I.

Feb 26 1993[C] A conventional bomb planted by Muslim extremists explodes at New York’s World Trade Center. Later reports indicate the bomb may have been packed with sodium cyanide, but if so, the cyanide was likely incinerated in the blast and not dispersed.

March 12 1993 [N] North Korea refuses to accept a special IAEA inspection team, and subsequently announces its decision to withdraw from the NPT.

March 24 1993 [N] South African President F.W. De Klerk declares in a special joint session of the South African parliament that "at one stage South Africa did develop a limited nuclear deterrent capability," but "early in 1990 final effect was given to decisions that all the nuclear devices should be dismantled and destroyed."

April 1 1993 [N] The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, revises the 1977 London Guidelines for Nuclear Transfers. The new guidelines require the recipients of items from the Zangger Committee's trigger-list (e.g., nuclear materials and related technology) to provide effective physical protection of these items and to pledge not to use them for the manufacture of nuclear explosives.

April 4 1993 [N] U.S. President Clinton and Russian President Yeltsin meet at the Vancouver Summit. They agree that negotiations on a multilateral nuclear test-ban should commence at an early date and that the two governments would consult with each other accordingly.

June 11 1993 [N] One day before its withdrawal from the NPT would have become effective, North Korea announces it is suspending its decision to withdraw from the treaty.

June 15 1993 [B] South Africa announces termination of its biological weapons (BW) program, and that weapon materials for offensive purposes in government storage will be destroyed and products dumped at sea.

July 3 1993 [N] U.S. President Clinton announces his intention to extend the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium until September 1994, provided that no other nation tests.

July 22 1993 [N] Belarus formally accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.

Aug 10 1993 [N] The Conference on Disarmament decides to give its Ad Hoc Committee on a Nuclear Test Ban a mandate to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty. A special meeting of the Amendment Conference of the Partial Test-Ban Treaty is held in New York.

Aug 17 1993 [N] Russian President Boris Yeltsin approves a new policy regarding security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states. The new policy declares that Russia will not use nuclear weapons against NPT signatory countries and non-nuclear nations except in two instances; first, if a non-nuclear state allied with a nuclear weapon state attacks Russia, Russia's armed forces, or Russia's allies and second, if a non-nuclear weapon state and a nuclear weapon state both attack Russia. The new negative security assurance does not rule out first use of nuclear weapons against a nuclear weapon state.

Sept 24 1993 [B] VEREX submits its report on 21 potential BW verification measures.

Sept 27 1993 [N, B] During a UN speech, U.S. President Clinton calls for a multilateral convention banning production of fissile materials for nuclear explosives or outside of international safeguards (a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty). President Clinton also announces that the U.S. will promote increased transparency of "every nation's biological activities and facilities."

Oct 5 1993 [N] China conducts a nuclear test at its Lop Nor test site in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. It is the first test by a nuclear weapon state in more than a year.

Oct 12 1993 [M] The United States offered to ease the sanctions on China if Beijing would renew and strengthen its commitment to the MTCR guidelines. A senior U.S. official stated that China is showing no interest in negotiating an end to the sanctions imposed on it by the United States after China sold M-11 missiles to Pakistan.

Nov 17 1993 [O, M] In view of the changed security environment after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the fall of the Soviet Union, the 17 members of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) agree to abolish the organization and start a new, broader one.

Nov 18, 1993 [M] U.S. officials announced the sale of a Cray Research Inc. supercomputer to China in an effort to improve relations with China, despite evidence that China violated MTCR guidelines by selling M-11 missile components to Pakistan. A Cray Research Inc. spokesman reports that a sophisticated set of safeguards has been established so that there is no way that China can use the supercomputer for "pernicious applications."

Nov 23 1993 [C] President Clinton submits the CWC to the U.S. Senate for ratification.

Dec 1993 [N] UN General Assembly adopts resolution 48/75L calling for the negotiation of a treaty to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear weapons devices (FMCT).

Dec 7 1993 [N] The U.S. Department of Energy reveals that the U.S. conducted 204 secret underground nuclear tests over a 45-year period.

Dec 8 1993 [N] The U.S. Air Force demolishes an underground missile silo at Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri. It is the first of 500 silos to be destroyed under the terms of START I.

Dec 16 1993 [N] The UN General Assembly adopts resolution (48/70), calling for the negotiation of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The resolution asks the IAEA to assist with verification arrangements.

Dec 20 1993 [N] Ukraine announces that it will dismantle all of its 46 long-range SS-24 nuclear-armed missiles by the end of 1994 rather than shipping them to Russia as required by the Lisbon Protocol.

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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.