WMD 411 Chronology —  2000

Choose another year 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985

Produced by the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Updated September 2004

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

Jan 1 2000 [N] India and Pakistan exchange lists of their nuclear installations and facilities under the Pakistani-Indian Agreement on the Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations. The agreement requires the countries to exchange list of their respective installations on the first working day of every year.

Jan 8 2000 [N] The U.S. Congress receives plans for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a new, semi-autonomous agency. The plan calls for the Director of the NNSA to serve as an Undersecretary of Energy and to run the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons programs. The NNSA will manage the MPC&A programs, efforts to eliminate fissile materials, and support global and regional nonproliferation programs.

Jan 17 2000 [N] Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin signs into law a new national security strategy that lowers the threshold on first-use of nuclear weapons. The National Security Concept of the Russian Federation allows the use of all existing forces including nuclear weapons to oppose any attack, nuclear or conventional, if other efforts fail to repel the aggressor and allows the first-use of nuclear arms "in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian Federation." The new military guidance proclaims Russia's intention to oppose domestic unrest and secessionist challenges as well as American domination of the international arena. The doctrine states, "The Russian Federation must have nuclear forces capable of delivering specified damage to any aggressor state or a coalition of states in any situation."

Jan 18 2000 [M] A U.S. prototype missile-defense kill vehicle fails to find and destroy the Minuteman-2 missile playing the role of an enemy missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Critics of NMD note that the unsuccessful test demonstrates that the technology is not developed enough to begin deployment.

Jan 21 2000 [C] A Chechen spokesman claims the rebels were prepared to detonate chemical and ammonia bombs in Chechnya, Russia, to prevent Russian troops from entering Grozny, the capital.

Jan 21 2000 [M] Top U.S. and Russian officials end talks in Geneva on modifications to the ABM Treaty. The talks produce no new agreements.

Jan 25 2000 [N] A five-member IAEA inspection team conducts an inventory verification of nuclear material at Tuwaitha, Iraq. The current IAEA visit comes under the framework of the NPT, to which Iraq and other countries with nuclear energy programs are signatories. The inspection of Iraq's uranium stocks is the first since UN arms monitors left Iraq in December 1998, but it is not related to continuing United Nations' efforts (see UNMOVIC) to monitor Iraq's possible WMD activities. According to the IAEA, the inspections conducted as part of the physical inventory verification are not sufficient to provide assurance that Iraq is in full compliance with all of its safeguards obligations.

Jan 25 2000 [O] U.S. and Chinese officials resume the military-to-military contacts that China halted in spring 1998 after the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by U.S. jets.

Jan 26 2000 [O] The UN Security Council appoints Hans Blix of Sweden as the head of UNMOVIC, the UN weapons inspection agency for Iraq. Blix is the former head of the IAEA, which had co-responsibility with the UN Special Commission for Iraq for overseeing the destruction of Iraq's WMD in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War.

Jan 27 2000 [N] U.S. President Bill Clinton appoints former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John M. Shalikashvili to lead a White House task force to get bipartisan legislative support for U.S. ratification of the CTBT.

Jan 22-28 2000 [O] The United States and North Korea resume bilateral talks in Berlin, where North Korea announces that it is reconsidering its moratorium on long-range missile tests in response to the U.S. interceptor tests and discussions of NMD deployment to counter emerging missile threats, from states like North Korea.

Feb 1 2000 [N] KEDO announces that the completion of the two light-water reactors in North Korea (as promised under the U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework) would be at least four years behind schedule. In response to this, North Korea threatened to restart its mothballed Yongbyon nuclear reactor.

Feb 2 2000 [B] An unclassified CIA report claims that during January-June 1999, Russia exported dual-use biotechnology to Iran that could potentially be used to produce biological weapons.

Feb 5 2000 [N] Belarus and Russia reportedly reach an agreement on extending Russia's nuclear umbrella to Belarus.

Feb 9 2000 [M] Russia successfully test-fires a Topol-M ICBM from a silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

Feb 9 2000 [O] Russia and North Korea sign a bilateral friendship treaty, which would allow for sales of defensive military systems on a commercial basis, as well as technical support to the North's military.

Feb 10 2000 [O, M] At the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva, China's envoy, Hu Xiaodi, formally proposes that the CD set up a committee and begin negotiations to conclude a global treaty that would ban the testing, deployment, and use of weapons in outer space. Russia's Ambassador on Disarmament Vasily Sidorov backs the proposal.

March 1 2000 [N] The Russian Defense Ministry reports that Chechen rebels had threatened to use radiological agents, obtained from nuclear materials being stored at a facility 30 kilometers southeast of Grozny, against Russian troops.

March 1 2000 [N] Russian president-elect Vladimir Putin visits the closed city of Snezhinsk (formerly known as Chelyabinsk-70), where a key nuclear weapons production and research facility is located. Putin urges the Duma to ratify START II. Putin also reaffirms his intent to restructure Russia's nuclear industry.

March 2 2000 [M] Another round of U.S.-Russian talks on possible ABM Treaty revisions held in Geneva fails to produce any agreement. In its press statement, the Russian delegation states that it would not seriously consider revisions to the ABM Treaty.

March 7 2000 [N] China urges India to stop its military nuclear program in talks on global and regional security issues. China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman states that India should obey a UN Security Council resolution that condemns the 1998 nuclear tests and calls on India and Pakistan to stop all nuclear development programs. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee maintains that India would keep its nuclear weapons until all WMD are dismantled, and that India "will continue to be guided by [the] imperative of India's strategic autonomy and the need to maintain [a] credible nuclear deterrent."

March 14 2000 [N] Russia and the Netherlands sign a cooperative agreement for the dismantling of old Russian nuclear warheads and nuclear submarines.

March 14 2000 [N, B, C] U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000. The Act links additional U.S. funding for the Russian space station to guarantees that Russia will not transfer missile technology or nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons to Iran. The Act would permit the U.S. president to president would have the option of suspending arms sales sales or economic aid to nations helping Iran's weapons Programs. In 1999, the United States announced sanctions against 10 Russian companies for transferring weapons materials and technology to Iran.

March 23 2000 [N] The United States conducts a sub-critical nuclear test at the Low-Yield Nuclear Explosive Research (LYNER) facility on the Nevada Test Site.

March 26 2000 [O] Vladimir Putin is elected President of the Russian Federation.

March 29 2000 [N] According to the Tokyo police department, a Japanese cult acquired classified information about nuclear installations from Russia, Ukraine, China, South Korea, and Taiwan by breaking into computer networks. The thefts were discovered when the Tokyo police searched the records of companies related to Aum Shinrikyo's operations. In March 1995, 10 Aum Shinrikyo members organized a sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system.

April 5 2000 [N] Nearly a ton of radioactive material hidden in 10 lead boxes is recovered from a truckload of scrap metal bound for Pakistan via Iran on a trip that began in Kazakhstan. The seized material is emitting enough radiation to cause radiation sickness. The discovery reinforces worries about smuggling of nuclear material from countries of the former Soviet Union.

April 6 2000 [N] The United States conducts a sub-critical test at the Nevada Test Site.

April 11 2000 [O] China announces the resumption of the nonproliferation talks with the United States, which had been suspended in 1999 in response to NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.

April 14 2000 [N] The Russian Duma ratifies START II, which Presidents George Bush and Boris Yeltsin signed in 1993. START II will reduce U.S. and Russian long-range nuclear warheads to 3,000-3,500 each from current levels of about 6,000 each. Treaty provisions do not, however, require warheads to be dismantled. Instead, START II focuses on reducing delivery systems. Because the U.S. Senate ratified START II in January 1996, it must vote on the ABM Demarcation Agreement (related to the 1972 ABM Treaty) and agreements to extend START II deadlines, both of which were concluded between the United States and Russia in September 1997.

April 14 2000 [M] In their letter to the U.S. President, 25 Republican Senators expressed hope that the Senate would defeat any agreement between the United States and Russia that would only allow a limited NMD system.

April 17 2000 [M] Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russia was ready to conduct talks with the United States on TMD.

April 18 2000 [M] Another round of consultations on modification of the ABM Treaty achieves no progress in Geneva. The Russians say they would not be bound by any agreements should the United States withdraw from the Treaty and deploy an NMD system.

April 21 2000 [N] The Russian Duma ratifies the CTBT.

April 21 2000 [M] U.S. Ambassador to Russia James Collins confirms that negotiators handed Russia a draft of proposed amendments to the ABM Treaty, in the form of a new protocol that would allow the United States to build an NMD system.

April 22 2000 [N] Russia's new National Military Doctrine enters into force. The Doctrine stresses the importance of nuclear weapons for Russia's national security and notes that Russia is ready to further reduce its nuclear arsenal both on bilateral (with the United States) and multilateral levels (with other nuclear weapon states) to the minimum levels that are required to maintain strategic stability.

April 24-May 19 2000 [N] The Review Conference for the states parties to the NPT is held in New York. The five nuclear weapon states issue a declaration promising to reduce their stockpiles, but attach no deadline. The Conference also adopts Thirteen Practical Steps toward Nuclear Disarmament.

May 2000 [N] In exchange for a shipment of 400,000 tons of food through the World Food Program, famine-stricken North Korea allows U.S. officials to reinspect an enormous tunnel at the Kumchang-ri military site suspected to be part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Officials from the U.S. State Department report that the second visit to Kumchang-ni yielded no evidence of disturbing activities.

May 4 2000 [M, N] Russian President Putin signed into law the 1997 Protocols to the ABM Treaty.

May 7 2000 [N] Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree that allows, under special circumstances, the export of nuclear materials, equipment, and technology for peaceful purposes to countries that do not have nuclear armaments but have not put their peaceful nuclear activities under full-scope IAEA safeguards. However, the decree requires application of IAEA safeguards to any nuclear exports to such countries.

May 10 2000 [N] The U.S. House Armed Forces Committee defeats a proposal to unilaterally reduce the strategic forces to START II levels (3,000 to 3,500 long-range nuclear warheads) before the treaty enters into force.

May 12 2000 [N] The Defence and Foreign Affairs Journal reports that the Taiwanese military has obtained a pair of medium-range ballistic missiles with two nuclear warheads. The report says the nuclear weapons and carriers were originally owned by South Africa and obtained in an under-the-counter deal brokered by an "intermediary Middle Eastern country." Taiwanese officials strongly deny the report.

May 15 2000 [N] The IAEA reports to the NPT Review Conference that since December 1998, it "[has not been] in a position to implement its Security Council-mandated activities in Iraq" and was therefore not able to provide assurances that Iraq was compliant with its obligations under the UN Security Council Resolutions regarding the dismantlement of any potential nuclear weapons facilities. With respect to its NPT Article III obligations, the IAEA notes that although it carried out a physical inventory verification of nuclear material in January 2000, "this inspection is not... sufficient to provide assurance that Iraq is in full compliance with all its safeguards obligations."

May 20 2000 [N] After last-minute negotiations at the NPT Review Conference, the world's five main nuclear powers, the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China, pledge to make "an unequivocal undertaking ... to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals." They did not include any timetable or implementation plan; nor did they agree to any provision that would prohibit the first use of nuclear weapons.

May 25-27 2000 [N] The U.S. inspection team at North Korea's Kumchang-ri site claims that it found no evidence of North Korea's alleged clandestine nuclear activity. North Korea reportedly provided unhampered access to the site and cooperated fully with the inspection team.

May 28 2000 [N] Pakistan offers to negotiate a nuclear restraint regime with India to avoid a nuclear and conventional arms race, and build confidence in the region. Pakistan expressed willingness to consider any restraint arrangement on a reciprocal basis with India.

June 2000 [N] The Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy (Minatom) announces that it will proceed with sub-critical nuclear weapons testing at the Novaya Zemlya test site.

June 6 2000 [N, M] U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin reach an Early Warning Agreement. According to a U.S. defense official two Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) are involved. The first concerns the flow of early warning information to a Joint Data Exchange Center in Moscow, which is scheduled to open in 2001. The second MOA addresses pre-launch notification arrangements.

June 7 2000 [N] The U.S. Senate allows the president to make unilateral reductions in strategic nuclear weapons systems.

June 9 2000 [N] In its instruments of ratification, France issues an "interpretive declaration" to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in which it excludes nuclear weapons from the purview of the International Criminal Court. The French "interpretive declaration" states that Article 8 of the Statute (naming the use of certain categories of weapon as expressly prohibited) refers "solely to conventional weapons and can neither regulate nor prohibit the possible use of nuclear weapons nor impair the other rules of international law applicable to other weapons necessary to the exercise by France of its inherent right of self-defence, unless nuclear weapons or the other weapons referred to herein become subject in the future to a comprehensive ban and are specified in an annex to the Statute..."

June 12 2000 [N] U.S. President Bill Clinton issues an executive order to guarantee that money paid to Russia as part of the "Megatons to Megawatts" HEU Deal would not be seized by creditors. The order allows resumed shipments of Russian uranium from dismantled nuclear weapons to the United States.

June 15 2000 [N] In a speech to German politicians and businessmen, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggests a Central and East European Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone.

June 19 2000 [O] The United States lifts its trade embargo against North Korea with the exception of trade in dual-use goods. The United States had announced in September 1999 that it would lift the embargo following North Korea's promise to freeze its missile tests.

June 19 2000 [B, C] This date is 75th Anniversary of the Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical and biological weapons.

June 20 2000 [N] The Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister does not rule out first-use of nuclear weapons in the event of a conventional attack against it, which would threaten Pakistan's existence.

July 1 2000 [N] North Korea threatens to resume its nuclear program if the United States does not compensate it for the loss of electricity resulting from the delay in constructing the light-water reactors pledged under the Agreed Framework in exchange for North Korea halting.

July 4 2000 [N, B, C] The Chairman of the Arab League states that the work on the draft treaty on the Middle East WMD-Free-Zone is progressing, and that the treaty would apply not only to Arab states, but also to Iran, Israel, and Turkey.

July 7 2000 [M] During a U.S. test to develop an NMD system, the interceptor missile fails to hit its target. The problem occurs after the kill vehicle fails to separate from its booster.

July 19 2000 [M] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin issue a joint statement noting deep concerns about U.S. plans to deploy an NMD. The statement reaffirms the ABM Treaty as the "cornerstone of global strategic stability and international security and the basis of the structure of key international agreements on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive weapons and on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

July 30 2000 [N] Conventional explosives are used to destroy the last of the nuclear testing infrastructure at Kazakhstan's Semipalatinsk test site. Elimination of the nuclear testing infrastructure is completed under a five-year Kazakhstani-U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction project. Following the explosion, U.S. officials sign an amendment to increase U.S. funding for the Kazakhstan Weapons of Mass Destruction Elimination Initiative. The funds will be used to eliminate other plants that manufacture weapons of mass destruction, in particular the former Stepnogorsk Biological Weapons Production Facility.

Aug 11 2000 [N] Russian President and his defense council decided that the Russian strategic arsenal would have to shrink to a level of 1500 warheads.

Aug 12 2000 [N] The Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea. All 118 crewmembers on board were pronounced dead eight days later.

Aug 16 2000 [C] India passes a law banning the production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer, and use of chemical agents and weapons, including those used for riot control in warfare situations.

Aug 28-31 2000 [N] Russia's atomic energy agency Minatom and the Russian Defense Ministry conduct sub-critical nuclear tests at the Novaya Zemlya test site.

Sept 1 2000 [M] U.S. President Bill Clinton announces that he will defer the decision on NMD deployment until the next president is elected. In a speech at Georgetown University, President Clinton says it is too early to commit the United States to a missile defense system, but orders the Pentagon to pursue a "robust program" to prove the effectiveness of the technology.

Sept 1 2000 [N] U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov sign an agreement under which the United States and Russia will each dispose of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium. New facilities are scheduled to be built beginning in 2007 to convert some of the plutonium into mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for nuclear reactors, while the remainder of the waste will be immobilized. The process will be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The U.S. Congress approved $200 million in aid to help Russia carry out its side of the agreement.

Sept 2 2000 [N] Indian National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra announces that the country has no intention of signing the CTBT in the near future. Mishra states that a decision on signing the Treaty can only be made after reaching political consensus in India.

Sept 3 2000 [N] Russia's Minatom and the Russian Defense Ministry conduct a sub-critical nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic.

Sept 6 2000 [N] Speaking at the U.S. Millennium Summit in New York, Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf offers India a no-war pact and states that he seeks a South Asia free from all nuclear weapons. India implictly rejects this offer.

Sept 11 2000 [N, M] The Indian government commissions its first-ever Strategic Defense Review (SDR). The SDR claims that China has the largest nuclear and missile development program in the world. Additionally, the SDR urges the Indian government to develop the capability to conduct sub-critical tests to fully integrate the benefits of the Shakti series of nuclear tests carried out at Pokhran in May 1998. It also expresses apprehension about the status of the Chinese tactical nuclear weapons arsenal and the possibilities of proliferation to Pakistan.

Sept 15 2000 [N] India reaffirms its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and its commitment not to block the CTBT's entry into force. Later, India says that it would withdraw from the moratorium if its security were endangered.

Sept 25 2000 [N] Pakistan announces that it would adhere to its moratorium on further nuclear testing, and would not be the first to resume nuclear testing.

Sept 27 2000 [M] Russia test-fires the mobile Topol-M missile. The Topol-M will enter service after four more successful test launches. The mobile Topol-M is expected to replace the aging mobile RS-12M Topol, which is scheduled for retirement in 2010.

Sept 27 2000 [N] The Pakistani Foreign Minister states that Pakistan is interested in signing the CTBT and that the country had no desire to conduct further tests. He notes that Pakistan would have to build national consensus in order to make such a move.

Sept 28 2000 [M] The U.S. Army conducts two tests of the Ground Based Radar-Prototype (GBR-P) at the South Pacific Kwajalein Missile Range. In the first test, two Minuteman-3 missiles are fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The missiles release 20 different-shaped objects into space to test the ability of a prototype radar on Kwajalein to find real warheads in a missile attack. The second flight tests electronic components that will be incorporated into the future NMD system.

Oct 3 2000 [N] Russia and India reach an agreement for cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Under this agreement, Russia would reportedly supply 58 metric tons of LEU for India's Tarapur atomic power station, which would violate Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) guidelines as India does not accept full-scope IAEA safeguards.

Oct 19 2000 [N] In arms control talks between the United States and Russia, Russia repeats its proposal for deep cuts in both countries nuclear arsenals. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement says it supports a reduction in U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear warheads to 1,500 or below on each side under a START III treaty. Russia warns that the proposed reductions depend on whether the United States abrogates the ABM Treaty by deploying an NMD system.

Oct 23-24 2000 [M] U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright visits North Korea and holds talks with Kim Jong Il, during which the sides reportedly make progress towards persuading North Korea to restrain missile development and testing, as well as missile exports.

Oct 30 2000 [M] French President Chirac states the European Union and Russia have an identical viewpoint on the ABM Treaty and condemned any potential revision of the treaty.

Oct 30 2000 [N] Leading Indian nuclear scientists argue that India needs to conduct further nuclear testing because the series of nuclear tests conducted in 1998 were not completely successful.

Oct 31 2000 [N] General Vladimir Yakovlev, Commander of Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces, offers hundreds of decommissioned Russian ICBMs for use as space launch vehicles. General Yakovlev says he plans to sell decommissioned missiles to raise money for the Russian armed forces. The proceeds could reach up to 20 billion rubles ($722 million), which is equivalent to about one-tenth of Russia's 2001 defense budget.

Nov 1 2000 [M] Russia successfully test-fires a single-warhead SS-19 ICBM at the Baykonur Cosmodrome. The test allows Russia to extend the service life of the missile by one year.

Nov 1 2000 [N] Belarus withdraws its draft resolution on a Central and Eastern European Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, noting the lack of consensus. The draft Resolution L46/Rev.1, "Regional Disarmament and Non-Proliferation," was opposed particularly by the new NATO states and states aspiring for NATO or EU membership.

Nov 3 2000 [N] The Russian Foreign Ministry reports that it successfully completed a series of sub-critical nuclear tests during the last week of October 2000 and that radiation levels were normal in the testing area. The Russian government has stated that sub-critical tests are necessary to ensure the safety of the country's nuclear arsenal and theoretically are not accompanied by radioactive emissions.

Nov 13 2000 [M] In an official statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin sets out alternatives to the revision of the ABM Treaty, including ways to improve the political and legal mechanisms of missile nonproliferation, development of a new code of conduct in this field, creation of a Global System of Missile and Missile Technology Control, cooperation in the sphere of TMD, and use of the Moscow Center on Missile Launch Data Exchange.

Nov 13 2000 [M, N] Russian Strategic Rocket Forces Commander General Yakovlev proposes the creation of an "ABM index" to be used in future negotiations on nuclear reductions if the United States insists on abrogating the ABM Treaty. The "ABM index" implies a constant aggregate index of both strategic offensive and defensive weapons and a link between them. Therefore, if a country sought to increase its defensive weapons, it would have to decrease its offensive weapons. Yakovlev also called for the re-MIRVing of ICBMs, which is prohibited by START II. Following this statement, Russian Defense Minister denied that this was an official position.

Nov 16 2000 [N] The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) ratifies the CTBT.

Nov 17 2000 [N] The U.S. Department of Energy announces the completion of a project to consolidate and secure approximately 10 metric tons of weapons-usable nuclear material at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant in Siberia, Russia. The materials were moved from three separate storage locations to a new central storage facility equipped with comprehensive nuclear material security and accounting systems.

Nov 20 2000 [N] The UN General Assembly adopts the New Agenda Resolution (Resolution 55/33C), which underlines "the fundamental significance of the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are committed under Article VI of the Treaty." The vote is 154 to three, with eight abstentions.

Nov 20 2000 [N] The Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) opens the Strela Open Computing Center in Snezhinsk, Russia. The Center will provide commercial research opportunities to former nuclear weapons specialists in computer software programming and modeling and computer-assisted engineering and design. The Strela Center was established under the Department of Energy's Nuclear Cities Initiative, a U.S.-Russian cooperative program designed to accelerate Russia's planned consolidation of its nuclear weapons complex, while also lowering the risk that displaced Russian nuclear weapons specialists might sell their know-how to countries of proliferation concern or terrorists.

Nov 30 2000 [N] Reports allege that the United States and North Korea were secretly negotiating modifications to the 1994 Agreed Framework. The possible modifications include developing cheaper and easier-to-build coal-based power plants and KEDO building only one light-water reactor, while diverting the rest of the project's funds for other North Korean infrastructure projects.

Dec 1 2000 [N] The U.S. Department of Defense releases a "Strategy Report for Europe and NATO" that outlines the U.S. vision of NATO's role in deploying an NMD system. The report claims that NMD "would reinforce the credibility of U.S. security commitments and the credibility of NATO as a whole."

Dec 5 2000 [N] The NATO nuclear planning group states that little if anything of substance will come out of the upcoming nuclear policy review and that there would be no changes to nuclear planning or deployments.

Dec 14 2000 [N] The United States conducts its fifth sub-critical nuclear test since January 2000 at the Nevada Test Site.

Dec 16 2000 [N, M] The United States and Russia sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Missile Launch Notifications. The agreement will facilitate the provision on early warning information to the Joint Data Exchange Center in Moscow, and is intended to reduce the possibility of nuclear crises developing from false warnings of missile attacks. Under the agreement, Washington and Moscow are required to notify each other of missile and space launches, but it allows some exceptions for national security concerns.

Dec 30 2000 [N, M] Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov says his office seeks serious talks with the new U.S. administration on all complex disarmament problems, including preservation of the ABM Treaty.

back to top

 

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.