nuclear test

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Putin Move Raises Fears of More Nuclear Tests

Russian leader signs bill revoking ratification of test ban treaty

(Newser) - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a bill revoking Russia's ratification of a global nuclear test ban, a move that Moscow said was needed to establish parity with the United States. Putin has said that rescinding the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, also known as the CTBT, would...

Russia Says It Practiced Nuclear Strike

Parliament approves dropping ratification of test ban treaty

(Newser) - Russian parliament on Wednesday rescinded its ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty signed in 1996, and, as if for emphasis, the nation's military then conducted a simulated nuclear strike. State TV showed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reporting on the rehearsal to President Vladimir Putin, the BBC reports. The...

Study: France Vastly Underestimated Impact of Pacific Nuke Tests

Fallout affected almost entire population of French Polynesia, researchers say

(Newser) - France conducted almost 200 nuclear tests in French Polynesia between 1966 and 1996 and a close look at just three of them reveals that the impact on the local population was far more devastating than the country has admitted, according to a new study. Researchers say fallout from the atmospheric...

'Peace Clock' Reset After US Nuke Test

'Nightshade A' test happened in Nevada in November

(Newser) - The "Peace Watch" clock in the Hiroshima Peace Museum keeps track of the number of days since the last nuclear test and is usually reset to zero after a test occurs. On Monday, it was reset from 705 days to 49 after news of a US nuclear test in...

Is 'Starting Gun' on the Ready for a New US Nukes Test?

Sources tell 'WaPo' Trump administration is mulling having one to give US leverage with Russia, China

(Newser) - Back in January, as tensions between the US and Iran were rising, some experts feared President Trump might consider turning to nukes to remedy things. Now, sources tell the Washington Post that the Trump administration has broached the subject of holding a nuclear test, the first time the US has...

US Worried About Activity at China Nuclear Test Site

Officials suspect Beijing may have violated ban

(Newser) - With US-China relations already frayed over the coronavirus pandemic and trade, nuclear tensions may be on the horizon. The Wall Street Journal , citing a new arms-control report that the State Department plans to make public, reports that US authorities suspect Beijing has been violating an international ban on nuclear tests...

Russia Has a Message for Nuclear Monitors

Russian officials are keeping mum after a recent mystery blast

(Newser) - To international monitors, Russia has one word: nyet. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization is seeking information on monitoring sites that went offline in the days after a mysterious explosion recently rocked the nation's far north, Reuters reports; some suspect their status could mean Russia meddled with the stations....

N. Korea's New Move Assures Some, Concerns Others

It appears to be dismantling Punggye-ri nuclear-test site, but experts aren't so sure

(Newser) - Satellite imagery shows North Korea has already begun dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear-test site ahead of a promise to destroy it entirely in front of international journalists. The removal of buildings and rail lines observed by 38 North on May 7 appear in line with Kim Jong Un's promise over...

North Korea's Nuke Site Is Way Worse Off Than We Knew

Satellite scans show even more damage to Mount Mantap

(Newser) - The nuclear test site that Kim Jong Un promises to shutter may be in worse shape than the world knew, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Punggye-ri site—which is couched in a mountain called Mount Mantap—apparently suffered a sizeable collapse in the hours and days after North Korea'...

Studies: There Was a Collapse at North Korea's Nuke Test Site

But whether that means it's unusable remains up for debate

(Newser) - Kim Jong Un on Saturday said nuclear tests would no longer be conducted at the underground Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility; a new report from the Wall Street Journal suggests the move may not be as benevolent as it appears. It flags an about-to-be-published study by Chinese researchers who say that...

North Korean Defectors Reveal 'Ghost Disease' Back Home

They say people's health is suffering from radiation exposure due to country's nuclear tests

(Newser) - Horrific tales are being shared by North Korean defectors who fled their homes near the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, with stories of sickened residents and wildlife, and even a deformed baby born without genitals and murdered soon after birth. Lee Jeong Hwa, who got out in 2010 from her home...

Report: 200 Dead Near Site of North Korea's Nuke Test

Japan's TV Asahi describes 2 tunnel collapses in September at Mount Mantap

(Newser) - North Korea's latest nuclear test might've done more than just destabilize Mount Mantap . Citing unnamed sources, Japan's TV Asahi reports a tunnel under construction at the Punggye-ri nuclear site, which is housed in Mount Mantap, collapsed around Sept. 10, leaving roughly 100 workers trapped, per Reuters . A...

New North Korea Concern: 'Tired Mountain Syndrome'

Chinese scientists worry collapse of Mount Mantap could send radiation across region

(Newser) - Satellite images taken before and after North Korea's last nuclear test beneath Mount Mantap show the mountain actually lost elevation. As the Washington Post reports, the depression of a 85-acre area—followed by three subsequent earthquakes over six weeks—shows not only the force of the Sept. 3 blast,...

We May Have Underestimated N. Korea's Latest Nuke Test

It might have had force of 17 atomic bombs, per 38 North assessment

(Newser) - In the immediate aftermath of North Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, experts described the blast as six or seven times as powerful as the one that destroyed Hiroshima. That measure might not even come close. According to research site 38 North , the resulting 6.1 magnitude earthquake...

Landslides Suggest N. Korea's Latest Test Was a Monster

First satellite images back up claims it was the North's biggest test yet

(Newser) - Two developments on the North Korean front: sobering confirmation of how just how powerful the last test was, and more words of caution from Vladimir Putin. In an analysis for 38 North , three scientists say commercial satellite images taken a day after the test show several landslides around the Punggye-ri...

Even the Crabs Eating Radioactive Coconuts Appear Healthy

Shockingly, marine life is thriving 70 years after Bikini Atoll nuclear tests

(Newser) - Seventy years ago, the US dropped 23 nuclear bombs on Bikini Atoll—including one that was more than 1,000 times larger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, per the Guardian . Steve Palumbi calls it "the most destructive thing we have ever done to the ocean." Yet the...

Now Blowing Up YouTube: Secret Nuclear Test Footage

The films are being preserved by a weapons physicist before they decay

(Newser) - The US government has about 10,000 films of the 221 atmospheric nuclear tests conducted between 1945 and 1962, covering the destructive power from all sorts of angles and distances, Business Insider reports. But until recently those films were literally rotting away in top-secret storage. Gregg Spriggs, a weapons physicist...

Radioactive Bloom Over Europe Sparks Nuke Test Concerns

But it was probably just a pharmaceutical accident

(Newser) - As mysterious radiation spread over the Arctic and south into Europe last month, conspiracy theorists quickly claimed Russia had restarted nuclear testing at Novaya Zemlya, the Drive reports. But the truth is—probably—a lot less menacing. According to the Independent Barents Observer , a spike in the radioactive isotope Iodine-131...

Quake Was North Korea's Biggest Nuclear Test Yet

Pyongyang says it has reached 'higher level'

(Newser) - In what Seoul called an act of "fanatic recklessness," North Korea carried out its biggest nuclear test yet early Friday, angering allies and enemies alike. The test registered as a 5.3-magnitude quake; Middlebury Institute expert Jeffrey Lewis tells Reuters that signals a blast of up to 30...

North Korea Ups Activity at Nuke Site, Says South

Obama set to visit South Korea Friday

(Newser) - North Korea is boosting "activities" at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, South Korea says, though Seoul is keeping details classified. The South says it's "currently detecting a lot of activity in and around the Punggye-ri nuclear test site," and is tracking the situation as it ensures...

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