The group Global Zero recently released a report assessing nuclear weapons spending worldwide. Their findings indicate that over the next decade, governments will significantly increase their nuclear weapons spending, eventually surpassing $1 trillion over the next decade.

While this figure is significant, it must also be taken with a grain of salt. First, the trillion dollar figure is what Global Zero calls the “full cost” of nuclear weapons, as opposed to the “core cost.” Core costs refer to "researching, developing, procuring, testing, operating, maintaining and upgrading the nuclear arsenal." Full costs are derived from a more holistic approach, including "unpaid/deferred environmental and health costs, missile defenses assigned to defend nuclear weapons, nuclear threat reduction, and incident management". The report’s figure for the core cost of nuclear weapons over the next decade rests at about $670 million, therefore falling short of the $1 trillion dollar figure.

Another concern is that the report’s figures have a wide margin of error. Quantifying even broad defense spending for countries like Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea is problematic, and as such, speculating about their total nuclear spending is near impossible. Global Zero admits this, but fairly argues that these programs are “small enough that inaccuracies in estimates would have negligible effect on the general conclusion." At current levels, "the nine nuclear weapons countries are spending approximately one trillion dollars per decade."

Methodological concerns aside, what the report succinctly expresses is that world-wide investment in nuclear weapons is greater than ever.

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Global Zero, Defense Spending, USA, Russia (all tags)

KCNA Report: Happiness Index

... Now we know why... On May 26, 2011, North Korean state-run media KCNA reports Happines Index among 203 countries and grades out of 100 points:

1. China (100)

2. North Korea (98)

3. Cuba (93)

4. Iran (88)

5. Venezuela (85)

152. South Korea (18)

203. USA

* Released by a Chinese source, picked up by South Korea's Chosun Ilbo

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North Korea, Happiness Index, USA, South Korea, Iran, Cuba, China (all tags)

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry yesterday released its ‘Memorandum on the N-Issue’.  The majority of material is nothing new.  For example the memo states that the North’s nuclear program was motivated primarily in response to the threat of the U.S., that its weapons have ‘drastically’ reduced the potential for a war, and that a peace treaty is required as a prerequisite to denuclearization.   But beyond these recognizable declarations, the document does delve into some new areas – all of which are seemingly interlinked by an underlying attempt to assert and legitimize North Korea’s international nuclear status…

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Nukes on a Blog, north korea, usa, npr, posture (all tags)

After news of North Korea’s second nuclear text explosion in May 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated "we will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us…we will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state.”  Ten months later, however, there are very few signs that North Korea has been impressed by such warnings.  

On the contrary, Pyongyang has since declared the successful reprocessing of 8,000 spent fuel rods, drawn attention to progress in its uranium-enrichment program, and given Special U.S. Representative for North Korean Policy Stephen W. Bosworth no indication of a resumption of negotiations any time soon.  So where does the international community go with North Korea from here?

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North Korea, nuclear, USA, sanctions (all tags)

A comparison of the budgets, nuclear forces, and conventional capabilities of the Chinese and US military...

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Security Matters, China, USA, nuclear, conventional forces, military budget (all tags)