5-3-1-7Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

North Korea’s nuclear facility
January 25, 2003 Yongbyon, North Korea Courtesy of Pacific Press Service

In 1989, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union declared the end of the Cold War. In 1991, after terminating the Cold War structure, nuclear weapons were reduced in number. However, in May 1998 India announced to the world that it had nuclear weapons by conducting an underground nuclear test. Pakistan, embroiled in long-standing territorial disputes with India, responded with its own nuclear test. In 2002 it came to light that North Korea – suspected of nuclear weapons development since the 1990s – had a program to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons. It declared its possession of nuclear weapons in 2005 and conducted a nuclear test in 2006.