Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

Nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
Nuclear weapons continue to be a topic of tension in the modern world, particularly with concerns from the US and its partners over Iran's nuclear development programme, which Iran says is for medical and industrial use only. Such armaments can be delivered by intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have with a range of over 5,500km (3,400 miles).
A plenary session of the review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty held on Friday at the UN headquarters in New York. Photo: Kyodo
Iran

UN event on nuclear non-proliferation treaty stumbles, US and Iran clash

There was no consensus among the 191 parties to the NPT, the third failure in a row at a conference reviewing the treaty.

US, Israel war on Iran

Vance says Iran talks making ‘good progress’, but US forces ‘locked and loaded’

videocam
4
Ukraine war

Belarus begins nuclear weapons drills with Russia

videocam
Diplomacy

Opinion | North Korea is not Iran. The same pressure tactics won’t work

North Korea’s nuclear reality and the overlapping interests of the US, China and Russia make tension reduction a prerequisite.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens
2026 Xi-Trump summit

What does Pete Hegseth’s presence in China say about Trump’s military agenda?

US arms sales to Taiwan, nuclear weapons and military-to-military communication will be among topics discussed, experts say.

videocam
18
Russia

Putin hails ‘world’s most powerful’ nuclear-capable missile in key test

Russian president boasts Sarmat ICBM’s capabilities months after the expiry of a nuclear treaty with the US.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
US, Israel war on Iran

Netanyahu says war ‘not over’ until Iran’s uranium is physically removed

Israeli leader says nuclear material must be ‘taken out’, as US-Iran ceasefire remains tenuous.

12
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Reuters
North Korea

‘Groundless’ claims: North Korea says nuclear status is not up for debate

Since withdrawing from the non-proliferation treaty in 2003, North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests and built up an arsenal of warheads.

videocam
US, Israel war on Iran

US strikes Iranian tanker amid reports Washington and Tehran near deal

Trump reiterated that Iran ‘cannot have a nuclear weapon’ as both sides combined military pressure with diplomatic efforts to end deadlock.

videocam
18
China's military weapons

Does YJ-20 hypersonic sea-based missile give China an edge over US carriers?

The highly manoeuvrable weapon is nearly invulnerable to interception and could sink an aircraft carrier with a single hit.

videocam
37
The Chinese military’s formidable YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile launches from a Type 055 destroyer. Photo: Handout
War and conflict

As I see it | Thanks to Trump and Netanyahu, everyone now wants to go nuclear

After waging a war on the pretext of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the US and Israel have ignited a new arms race.

videocam
21
Men clear rubble in front of a damaged residential building that, according to Iranian authorities, was hit by a strike on March 4 during the US-Israeli military campaign. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
China-Japan relations

Why is China warning the UN of a Japanese ‘nuclear breakout’?

Beijing asks the international body to prioritise Tokyo’s ‘dangerous tendency to seek nuclear weapons’ as regional row escalates.

videocam
16
US, Israel war on Iran

Trump hails ‘very good’ Putin call as Iran talks stall and Ukraine war drags on

US president says Russian leader offered help on Iran’s enriched uranium and discussed a Victory Day ceasefire in Ukraine.

US-China relations

Trump’s Golden Dome targets China’s ‘hypersonic weapons, cruise missiles’

US president’s US$185 billion missile defence shield to counter Chinese, Russian missile arsenals, a senior Pentagon official told Congress.

videocam
31
The Trump administration’s Golden Dome concept is expected to identify incoming projectiles, calculate their trajectories, and deploy interceptor missiles to destroy them mid-flight. Photo: Lockheed Martin
United Nations

Landmark UN nuclear summit opens as world’s warhead count grows

UN chief urges world to ‘breathe life’ into a landmark non-proliferation treaty as nations gather in New York.

An unarmed US Minuteman III missile inside a silo. The US and Russia hold nearly 90 per cent of nuclear weapons globally. Photo: 90th Missile Wing
US, Israel war on Iran

Trump and Iran trade red lines as Putin enters the diplomatic crossfire

Message via Pakistan outlines terms on nuclear work and Strait of Hormuz, as Moscow signals support and Washington considers next move.

videocam
5
North Korea

North Korea, Russia boost anti-West ‘powerful bulwark’ as Ukraine war drags on

At a memorial for fallen North Korean soldiers who fought in Ukraine, Moscow offers to renew a military pact with Pyongyang.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
South Korea

Will South Korea or Japan develop a nuclear deterrent of their own?

Seven in 10 South Koreans tell pollsters they want the bomb. Japan’s PM refuses to rule it out. Is ‘friendly proliferation’ next?

videocam
An nuclear-capable Minuteman III ICBM sits inside a silo at an air force base in the US last year. Photo: US Air Force/Handout
G7

G7 ‘concerned’ at Russia and China’s nuclear build-up

The remarks come ahead of a month-long conference to revise the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

videocam
9
US, Israel war on Iran

China urges US ‘sincerity’ on Iran, warns of Japan’s nuclear ambitions

Beijing also outlines progress in disarmament and its long-standing policies in first such report since 2021.

videocam
24
US-China relations

US must make more bombers, bring China in on nuclear arms talks: senator

Republican Deb Fischer, whose subcommittee oversees US nuclear arsenal, insisted Beijing must be part of any future treaty negotiations.

videocam
19
DF-5C nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade in Beijing in September 2025. Photo: Reuters
North Korea

North Korea launches ballistic missile as UN warns of nuclear advances

The two short-range missiles fired from the Sinpo of North Korea flew about 140 kilometres (87 miles) each towards the country’s eastern waters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the expanded meeting of the first plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 23. Photo: Reuters
North Korea

UN watchdog warns North Korea is boosting nuclear weapons capacity

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi confirms a rapid rise in activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex.

China’s military

Chinese rocket force scientist Major General Feng Yufang dies aged 63

Feng advocated for self-reliance, once saying ‘core technologies cannot be bought and relying on imports will not get us far’.

videocam
North Korea

‘No one loses’: why North Korea’s Kim may shake hands with Trump again

At the US-China summit, Beijing may act as a go-between to bring Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to the negotiating table, analysts say.

videocam
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk before a meeting in the demilitarised zone in Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. Photo: AFP
China’s military drills

PLA troops facing Taiwan Strait and Japan simulate response to nuclear attack

Eastern Theatre Command, which has several nuclear power plants within its geographic coverage, holds decontamination drill.

videocam
6
An Eastern Theatre Command exercise has tested responses to a nuclear contamination incident. Photo: CCTV
North Korea

North Korea launches fifth missile test after dousing South’s peace hopes

A top Pyongyang official says the designation of the South as a hostile state ‘can never change with any words or conduct’.

videocam
North Korea

North Korean silence on Iran signals openness to US talks: Seoul’s spy agency

Pyongyang has not sent weapons and supplies to its long-time ally , nor has it issued messages to mark Iranian leadership changes.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement