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Nuclear weapons

Nuclear bombs are one of the deadliest weapons of mass destruction. To date, the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict occurred in 1945 when the United States dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

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All Content on this topic

Sign indicating radiation

Nuclear states continue to upgrade arsenals

World stockpiles of nuclear warheads have dipped to 15,850 this year, mainly due to cuts by the US and Russia.
June 15, 2015
Deutscher Botschafter in den USA Peter Wittig

Diplomat: Iran sanctions to stay through 2015

World powers and Iran would probably miss the June deadline to reach a nuclear deal, diplomatic sources say.
May 26, 2015
Probe amid Trident safety claims. File photo dated 30/01/02 of the Royal Navy's 16,000 ton Trident-class nuclear submarine Vanguard, as security and safety concerns around the UK's nuclear deterrent are being investigated after a series of claims from a Royal Navy submariner.

Trident whistleblower in custody

A British navy serviceman who published his concerns about Trident nuclear submarines is in military police custody.
May 19, 2015
Nordkorea Fernsehbild Atomkraftwerk Yongbyon

North Korean reactor may be operational

North Korea's main source of material for nuclear bombs may be working again intermittently or at low power.
April 30, 2015
Rede Ajatollah Ali Chamenei zu Atomgesprächen

Keeping tabs on Iran

DW meets one of the top experts on Iran’s nuclear program - former weapons inspector David Albright.
April 23, 2015
Indien Kaschmir Proteste in Srinagar

Clashes at a Kashmir rally turn deadly

Soldiers opened fire at the protesters gathered for an anti-India street march in the disputed region of Kashmir.
April 18, 2015
Nordkorea Rakete Militärparade ARCHIVBILD 2010

Boosting nuclear capabilities

North Korea is looking to develop more advanced and longer-range weapons delivery systems, says a new report.
April 10, 2015
Nordkorea Fahne

North Korea accuses Mexico of illegally detaining ship

Pyongyang has warned Mexico it will take "necessary measures" unless the Latin American country releases its vessel.
April 9, 2015
NATO-Manöver Sea Breeze 2014

Russia threatens Denmark over missile shield

Mikhail Vanin has said that joining NATO's missile defense system could make Denmark a target for a nuclear attack.
March 22, 2015

Netanyahu in US to stop Iran nuclear deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington to stop a "bad" nuclear deal with Iran.
March 2, 2015
Richard Somerville (R), research professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, unveils an updated version of the �Doomsday Clock� during a press conference held by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists January 22, 2015 in Washington, DC (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Doomsday Clock reset brings Armageddon closer

A US advocacy group has moved its "Doomsday Clock" two minutes ahead, hinting the world is close to an apocalypse.
January 22, 2015
A Budapest Memorandum meeting in 2014 inside a guilded yellow state room.

Ukraine's forgotten security guarantee

Twenty years ago, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from Russia and the West. Today Kyiv feels betrayed - and not merely by Moscow.
December 5, 2014
Pakistan Ghauri Atom Rakete Parade in Islamabad

Expanding nuclear arsenal

Pakistan has the fastest-growing nuclear program, Gregory Koblentz tells DW.
December 2, 2014
Yukiya Amano with Hassan Rouhani

Iran cooperating with probe

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog says Iran is cooperating with a probe into the country's nuclear activities. World powers have long been attempting to strike a deal with Iran over its contested nuclear program.
August 18, 2014
Japan Gedenken an Atombombenabwurf Hiroshima 2014

Japan remembers Hiroshima

Japan has marked the 69th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The city's mayor called on President Barack Obama and other leaders to come see the results of the unprecedented destruction themselves.
August 6, 2014
A mobile launch pad (Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA)

Fewer but deadlier nukes

There are fewer nuclear weapons but they are increasingly advanced, a new SIPRI report says.
June 16, 2014
Schwerwasserreaktor Arak

Iran adhering to nuclear freeze

Iran is complying with an interim agreement freezing parts of its nuclear activities, the UN's chemical watchdog says. Last year's temporary deal came in return for mild sanctions relief.
April 17, 2014
Iran Atomverhandlung Zarif Ashton Schmid

'Good start' to Iran nuke talks

Talks over Iran's nuclear program have made a "good start," according to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. A second round of talks is scheduled to begin on March 17.
February 20, 2014
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (R) and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive at a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Moving the stakes

It took just a few hours on Sunday for the focus of the failed negotiations on an Iranian nuclear deal to shift to the promise of a breakthrough at the next meeting. Israel, however, is not sold on the pending deal.
November 10, 2013
Geneva head of protocol Jean-Luc Chopard (R) welcomes U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as his arrival at Geneva International airport November 8, 2013. Iran and six world powers are making progress in negotiations aimed at ending a decade-long stand-off over its nuclear ambitions but the discussions are "tough", Tehran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday, after a first session in the two-day talks in Geneva. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

P5+1 steps up Iran talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry and his British, French and German counterparts have arrived in Geneva to support talks over Iran's nuclear program. Meanwhile, Israel has said it "utterly rejects" the emerging deal.
November 8, 2013
Rosneft President Igor Sechin, left, and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov before a meeting on cross subsidies in the power industry at Bocharov Ruchei residence in Sochi. Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti

Mid-East in focus

Russian Deputy Doreign Minister, Alexei Meshkov, speaks to DW about the importance of the Mid-East.
November 8, 2013
Pakistani spectators watch the Shaheen II long-range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its launcher during the National Day parade in Islamabad, 23 March 2005 (Photo: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)

Nuclear safety

Experts doubt Pakistan's nuclear assets are safe, despite Prime Minister Sharif's assurances.
October 7, 2013
Arak, IRAN: A general view of a heavy water plant in Arak, 320 kms south of Tehran, 26 August 2006. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad opened a heavy water plant today that will feed a new research reactor, just five days before a UN Security Council deadline to suspend sensitive nuclear fuel cycle work. Inaugurating the facility along with the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, and his deputy, Mohammad Saeedi, Ahmadinejad vowed the Iranian people would defend their rights to nuclear technology 'with force'. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

'A year or more away'

Barack Obama says the US thinks Iran is still at least a year away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon. His "conservative" estimate contrasts with Israel's, which believes Iran is moving quicker than that.
October 5, 2013
A view of the construction site of a ski resort being built on Masik Pass during a visit by North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on August 18, 2013. REUTERS/KCNA (NORTH KOREA - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION SOCIETY POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Nuclear weapons tourism?

Critics of tours to North Korea say money the regime earns from tourism goes into nuclear weapons.
PoliticsOctober 3, 2013
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 24, 2013 REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine

Iran slams Israel nuclear policy

Iran President Hasan Rouhani has called on Israel to acknowledge its nuclear arsenal and join the Non-Proliferation Treaty. He also criticized the country for being the only Middle East state to not sign onto the pact.
September 26, 2013
(FILES) A file picture taken in 1971 shows a French nuclear test in the south Pacific atoll of Mururoa. -/AFP/GettyImages

Singularly assured destruction

An atomic bomb nearly detonated over North Carolina in 1961, according to a newly declassified document published by the Guardian newspaper. The explosive was 260 times more powerful than the device that hit Hiroshima.
September 21, 2013
epa03748801 Iranian President-elect Hassan Rowhani greets media during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, 17 June 2013. President-elect Rowhani said on 17 June that Iran would be ready to reduce tensions with arch-enemy United States based on goodwill and mutual respect. 'With the US we have an old wound but we are still ready to look into the future and reduce tensions, but on the basis of goodwill and mutual respect,' Rowhani said. On the topic of Syria he said that Iran would continue supporting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until an election in 2014. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran rules out nuclear arms

The Iranian president has said his government has no intention of seeking nuclear weapons capabilities. The comments came ahead of his first appearance on the world stage at the United Nations General Assembly.
September 19, 2013
Easter demonstrations (photo: Marius Becker/dpa)

A world without war

The German peace movement seems to be losing pace in its struggle for nuclear disarmament.
August 11, 2013
eople pray during the 61st anniversary of the world's first nuclear attack, at the Peace Memorial Park, in Hiroshima, early 06 August 2006. (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

People around the world mark the anniversary of the bombings and its devastating consequences.
August 6, 20139 images
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Obama speeks to Berlin

US President Barack Obama has made his first speech in Berlin as sitting president. His cool style is popular in Germany, but could his speech win over the minds of the increasingly sceptical German public?
June 20, 201301:59 min
US President Barack Obama (R) delivers a speech at the Brandenburg Gate on June 19, 2013 in Berlin. Barack Obama will walk in John F. Kennedy's footsteps this week on his first visit to Berlin as US president, but encounter a more powerful and sceptical Germany in talks on trade and secret surveillance practices. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Obama proposes nuke cuts

US President Barack Obama has called on Russia to join him in reducing nuclear stockpiles by one-third. Obama made the proposal during his first speech in Berlin as US president.
June 20, 2013
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Obama proposes disarmament initiative

June 19, 201301:56 min
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Obama: we can keep each other safe

June 19, 201301:24 min

Obama Speech at Brandenburg Gate

US President Barack Obama has spoken at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The event comes almost exactly 50 years after his predecessor John F. Kennedy’s historic address to the then-divided city.
June 19, 201328:49 min
Officials at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, China, lower the national flag in the morning of 19 December 2011 to mourn the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. (Photo: dpa)

Policy shift

North Korea wants to hold talks with the US. But is this just another bid to extract concessions?
June 17, 2013
Hassan Rowhani, moderate presidential candidate and former top nuclear negotiator. Quelle: http://previous.presstv.ir/photo/20130507/fattahi20130507140229537.jpg via Habib, DW/Farsi

EU keen to work with Rowhani

EU nations have reacted positively to the news of the election of a moderate candidate as Iran’s next president. They are hoping for a change in tone from Iran, particularly regarding its disputed nuclear program.
June 16, 2013
An October 2012 file photo shows buildings in an inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. (Kyodo)

Pyongyang cancels Seoul talks

North Korea has called off a meeting of high-level officials with their counterparts from the South less than 24 hours before it was meant to start. The North was apparently offended by the South's choice of delegates.
June 11, 2013
An Iraqi money dealer counts Iranian rial banknotes bearing a portrait of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at an exchange office in Baghdad on February 3, 2012. Tens of thousands of Iranian visitors have been finding difficulty in using the Iranian currency in Iraq due to a depreciation of the rial against the dollar. AFP PHOTO

US targets Iran's currency

The United States has imposed more sanctions on Iran meant to increase the pressure on Tehran to come clean on its nuclear program. The latest measures target Iran’s currency and its auto industry.
June 4, 2013
India’s Agni-V missile (Photo: Indian Ministry of Defense/AP/dapd)

Arms race

The arms race in Asia has increased since 2008, says a SIPRI report.
June 3, 2013
Pakistan's nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan waves outside his residence in Islamabad, Pakistan (Photo: ddp images/AP/B.K.Bangash)

Nuclear rhetoric

Nuclear scientist Khan's 'ideology' is popular with common Pakistanis and Islamists alike.
April 9, 2013
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) visits a long-range artillery sub-unit of the Korean People's Army Unit 641, whose mission is to strike Baengnyeong Island of South Korea in the western sector of the front line March 11, 2013 in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang March 12, 2013. South Korea and U.S. forces are conducting large-scale military drills, while the North is also gearing up for a massive military exercise. North Korea has accused the U.S. of using the military drills in the South as a launch pad for a nuclear war and has said to scrap the armistice with the U.S. that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. REUTERS/KCNA

North Korea ramps up rhetoric

North Korea has again stepped up its rhetoric against the United States, this time threatening it with nuclear war. The US, meanwhile, has taken steps to reinforce its defenses in the region.
April 4, 2013
Members of the United Nations Security Council vote to tighten sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, March 7, 2013. In response to North Korea's third nuclear test, the U.N. Security Council voted on Thursday to tighten financial restrictions on Pyongyang and crack down on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo in breach of U.N. sanctions. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

N Korea hit with new sanctions

The UN Security Council has unanimously approved new sanctions against North Korea in response to the country’s February nuclear test. The vote follows fresh threats from Pyongyang.
March 7, 2013
Mushroom cloud rises from test blast Badger, Nevada Test Site. 1953/4/18 #779811: Mushroom cloud rises from test blast Badger, Nevada Test Site, US Department of Energy photo

Nuclear disarmament

North Korea recently tested another nuclear device. Have non-proliferation efforts failed?
February 19, 2013
GettyImages 161501149 South Korean passengers watch TV news reporting North Korea's apparent nuclear test, at the Seoul train station on February 12, 2013. North Korea's apparent nuclear test had an explosive yield of between six and seven kilotons, South Korea's defence ministry said, revising its earlier estimate of 10 kilotons or more. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said seismic monitors had detected a tremor with a 4.9 magnitude emanating from the North's nuclear test site. AFP PHOTO / KIM JAE-HWAN (Photo credit should read KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP/Getty Images)

North Korea nuke test

The United States has few options to stop Pyongyang from advancing its nuclear program.
February 12, 2013
Saeed Jalili

Iran welcomes new nuclear talks

Iran has agreed to resume talks with six major powers aimed at curbing international concerns over its nuclear program. The last negotiations broke off without any tangible results more than six months ago.
January 4, 2013
The 105-storey Ryugyong Hotel stands above others in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo:Greg Baker/AP/dapd)

Hotel of Doom

Activist Ken Kato calls on Kempinski Hotels to abandon a project in the North Korean capital.
December 26, 2012
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during a mass parade to celebrate founder Kim Il-sung's 100th birthday in Pyongyang in this still image taken from video April 15, 2012. (Photo: REUTERS/KRT via Reuters TV)

Supporting suppression

Kim Jong Un enrages international community by supporting Assad.
November 20, 2012
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inspecting a nuclear facility (Photo via AFP)

Iran uranium enrichment grows

Iran is set to double its uranium enrichment after completing a second underground facility, according to UN report. The move is likely to increase concern from Western nations over Iranian nuclear intentions.
November 17, 2012
Westerwelle and Benjamin Netanjahu (Photo: Steffi Loos/dapd)

Westerwelle in Israel visit

Germany’s foreign minister has called on Iran to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. Guido Westerwelle added that there was still time for a negotiated resolution to the dispute.
September 9, 2012
Source News Feed: EMEA Picture Service ,Germany Picture Service Egyptian soldiers are seen near the Kerem Shalom crossing, a zone where the Israeli, Egyptian and Gaza borders intersect and where an Egyptian military vehicle that was seized by Islamist gunmen tried to storm the border into Israel on Sunday, August 8, 2012. Egyptian aircraft struck at targets near the border with Israel on Wednesday and troops raided villages in a crackdown on Islamic militants blamed for a deadly attack on Egyptian border police, army officials and witnesses said. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY)

Multiple threats

Israel is in constant danger, and conflict with one enemy could cause a chain reaction.
August 18, 2012