The United Sates began researching the topic of nuclear fission in 1942 after German scientists first discovered the topic in 1938. This research would later become known as the Manhattan Project. This secret project is what will later develop the first nuclear weapon. Since the first detonation on July 16, 1945 in the Alamogordo desert of New Mexico (Njølstad), nuclear weapons have been an integral part of American foreign policy. Nuclear proliferation is the “spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons technology, or fissile material to countries that do not already possess them” (Munro). Nuclear proliferation has been on the minds of lawmakers throughout the Cold War and into today. With the newest war of rhetoric between President Donald Trump and Leader Kim Jong Un of North Korea, now is one of the most critical times to reconsider the expansion of nuclear weapons, nuclear nonproliferation. Throughout history, nuclear nonproliferation has been a major issue for politicians, with threats from North Korea, Iran, and Russia, the US must take a stronger stance regarding nuclear weapons.

The history of nuclear weapons is a long one. Starting in early 1938, A German scientist named Albert Einstein and his colleague sent a letter to President Roosevelt urging him of a new “bomb of unprecedented power that could be made by tapping the forces of nuclear fission” (Njølstad). In cooperation with the United Kingdom, UK, the secret joint effort over the next five years, later named the Manhattan Project, created and tested the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945 in the Alamogordo desert of New Mexico. As the Nazi Regime surrendered by the time of the Alamogordo test, President Truman authorized the use of these new weapons to have the Japanese regime surrender as soon as possible. This lead to the dropping of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, codenamed Fat Man and Little Boy respectively.

After Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 (Njølstad), many citizens called for nuclear weapons to be banned or put under intense international scrutiny. In spite of the demands of the people, the US and Soviet Union, the superpowers of the time and largely into now as well, kept their nuclear weapons and an arms race began. The Soviets launched a full-speed program along with using espionage to catch up to the US in the arms race. By the time of 1950s both the US and Soviet Union had fully developed hydrogen bombs, bombs that are 1,000 times more powerful than a regular nuclear weapon using nuclear fission. The UK, France, and China shortly after developed their own nuclear weapons (Njølstad).

In the 1960s, leaders feared of the ever-increasing threat of nuclear proliferation continuing into other countries around the world. The US and Soviet Union took the leading efforts in negotiating an international agreement limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. The result from this is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT. The treaty divided countries into one of two categories: nuclear weapons states, the US, UK, France, China, and Soviet Union, and the non-nuclear states, every other country. In the agreement, nuclear weapons states agreed to “not to release nuclear weapons or in any other way help other states to acquire or build nuclear weapons” (Njølstad) and the other states agreed to not pursue any nuclear weapons programs. The nuclear states also promised to gradually reduce their arsenal of nuclear weapon. Another treaty called the Limited Test Ban Treaty, LTBT, sought out to do the same job as the NPT, however, applied to nuclear testing.

Into the current day, there are a few countries that have broken the NPT, most notably North Korea and Iran. Over the last few years North Korea has been starting and creating a nuclear weapons program that has had successful tests to this day. Many people now believe that North Korea has the ability to strike the US if it wanted to, moving the nuclear weapons arms race into a new dangerous territory (Rademaker). With the very recent rhetoric and comments made between President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un the threats and tensions have reached a new high and the brink of war is on the horizon. North Korea, despite threats and constant sanctions brought upon themselves, have continued to develop their nuclear program into a new phase. The possibility of an American nuclear strike upon the Korean peninsula is unlikely, however, the US has considered the motion. North Korea is one of the current main threats to world peace. 

Iran, on the other hand, has been on the quieter side these days. Since the Iran Nuclear Deal during the Obama presidency, Iran has cooperated with United Nation’s, UN, inspectors so far that have visited. Statements earlier this year by President Trump have also encouraged nuclear proliferation to countries such as South Korea and Japan to combat North Korea’s threats across the Sea of Japan. So, what does this all mean for the current world situation?

As seen on almost every news source, North Korea and Russia are two of the main topics that have been addressed time and time again over the past few months and throughout the Trump Presidency. Russia, in particular, has for some part, warmed up to the newest administration to take the office; offering somewhat of a new beginning in foreign relations between the two nations. However, this new warmth, has not had much of an effect on Russia’s foreign policy regarding nuclear weapons. 

Keith Payne and John Foster’s article, “Russian Strategy Expansion, Crisis and Conflict,” focuses on the newly aggressive Russian agenda and its willingness to work with the US on nuclear proliferation. They state that Russia’s “grand strategy now includes a deeply-troubling mix of ingredients, including increasing hostility toward the West, expanding conventional and nuclear weapons programs, a military doctrine that place much greater emphasis on nuclear weapons and military campaigns against neighboring states.” As this article was posted at the beginning of 2017, much of this information from this article is still relevant into today. With the increased aggression from Russia, the US now has to look for a threat from both Russia and the already looming North Korea. Payne and Foster believe that tensions in Western Europe have already risen to above Cold War levels, a dangerous situation to be in. 

As known, the major problem today is North Korea’s intentions of becoming a nuclear power is a relevant topic. From the recent threats of sending an ICBM to the shores of Guam, to their believed abilities to nuke much of the continental US now, it is time for the people of American to wake up to the reality. North Korea is a nuclear power, that is able to launch a nuclear strike towards South Korea, Japan, or the US at any point. From history, it can also be shown that discussions and talks between the two nations have not worked. Unlike the Cold War, where the US and Russia continued to maintain a backline form of communication between the Kremlin and White House, this communication does not exist between the US and North Korea. This is one of the reasons there is an ever-increasing need to stress deterrence.

This is what is wrong with world’s stance on nuclear weapons today: many powers like Russia and China are not providing enough scrutiny or enforcing the sanctions that have been put on rogue nations like North Korea and Iran. For the most part, with North Korea, in particular, has largely ignored the sanctions that have been put upon them. China has also continued to assist North Korea, despite pressure from the US and its allies. This is one major problem that must be addressed soon. While President Trump has tried to “crack down” on foreign policy and has addressed China about this issue, there is yet to be any action taken by either side to stop this. While, this continues North Korea will continue to threaten the US with nuclear war and nothing will change. While I respect a few of the decisions that President Trump has made regarding foreign policy, it is time to address nuclear weapons in a much more critical manner than before. 

While we should continue to stress nuclear nonproliferation and deterrence, earlier this year President Trump brought up the point of just allowing South Korea and Japan develop their own nuclear weapons programs to protect themselves, aka nuclear proliferation. Some of the supporters of Trump Presidency believe that this would “help” alleviate the issue of North Korea and take the problems off our hands and into others. However, trends from before show that nuclear proliferation, again the expansion of weapons and materials to non-nuclear nations, would cause more and more nations to want nuclear weapons. This can be seen from when India and Pakistan both gained nuclear weapon capabilities to combat each other. If other nations did the same, trends show that their neighbors would be more likely to develop nuclear capabilities, therefore, defeating the purpose of the NPT. However, there are other solutions to solve these problems.

Two proposed approaches that can work hand and hand are: a proposal by Sam Nunn, a former US Senator, and another by the US Department of Defense. Sam Nunn’s approach is that first “leaders of the countries in possession of nuclear weapons to turn the goal of a world without nuclear weapons into a joint enterprise.” Using such can help to prevent rogue nations like North Korea from further developing nuclear capabilities. Nunn also goes on to list more steps that can assist into nuclear disarmament, such as bringing back the “…vision of a world free of nuclear weapons…” Steps taken into a new nuclear agreement would greatly help keep control of the rogue nations. It should also be noted that nations such as Russia and China would need to respect the new agreement and already imposed sanctions for it to be successful, without their cooperation, North Korea and Iran will still be able to prosper.

The other approach mentioned is from the US Department of Defense, DOD. The DOD provides concrete evidence of what is already done and what can be worked on to continue towards the path of nuclear nonproliferation. America and Russia, since the Cold War, have reduced their arsenals by 75% (DOD). They stress that for there are still more nuclear weapons than are needed for deterrence. The US’s purpose for its nuclear weapons has since changed since the Cold War as Russia can no longer be considered an enemy in WMD discussions. Foreign deployments, deploying nuclear weapons to other countries to reduce the reaction time in the case of a nuclear strike, to Europe and other areas are no longer required as the original purpose for the weapons is no longer there. If the following steps and actions are taken by the US and other nations, the NPT can be adhered to and be used for its original purpose, to bring eventual world peace. 

It is still important to stress the importance of peaceful talks between nations first before conflict should arise. It is now time to normalize that North Korea is now a nuclear power and should not be taken as lightly as before. While, peaceful talks and sanctions upon the rogue nation have not worked to this point, it is still possible to cooperate and prevent a future nuclear strike from happening. If the right actions are taken into the future, the world’s nuclear weapon supply can decrease drastically, world peace can become not something only imaginable, but a real concept. And if we, as humans, have learned anything since the past, it is that war always ends up in tragedy. The US must present a stronger stance towards nuclear weapons, their expansion, and to North Korea’s threats. 
