U.S., Russia Lose Last Nuclear Limits as 86% of Global Arsenal Enters New Arms Race
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 16
U.S., Russia Lose Last Nuclear Limits as 86% of Global Arsenal Enters New Arms Race
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Aug 16
Summary
February’s expiry of New START left the U.S. and Russia without a nuclear arms-limitation treaty for the first time since 1972, marking a break in the post-Cold War order.
86% of the world’s nuclear weapons sit with Washington and Moscow, while China has more than 600 warheads and is expanding fast outside trilateral talks.
70% of South Koreans now back building a bomb, and Japan’s leaders have begun publicly testing debate once ruled out under Tokyo’s non-nuclear principles.
50 assembled North Korean warheads and enough fissile material for up to 90 add to the pressure, with no talks since 2019 and missile flight times under 15 minutes to Seoul or Tokyo.
85 seconds to midnight on the Doomsday Clock, the proposed fallback is narrower risk reduction—launch notifications, stockpile transparency, inspections and military hotlines including with China and North Korea.