Nuclear Proliferation
Summary
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, materials, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (also known as the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or NPT). Proliferation has been opposed by many nations with and without nuclear weapons because the governments of these nations fear that more countries with nuclear weapons may increase the possibility with nuclear warfare, destabilize international or regional relations, or infringe upon the national sovereignty of some states.
Relevancy
Four countries, besides the five recognized Nuclear Weapons States under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France), have acquired, or are presumed to have acquired, nuclear weapons. These countries include India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. North Korea acceded to the NPT in 1985 but withdrew in 2003 and conducted nuclear tests in the near future.
Dual-use technology refers to the possibility of military use of civilian nuclear power technology. Many technologies and materials associated with the creation of a nuclear power program have dual-use capability, in that several stages of nuclear fuel cycle allow diversion of nuclear materials for nuclear weapons. When this happens, a nuclear power program can become a route leading to the atomic bomb or a public annex to a secret bomb program. A number of United Nation and United States agencies warn that building more nuclear reactors unavoidably increases nuclear proliferation risks. The greatest risk from nuclear weapons proliferation comes from countries which have not joined the NPT and which have significant unsafeguarded nuclear activities including India, Pakistan, and Israel.
