USIA - Arms Control and Disarmament -- The U.S. Commitment

6

Nuclear and Missile Non-Proliferation

(Arms Control and Disarmament)

1946 -- June 14 BARUCH PLAN

See section 3, June 14, 1946.

1949 -- November CREATION OF COCOM

The United States and six other Western European nations (later expanded to include most of NATO, Australia, and Japan) create the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM) to prevent the transfer of militarily useful technology to the Communist world. COCOM restricts the transfer of items in three categories:

1953 -- December 8 U.S. "ATOMS FOR PEACE" PROPOSAL

See section 3, December 8, 1953.

1965 -- August 17 DRAFT NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

The United States submits a draft nuclear non-proliferation treaty to the United Nations Disarmament Committee. The draft would ban the transfer of nuclear weapons by any nuclear weapon state (NWS) to any non-nuclear-weapon state (NNWS). The NNWS would agree to apply International Atomic Energy Agency or equivalent safeguards to their peaceful nuclear activities.

1967 -- February 14 TREATY OF TLATELOLCO

The Treaty of Tlatelolco is signed prohibiting nuclear weapons in Latin America. The United States signs Protocol I of the treaty -- which applies denuclearization to U.S. territories in the zone -- in 1977 and ratifies it in 1981. The United States signs Protocol II of the treaty -- to respect the denuclearized status of the zone and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against the parties to the treaty -- in 1968 and ratifies it in 1971.

1968 -- July 1 NPT TREATY

The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and 59 other countries sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The treaty:

1974 -- September 3 ZANGGER COMMITTEE

From 1971 to 1974, a group of 15 states, including the United States, holds a series of informal meetings in Vienna chaired by Professor Claude Zangger of Switzerland. The group, which comes to be known as the Zangger Committee, represents the first major international effort to develop export controls on nuclear materials. On August 14, 1974, the committee publishes two separate memorandums that establish export guidelines, including a "trigger list" of controlled items -- so called because their export triggers safeguards. These items consist of material, equipment, and facilities that, if diverted from peaceful uses, could contribute to a nuclear program. Each member of the committee then writes identical letters to the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, indicating each state's intention to abide by the export controls and asking the agency to make the decisions public. The IAEA accordingly publishes the memorandums and letters as IAEA document INFCIRC/209 dated September 3, 1974.

1978 -- January 11 NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUPS

Proposed by the United States after the 1974 Indian nuclear test (see section 7, May 18, 1974), the founding members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, West Germany, Canada, and Japan -- begin meeting April 23, 1975, to consider further restrictions on sensitive nuclear exports. In September 1977, the NSG adopts the Zangger list and expands it to include other nuclear-related technologies. The agreement takes the form of a document entitled "Guidelines on Nuclear Transfers." The NSG formally transmits the document to the IAEA Director-General on January 11, 1978, and the IAEA publishes it as INFCIRC/254 in February 1978.

1984 -- April U.S.-SINO NUCLEAR TRADE PACT

The United States signs a nuclear trade pact with China after Peking agrees to join the IAEA and accept IAEA inspection of any exported nuclear equipment and material. The agreement comes into force December 16, 1985.

1985 -- August 6 SOUTH PACIFIC NUCLEAR-FREE ZONE/RAROTONGA TREATY

Eight members of the South Pacific Forum, including Australia and New Zealand, establish a nuclear-free zone in the South Pacific (SPNFZ) that comes into force on December 12, 1986. Three protocols are attached to the treaty that allow the nuclear powers to participate in the SPNFZ regime (see March 25, 1996).

1985 -- December 12 NORTH KOREA JOINS NPT

North Korea (DPRK) formally accedes to the NPT and agrees to open a new 30- megawatt research reactor facility to IAEA inspections and safeguards.

1987 -- April 7 MISSILE TECHNOLOGY CONTROL REGIME

The United States, Britain, West Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada create the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to restrict the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. The MTCR guidelines ban the transfer of unmanned missiles, rockets, and cruise missiles capable of delivering at least a 500-kilogram payload a minimum of 300 kilometers. The agreement also restricts the export of a wide range of missile design and production technologies.

1988 -- August 13 SOUTH AFRICAN NUCLEAR CAPABILITY

South African Foreign Minister R.F. Botha publicly acknowledges that his nation has the ability to produce a nuclear weapon.

1989 -- May 22 INDIAN BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCH

India test launches its first medium-range ballistic missile.

1990 -- June 1 U.S.-SOVIET JOINT STATEMENT ON NON-PROLIFERATION

The United States and the Soviet Union issue a joint statement on non-proliferation following a Washington summit meeting between U.S. President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The statement expresses support for the IAEA, NPT, and the Treaty of Tlatelolco and for placing all nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards. It also says the United States and the Soviet Union agree on the need for stringent controls over exports of nuclear-related material, equipment, and technology to ensure that they will not be misused for nuclear explosive purposes, and that the two countries support discussions among states in regions of nuclear proliferation for the purpose of achieving concrete steps to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.

1990 -- August 2 IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT

Iraq invades Kuwait in a pre-dawn attack.

1990 -- December 13 ENHANCED PROLIFERATION CONTROL INITIATIVE

The United States announces the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative (EPCI) to tighten the licensing regulations for the export of products useful for the development of missiles, and for chemical and biological weapons. In addition, domestic regulations are promulgated criminalizing activities that promote the spread of missile technology and chemical weapons.

1991 -- January 16 U.S.-LED COALITION FORCE AT WAR WITH IRAQ

U.S. President George Bush and the allied coalition establish the destruction of Iraq's nuclear, chemical, and biological research, development, and production facilities as a key war aim.

1991 -- April 3 RESOLUTION 687 ON IRAQ

The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 687 requiring the destruction of Iraq's nuclear capability, as well as its chemical and biological weapons, and of missiles with a range over 150 kilometers. The UNSC assigns the IAEA responsibility for implementing the decision.

1991 -- May 28 MIDDLE EAST ARMS CONTROL

President Bush announces an arms control initiative to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. He also calls on the five leading conventional arms suppliers (the United States, China, France, Britain, and the Soviet Union) to restrain destabilizing conventional arms transfers to the region.

1991 -- July 10 SOUTH AFRICA JOINS NPT

South Africa formally joins the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state. Two years later, on March 24, 1993, South African President F.W. de Klerk announces that South Africa had developed "a limited nuclear deterrent capability" (six fission devices) that were dismantled before South Africa joined the treaty.

1991 -- October 23 UNSC PLAN FOR IRAQ

The United Nations Security Council adopts an IAEA plan to prevent any future development of nuclear weapons in Iraq.

1991 -- December 12 SOVIET NUCLEAR THREAT REDUCTION ACT (NUNN-LUGAR LEGISLATION)

President Bush signs the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act (the Nunn-Lugar legislation) approving $400 million in U.S. aid to help the CIS with the storage, transportation, dismantlement, and destruction of nuclear and chemical weapons, defense conversion, and military-to-military exchanges. Over four years, $1.5 billion will be budgeted for these non-proliferation activities, more than half of which goes to the non-Russian former Soviet republics.

1992 -- January 20 NORTH-SOUTH KOREAN PACT

North and South Korea agree to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula. The accord bans both countries from testing, producing, acquiring, or deploying nuclear weapons and prohibits them from possessing facilities to produce weapon-grade fissionable material.

1992 -- January 30 NORTH KOREAN SIGNING OF IAEA SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENT

As required by the NPT, the DPRK signs a safeguards agreement with the IAEA (see December 12, 1985) and ratifies it on April 9. On May 4, the DPRK submits an "initial report" on its nuclear material and facilities to the IAEA, in which it admits that it was building a facility capable of reprocessing plutonium and that it had already separated a very small quantity of plutonium.

1992 -- February 17 INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER

The United States, Russia, and Germany agree to set up an institute to aid Russian and CIS nuclear scientists and engineers by giving them "opportunities to redirect their talents to non-military endeavors [and to] minimize any incentives to engage in activities that would result in proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and missile delivery systems." The United States agrees to contribute $25 million (from the $400 million appropriated by Congress for threat reduction -- see December 12, 1991). A similar center is established in Kiev, Ukraine.

1992 -- February 24-26 IAEA MONITORING CAPABILITY

Following the discovery of the advanced state of Iraq's nuclear program, the IAEA board of governors approves measures designed to improve the agency's ability to detect clandestine activities. These measures include a reassertion of the IAEA's right to conduct "suspect site" inspections of undeclared facilities.

1992 -- March 9 CHINA JOINS NPT

China accedes to the NPT as the fourth nuclear weapon state.

1992 -- March 21-April 3 NSG GUIDELINES

At a meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the group agrees to tighten export restrictions on thousands of items on the dual-use list and to require importers to accept full-scope safeguards prior to any significant new supply of equipment.

1992 -- May 25-June 7 IAEA INSPECTION OF THE DPRK NUCLEAR PROGRAM

The IAEA conducts a series of inspections of the DPRK nuclear program in conjunction with the DPRK-IAEA safeguards agreement (see January 30, 1992).

1992 -- June 1 IAEA DESTRUCTION OF IRAQI NUCLEAR FACILITIES

The 12th IAEA inspection team, aided by the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), completes the destruction of key facilities and equipment at Al-Atheer, Iraq's main nuclear weapon design and development installation.

1992 -- July 2 REMOVAL OF U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS FROM SOUTH KOREA

The U.S. Department of Defense announces withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from South Korea in connection with President Bush's unilateral initiative to remove all ground-based and sea-based tactical nuclear weapons (see section 5, September 27, 1991).

1992 -- July 13 U.S. NON-PROLIFERATION INITIATIVE

President Bush announces that, as part of a general non-proliferation initiative, the United States will no longer produce plutonium or highly-enriched uranium (HEU) for nuclear explosive purposes.

1992 -- August 3 FRANCE JOINS THE NPT

France, the last of the five acknowledged nuclear weapon states, joins the NPT.

1993 -- January 7 NEW MTCR EXPORT RESTRICTIONS

Members of the Missile Technology Control Regime announce that MTCR guidelines will now restrict the transfer of all missiles intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction, regardless of their range and payload.

1993 -- January 15 U.S.-RUSSIAN BILATERAL MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TALKS

The United States and Russia open bilateral negotiations on a missile technology agreement and agree not to export missile technology capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.

1993 -- February 8 UNSCOM ON IRAQ

While warning that long-term monitoring will be required to ensure continued compliance, UNSCOM officials announce that Iraq's nuclear weapons program has been destroyed.

1993 -- February 18 U.S.-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT ON SALE OF HEU

During Safety, Security, and Dismantlement (SSD) talks, the United States and Russia sign an agreement committing the United States to purchase low-enriched uranium (LEU) blended down from 500 metric tons of highly-enriched uranium from Russia over the next 20 years. The HEU is to be removed from warheads that Russia is committed to destroy under its existing arms control treaty commitments.

1993 -- March 10-12 NORTH KOREAN WITHDRAWAL FROM NPT

On March 10, the DPRK refuses to accept a special IAEA inspection team and, on March 12, it announces its decision to withdraw from the NPT.

1993 -- March 26 COUNTER-PROLIFERATION

The U.S. Department of Defense requests $40 million in counter-proliferation funds to be used to "prevent, where possible, the acquisition of nuclear and biological and chemical weapons and the methods to deliver those weapons."

1993 -- April 3-4 VANCOUVER SUMMIT U.S.

President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin meet in Vancouver. The presidents "re-affirm their determination to strengthen the NPT, make it universal, and give it an unlimited duration," and agree to work toward easing COCOM restrictions on trade with Russia.

1993 -- May 11 UNSC RESOLUTION ON NORTH KOREA'S NPT WITHDRAWAL

The UNSC approves Resolution 825, which calls on the DPRK to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the NPT and to meet its treaty obligations.

1993 -- June 1 UPDATED MILITARY CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES LIST

The United States releases an updated Military Critical Technologies List (MCTL) containing about 400 technologies that will require an export license.

1993 -- June 2-11 U.S.-NORTH KOREA TALKS TO RESOLVE NUCLEAR CRISIS

The United States and the DPRK open talks at the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York. On June 11, the countries release a joint statement in which they agree to the "principles of assurances against the threat and use of force, including nuclear weapons," and the DPRK announces suspension of its withdrawal from the NPT for as long "as it considers necessary."

1993 -- July 19 IAEA-NORTH KOREA TALKS

The DPRK agrees to consult with the IAEA and to renew contacts with South Korea.

1993 -- July 22 BELARUS ACCESSION TO NPT

Belarus formally accedes to the NPT and signs three agreements with the United States releasing Nunn-Lugar funding for denuclearization assistance.

1993 -- August 26-September 2 U.S.-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT ON NUCLEAR DISMANTLEMENT ASSISTANCE

The United States and Russia sign an "implementing" agreement to permit Nunn- Lugar assistance to go to Russia for dismantling strategic nuclear delivery vehicles. The United States also agrees to provide $75 million in assistance for construction and operation of a fissile material storage facility in Russia.

1993 -- September 1-2 RUSSIA AGREES TO ABIDE BY MTCR GUIDELINES

Russia announces that it will comply with MTCR guidelines.

1993 -- September 23 NEW U.S. NON-PROLIFERATION AND EXPORT POLICY

President Clinton establishes a framework for U.S. efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The plan proposes to:

1993 -- November 17 COCOM TO DISBAND

In view of the changed security environment, the 17 COCOM members agree to abolish the organization and to start a new, broader one (see December 19, 1995).

1993 -- December 7 NEW U.S. COUNTER-PROLIFERATION STRATEGY

In a speech to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control, U.S. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin outlines the U.S. "Counter-Proliferation Initiative." He announces that, while the United States intends to maintain its emphasis on the prevention of proliferation, it will add "protection" against weapons of mass destruction as a major policy goal.

1994 -- January 14 MOSCOW SUMMIT/JOINT STATEMENT ON NON-PROLIFERATION

Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin issue a Joint Statement on Non-Proliferation that reaffirms support for:

1994 -- February 14 KAZAKHSTAN ACCESSION TO NPT

Kazakhstan formally accedes to the NPT after a December 13, 1993, vote by the Kazakhstan Parliament approving accession to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

1994 -- February 15 DPRK AND IAEA INSPECTIONS

Although the DPRK agrees to allow inspections at its seven declared nuclear sites, IAEA inspectors report significant interference during their March 1-15 inspections.

1994 -- April 21 SHUTDOWN OF DPRK REACTOR

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea shuts down its reactor and prepares to remove fuel elements.

1994 -- June 2 U.S. PURSUIT OF SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA

The Clinton administration decides to pursue sanctions against the DPRK after it removes fuel rods from its reactor.

1994 -- June 22 FREEZE ON DPRK NUCLEAR PROGRAM

After the DPRK confirms its willingness to accept a verified "freeze" of its nuclear weapons program -- an idea that had been discussed during a visit to Pyongyang by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on June 15-18, the Clinton administration agrees to resume high-level political talks with the DPRK.

1994 -- June 23 GORE-CHERNOMYRDIN REACTOR SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT

U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Jr., and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin sign an agreement to shut down by the year 2000 the remaining plutonium production reactors operating in Russia. Russia also agrees not to use newly produced plutonium from the reactors in nuclear weapons.

1994 -- October 3 U.S.-SOUTH AFRICAN MISSILE NON-PROLIFERATION AGREEMENT

The United States and South Africa sign a missile non-proliferation agreement committing South Africa to abide by the MTCR and to terminate its Category I missile program and its space-launch vehicle (SLV) program.

1994 -- October 23 U.S.-NORTH KOREAN "AGREED FRAMEWORK"

In an "Agreed Framework" to "freeze" North Korea's nuclear program, the United States and the DPRK agree over the next 10 years to construct two new proliferation-resistant light water-moderated nuclear power reactors (LWRs) in the DPRK in exchange for the shutdown of all existing DPRK nuclear facilities.

The DPRK also agrees to allow 8,000 spent nuclear reactor fuel elements to be removed to a third country once components for the first reactor are delivered, to remain a party to the NPT, and to comply fully with its IAEA safeguards agreement, which includes "special inspections." The agreement explicitly includes a DPRK obligation to accept inspections at two suspected nuclear waste storage sites.

The United States agrees to normalize economic and diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and to provide formal assurances to the DPRK against the threat or use of nuclear weapons by the United States.

1994 -- October 27 FORMATION OF KEDO

The United States, South Korea, and Japan meet immediately after the signing of the U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework to plan the formation (on March 9, 1995) of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). KEDO is to have up to 10 partner countries and will oversee the $4.5-billion costs of the nuclear deal.

1994 -- November 23 U.S. REMOVAL OF HEU FROM KAZAKHSTAN

In a secret operation code-named Operation Sapphire, the United States removes nearly 600 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium from Kazakhstan. The HEU is brought to the U.S. Department of Energy facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for safekeeping until it can be blended down for sale as fuel for commercial reactors.

1994 -- November 29 HALTING OF DPRK NUCLEAR PROGRAM

The IAEA notes that an inspection team "visited the [DPRK] nuclear facilities...and confirmed that these facilities were not in operation and that construction work had stopped."

1994 -- December 5 UKRAINE JOINS THE NPT

Ukraine accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon state.

1995 -- March 1 U.S. REMOVAL OF FISSILE MATERIAL

President Clinton announces the permanent removal of 200 tons of fissile material from the U.S. nuclear stockpile.

1995 -- March 23 FISSILE MATERIAL CUTOFF TALKS

Delegates to the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) establish an ad hoc committee to negotiate a fissile material production cutoff agreement.

1995 -- May 9-10 MOSCOW SUMMIT

Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin sign a joint statement on "The Transparency and Irreversibility of the Process of Reducing Nuclear Weapons," expanding their cooperative efforts to account for and remove nuclear weapons and fissile material from their nuclear weapons stockpiles.

1995 -- April 17-May 12 NPT REVIEW AND EXTENSION CONFERENCE

On May 11, the NPT Review and Extension Conference extends the treaty indefinitely and unconditionally. The NPT, which established the basic international norm against proliferation, currently has 183 adherents.

1995 -- September 19 NATIONAL SECURITY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

The Clinton administration announces its decision to develop improved nuclear, chemical, and biological detection sensors and technology to track the attempted smuggling of nuclear material.

1995 -- December 15 SOUTHEAST ASIAN NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE

The seven-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- joined by Cambodia, Laos, and Burma, approve the creation of the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ). The treaty creating the zone prohibits the parties from acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, and stationing nuclear explosive devices.

1995 -- December 19 THE WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT

The United States and 27 other nations establish the "Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies" as a successor to the COCOM. The participants agree to exchange, on a regular basis, specific information regarding transfers of sensitive dual-use goods and technologies to nonparticipating countries.

1996 -- March 25 PROTOCOLS TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC NUCLEAR-FREE ZONE TREATY

The United States signs the protocols to the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty obligating the United States not to manufacture, acquire, test, or station any nuclear explosive device in the South Pacific (see August 6, 1985).

1996 -- April 11 PELINDABA TREATY

Forty-three African nations sign the Pelindaba Treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa (AFNWFZ). The United States signs the two protocols to the AFNWFZ that ban the use or threatened use of nuclear weapons against any treaty party and that require signatories not to conduct, encourage, or assist any nuclear testing in the zone.

1996 -- April 19-20 NUCLEAR SAFETY SUMMIT

A Nuclear Safety Summit among leaders of the G-7, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine takes place in Moscow. In a series of declarations made at the end of the summit, the leaders reaffirm their commitment to the conclusion and signing of a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty and call for, among other things, the negotiation of a universally binding fissile material production ban; improved nuclear material protection, control, and accounting procedures; safe and effective management of weapons fissile material designated as no longer required for defense purposes; and an improved program for preventing and combatting illicit trafficking in nuclear material.

1996 -- September 17 TRILATERAL AGREEMENT

The IAEA, the United States, and Russia sign a trilateral agreement calling for: (1) the creation of a trilateral working group to address issues regarding IAEA verification of weapons-origin fissile material, and (2) Russian/IAEA visits to U.S. Department of Energy sites (Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Hanford Site, and Argonne National Laboratory-West).

1996 -- September 22 SHIPMENTS OF SPENT FUEL

The first shipments of spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors (Chile, Colombia, France, Sweden, and Switzerland) arrive at Charleston Naval Weapons Station in the state of South Carolina, marking the first such U.S. take-back of foreign spent nuclear fuel in seven years. This is part of the U.S. program to reduce the use of highly-enriched uranium internationally in civilian reactors [the U.S. Department of Energy's Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) promotes conversion of civilian reactors from HEU fuel to LEU. To get foreign reactor operators to convert to proliferation-resistant LEU fuel, the United States began to accept spent HEU fuel -- and in 1986, LEU fuel that had originally been enriched in the United States.]

1996 -- November 14 AMENDMENT TO HEU PURCHASE

The United States and Russia sign an amendment to the HEU Purchase Agreement in order to accelerate implementation of the 1993 agreement. The amendment to the contract establishes set prices, quantities, and terms for the Russian LEU shipments through the year 2001 (see February 18, 1993).

1996 -- December 4 JOINT STATEMENT ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Retired General Lee Butler, former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Strategic Air Command, and retired General Andrew Goodpaster, former supreme allied commander in Europe, address the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and release a joint statement stressing the "diminished role and utility of [nuclear weapons]" and calling on all nuclear states to work toward the "ultimate objective of...the complete elimination of nuclear weapons from all nations." On December 5, 1996, 61 retired generals and admirals from 17 countries issue a similar statement calling for eventual global nuclear disarmament.

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