Nuclear Arms Control
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and North Korea’s Program
A comprehensive test ban treaty, or CTBT, is the oldest item on the nuclear arms control agenda. Three treaties currently limit testing to underground only, with a maximum force equal to 150,000 tons of TNT. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the United States conducted 1,030 nuclear tests, the Soviet Union 715, the United Kingdom 45, France 210, and China 45. The last U.S. test was held in 1992; Russia claims it has not conducted nuclear tests since 1990. Since 1997, the United Stateshas held 23 “subcritical experiments at the Nevada Test Site, most recently onAugust 30, 2006,…
