Nukes need no test
The week's news at a glance.
Pyongyang
North Korea can be confident that its nuclear bombs will work even if it doesn’t conduct a test explosion, the CIA told Congress. The totalitarian country’s computer modeling and its tests using conventional explosives are sophisticated enough to render a nuclear test—with all the international condemnation it would bring—unnecessary. The CIA said North Korea already had at least one or two simple fission bombs, similar to the one dropped on Hiroshima. It is unknown how much weapons-grade fuel North Korea has produced since it kicked out international inspectors at the end of last year. “We may never know for sure how many weapons they manufactured and then hid away in some tunnel,” an unnamed U.S. official told The New York Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Pope seeks inquiry on if Gaza assault is 'genocide'
Speed Read In a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis considers whether Israel's war in Gaza meets the legal definition of 'genocide'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can Europe pick up the slack in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Trump's election raises questions about what's next in the war
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in Russia
Speed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published