DefenceTalkSouth Korea said Thursday it would create a joint military unit with the United States, as a report suggested the contingent would target North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction if a full-scale conflict broke out. The mechanized unit led by a US major general will be set up in the first half of next year, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-south-korea-set-up-wartime-unit-to-destroy-norths-nukes-report-60539/

DefenceTalkWestern foreign ministers appeared Sunday to have failed in their mission to inject momentum into talks with Iran in Vienna, seven days before the deadline to strike a momentous nuclear deal. The talks were set to continue, however, with US Secretary of State John Kerry remaining in the Austrian capital for further discussions on Monday. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ministers-fail-to-broker-iran-talks-breakthrough-60143/

DefenceTalkIran nuclear talks enter the decisive, dangerous endgame Thursday with a marathon final round of hardball negotiations potentially going all the way to the July 20 finish line. The deal being sought by Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany would finally ease fears of Tehran getting nuclear weapons […]https://www.defencetalk.com/final-push-in-historic-iran-nuclear-talks-60019/

DefenceTalkThe last of Syria’s declared chemical agents have been shipped from the war-torn country after months of delays and are en route for destruction at sea, the world’s chemical watchdog said on Monday. “As we speak, the ship (carrying the last chemicals) has just left the port (of Latakia),” Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the Organization […]https://www.defencetalk.com/last-dangerous-chemicals-shipped-from-syria-watchdog-59977/

DefenceTalkAir Force Secretary Deborah Lee James today outlined new incentives and measures designed to change the culture of the service’s nuclear force. Following a cheating scandal involving intercontinental ballistic missile launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, and the subsequent relief of nine officers, a commander’s retirement and 91 other airmen receiving discipline, James […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-secretary-outlines-changes-for-nuclear-force-59953/

DefenceTalkThe number of nuclear weapons in the world continue to decline, but at a slower pace than in previous years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday. “Over the past five years there has been a steady decline in the overall number of nuclear warheads in the world,” the think tank said in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/worlds-nuclear-arsenal-reduction-slows-down-stockholm-institute-59899/

DefenceTalkResearchers at Oregon State University have discovered that some compounds called polyoxoniobates can degrade and decontaminate nerve agents such as the deadly sarin gas, and have other characteristics that may make them ideal for protective suits, masks or other clothing. The use of polyoxoniobates for this purpose had never before been demonstrated, scientists said, and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-method-discovered-to-protect-against-chemical-weapons-59732/

DefenceTalkAir and surface sampling techniques currently used by the US government are effective in fighting bioterrorism and potentially saving lives, a Saint Louis University researcher finds. Results published in Biosecurity and Bioterrorism by Alexander Garza, M.D., MPH, former chief medical officer at the Department of Homeland Security and a team of researchers from Los Alamos […]https://www.defencetalk.com/study-validates-air-sampling-techniques-to-fight-bioterrorism-59582/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea has been testing engines for an inter-continental ballistic missile, a US think-tank said Friday, as Pyongyang announced a top military reshuffle that coincided with signs of a looming nuclear test. The US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said satellite images of the North’s Sohae rocket launch site suggested one “and maybe more” recent […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-icbm-engine-tests-stoke-nuclear-fears-59485/

DefenceTalkA North Korean nuclear test within days “cannot be ruled out” analysts said Saturday, after new satellite imagery showed heightened activity at the test site. The report by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) chimes with other findings and suggests Pyongyang is moving towards an underground detonation. Pictures taken on Friday — the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/new-pictures-confirm-north-korea-nuclear-activity-59416/