Free Republic

Russia is constructing a floating nuclear power plant for remote regions that could provide energy for coastal cities. Environmentalists warn of a catastrophe at sea. And nuclear proliferation experts point out that the ship would use weapons-grade uranium to generate electricity. The concept is amazing. The new ship could be anchored along any coastline where there is no threat of a tsunami or hurricane. All local engineers have to do is attach a few cables and then the magic arrives: "the reactors are activated -- and there is light." Voilá, the world's mobile, boat-based nuclear reactor for the production of...

A Wall Street financier who helped expose Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's nuclear network said that contrary to public perception that Pakistan exposed Iran's nuclear acquisition it was Tehran that allowed weapons inspectors to connect the dots between its nuclear programme and Pakistan's. This sparked the unravelling of Khan's illicit nuclear smuggling ring. Mansoor Ijaz, who has worked behind the scenes in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, told Gulf News: "When Iran agreed to inspections of its nuclear sites, the centrifuges 'discovered' by the inspectors contained incontrovertible evidence of originating in Pakistan." Khan's black market network sold Iran everything...

The confidential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report provided to Russia and other members of the IAEA Board of Governors declares in paragraph 85: "Based on all information currently available to the Agency, it is clear that Iran has failed in a number of instances over an extended period of time to meet its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement ." Russia is wise to view the Iranian nuclear matter in the context of international law, which in turn requires referral to the Security Council. Under international law the "right" to nuclear energy functions more like a privilege, subject to conditions...

SEOUL, South Korea — A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea (search), sending a huge column of smoke into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday. The South Korean government said it was trying to confirm the report of an explosion at 11 a.m. on Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. ...snip On Saturday, North Korea said recent revelations that South Korea conducted secret nuclear experiments involving uranium and plutonium made the communist state more determined to pursue its own nuclear programs. The...