ABSTRACT
India and Pakistan acquired and tested medium-range ballistic missiles and a series of advanced nuclear devices, publicly declared they were nuclear weapons states, and faced only mild international reaction. North Korea tested a three-stage ballistic missile over Japanese air space, prompting Japan to announce a military space reconnaissance program, which strained Japan's stated prohibition against funding military space development. Russia, China and North Korea, meanwhile, helped Iran develop two missiles, the Shehab-3, and the Shehab-4, a multi-stage ballistic missile. Then, there was the US strike against a chemical facility in Sudan because it might be making chemical weapons agents that could find their way into terrorist hands. The growing mutual interest of arms controllers and the defense and weapons agencies of government to work together on issues ranging from the disposal of weapons-plutonium to arms control verification measures and programs to encourage Russia's nuclear and space industries to develop their strategic capital for 'peaceful' purposes.
