NTI Glossary of Terms - NonproliferationReference: http://www.nti.org/h_learnmore/h7_glossary.html

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is a non-profit organization with a mission to strengthen global security by reducing the risk of use and preventing the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and to work to build the trust, transparency and security which are preconditions to the ultimate fulfillment of the Non-Proliferation Treaty’s goals and ambitions.

AActive defenses: Active defenses use weapons systems or countermeasures to blunt an attack as it is taking place. Anti-ballistic-missile defenses are the most visible and most controversial example today.

Ad Hoc Group of Governmental Experts to Identify and Examine Verification Measures from a Scientific and Technical Standpoint (VEREX): Created in September 1991 during the Third Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). VEREX was tasked with identifying measures that could be used to determine whether a state party to the BWC is "developing, producing, stockpiling, acquiring, or retaining" biological weapons (BW). In its final report of September 24, 1993, it described and analyzed 21 such measures, including but not limited to declarations of biological agents, on-site inspections, and multilateral information sharing.

African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone: See Treaty of Pelindaba below.

Agreed Framework: The 1994 agreement between the United States and North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK) to "freeze" the DPRK nuclear program. The agreement outlined a 10-year program during which the United States, South Korea and Japan pledged to construct two new proliferation-resistant, light-water-moderated nuclear reactors in the DPRK in exchange for the shutting down of all its existing nuclear facilities. In addition, the DPRK agreed to remain a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and accept International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) full-scope safeguards. The multi-lateral Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was designated to oversee implementation of the agreement. The agreed framework was never fully implemented. The agreement fell apart after North Korea admitted that it conducted uranium enrichment activities in October 2002, and KEDO suspended heavy oil shipments to the DPRK later that year. [See the North Korea Country Profile: Nuclear Overview.]

Air defenses: Systems deployed to defend territory or troops from attack by aircraft or cruise missiles.

Antarctic Treaty: This Treaty was opened for signature on December 1, 1959, and entered into force on June 23, 1961. The Antarctic Treaty internationalizes and demilitarizes the Antarctic continent. It specifies that Antarctica be used for peaceful purposes only; all activities of a military nature, including testing of any type of weapon, are prohibited. No military activities, armaments, or prohibited nuclear activities have been observed on the continent during inspections by member states since the treaty went into force. As of January 2008, there were 44 member states to the Antarctic Treaty.

Anthrax: An infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. Weaponized anthrax spores are dispersed by aerosol, and are highly lethal to humans. Anthrax has been produced as a biological weapons agent, and is suspected as a potential agent for use by bioterrorists. [See WMD 411: Anthrax Attacks and Bioterrorism.]

Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty: The ABM Treaty, which was signed by the United States and the former Soviet Union on May 26, 1972, and entered into force on October 3, 1972, constrained strategic missile defenses to a total of 200 launchers and interceptors per country- 100 at each of two widely separated deployment areas. These restrictions were intended to prevent the establishment of a nationwide defense or the creation of a base for deploying such a defense. The treaty was modified in 1974, reducing the number of ABM deployment areas permitted each side from two to one and the number of ABM launchers and interceptors from 200 to 100. However, on June 13, 2002, the United States officially withdrew from the ABM Treaty in order to pursue the development of missile defenses that would have been banned by this agreement.

Anti-Satellite Weapon (ASAT): A system designed to destroy or disable enemy satellites in orbit. China conducted an ASAT test on January 12, 2007, the first ASAT test since the United States carried out a similar test in 1985. [See Examining China’s Debate on Military Space Programs: Was the ASAT Test Really a Surprise?]

Arms control: Any unilateral or multilateral measure taken to reduce or control any aspect of either a weapon system or armed forces. Such reductions or limitations might affect the size, type, configuration, production, or performance characteristics of a weapon system, or the size, organization, equipment, deployment, or employment of armed forces.

Atomic: Pertaining to an atom, the smallest part of an element that has all the properties of that element, composed of a nucleus of protons and neutrons with a number of electrons orbiting the nucleus.

Atomic bomb: A weapon that uses fissile material in isotopes of uranium or plutonium to provide explosive power.

Atomic energy: See nuclear energy below.

Atoms for Peace: The U.S. program announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the United Nations on December 8, 1953, to share nuclear materials and technology for peaceful purposes with other countries. This program required countries receiving nuclear materials to agree to inspections of the transferred technology to ensure it was not used for military purposes. The program was formally established in 1954, following the passage of the Atomic Energy Act.

Australia Group (AG): Established in 1985 to limit the spread of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) through the control of exports of chemical precursors, equipment, agents, and organisms. As of March 2008, there were 41 members in the Australia Group.

B

Ballistic missile: A missile that travels to its target without power or guidance after being launched and at a velocity such that it will follow a flight trajectory to a desired point. Part of the flight of longer-range ballistic missiles may occur outside the Earth's atmosphere, and involve the "reentry" of the missile before it reaches its target.

Baruch Plan: The U.S. initiative to outlaw nuclear weapons and to internationalize global stocks of fissile material for use in peaceful nuclear programs. After Bernard Baruch proposed the plan in 1946 at the United Nations, the United States and Soviet Union held negotiations on the program but never reached agreement. The United States insisted on retaining control of its nuclear weapons while all fissile material was put under international control, while the Soviet Union demanded that the United States cede its weapons to international control before other countries gave up their fissile material. The United States also wanted sanctions for noncompliance as part of the regime, while the Soviet Union objected.

Ballistic missile defense (BMD): All active and passive measures designed to detect, identify, track, and defeat attacking ballistic missiles, in both strategic and theater tactical roles, during any portion of their flight trajectory (boost, post-boost, mid-course, or terminal phase) or to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of such attack. [See WMD 411 Issues in Debate: Limiting the Use of WMD through BMD]

Belligerent reprisal: An enforcement measure under the law of armed conflict consisting of an act that would otherwise be unlawful but which is justified as a response to the unlawful acts of an enemy. The sole purpose of a reprisal is to induce the enemy to cease its illegal activity and to comply with the law of armed conflict. Reprisals may be taken against enemy armed forces, enemy civilians other than those in occupied territory, and enemy property. When the United States signed the Treaty of Pelindaba, it cited the doctrine of belligerent reprisal and stated that it would not rule out the use of any weapon it possessed when responding to an attack on the United States using weapons of mass destruction.

Bilateral: Negotiations, arrangements, agreements, or treaties that affect or are between two parties, countries, etc.

Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC): The "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction" prohibits the development, production, or stockpiling of bacteriological and toxin weapons. Countries must destroy, or divert to peaceful purposes, all agents, toxins, weapons, equipment, and means of delivery within nine months after the entry into force of the convention. The BWC was opened for signature on April 10, 1972, and entered into force on March 26, 1975. In 1994, the BWC member states created the Ad Hoc Group to negotiate a legally binding BWC Protocol that would help deter violations of the BWC. The draft protocol outlines a monitoring regime that would require declarations of dual-use activities and facilities, routine visits to declared facilities, and short-notice challenge investigations. As of August 2008, there were 159 Parties to the BWC; in addition, 15 States have signed but not ratified the BWC. The treaty is of unlimited duration. [See NTI Issue Brief: The Biological Weapons Convention.]

Biological weapon (BW): A device that projects, disperses, or disseminates living microorganisms, biological agents, and toxins.

Bombers: Aircraft carrying conventional or nuclear bombs or conventionally or nuclear-armed cruise missiles for use against ground targets.

Boost-phase: That part of the ballistic missile flight path that begins at launch and lasts up to five minutes for a primitive liquid-fueled inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) or as little as 80 seconds for an advanced solid-fueled ICBM. During boost phase, the booster and sustainer engines operate, and warheads have not yet been deployed.

Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC): This bilateral safeguards agency was established under an agreement between Argentina and Brazil to verify the exclusively peaceful use of nuclear energy in each country. The agreement establishing the agency was signed in Guadalajara, Mexico, on July 18, 1991.

C

Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: Established by Australia in November 1995, the commission was created to develop ideas and propose practical steps to create a nuclear weapon free world, including the related problem of maintaining stability and security during the transitional period and after this goal is achieved. On August 31, 1996, the Commission presented its findings to the Australian government, which then submitted the Canberra Report to the UN General Assembly and to the Conference on Disarmament.

Challenge inspection: An inspection triggered by a suspected violation of a treaty or agreement. For example, under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), the challenge inspection provision allows parties to inspect a specific and limited area beyond those sites already listed. This provision increases the likelihood of detecting weapons at sites not declared in the data exchanged under the treaty. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) allows for a team of international inspectors to inspect on very short notice a party's facility suspected of violating the CWC.

Chemical weapon (CW): Gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical substances with toxic properties that are delivered using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or severe harm to humans, animals, and plants. CW include blister, nerve, choking, and blood agents.

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC): Formally known as the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction," this treaty requires each state party to destroy all the chemical weapons (CW) and CW production facilities it possesses or that are located in any place under its jurisdiction or control, as well any CW it abandoned on the territory of another state. The CWC was opened for signature on January 13, 1993, and entered into force on April 29, 1997. As of August 2008, there were 184 parties to the CWC; in addition, four states have signed but not ratified the CWC. [See WMD 411: Eliminating Chemical Weapons: An Overview of the CWC.]

Command, control, communication and intelligence (C3I): Command, control, communications, and intelligence systems are integrated combinations of military command information processing, communications network, and intelligence gathering subsystems (including surveillance, warning, and identification subsystems). These combined technologies are designed to provide timely and adequate data required to plan, direct, and control military forces and operations.

Compliance provisions: Enforcement provisions included in a treaty or legally binding agreement to ensure that parties abide by the requirements or restrictions set out in the treaty. Compliance provisions include inspection measures to confront state parties suspected of treaty violations and lists of sanctions that can be imposed on any state party that has violated its obligations.

Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): Opened for signature in 1996 at the UN General Assembly, this international treaty prohibits all nuclear explosions. The treaty establishes the CTBT Organization (CTBTO) to verify compliance with the treaty through a global monitoring system once it enters into force. Entry into force is contingent on the ratification of 44 states with nuclear reactors on their territories. As of August 2008, 178 states had signed the treaty and 144 states had ratified it. Nine of the 44 states required to ratify the treaty before it will enter into force had not done so, including the United States, which has signed but has not ratified the treaty.

Conference on Disarmament (CD): Group of states formed in 1979 following the first Special Session on Disarmament of the UN General Assembly held in 1978. As of August 2008, the CD had 65 member states, with a further 36 having observer status. The CD reports to the General Assembly annually, or more frequently as appropriate. Although the CD concerns itself with practically all issues involving multilateral arms control, it currently focuses its attention on the following issues: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons including radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament and transparency in armaments.

Confidence-building measures (CBMs): Tools that adversarial states can use to reduce tensions and avert the possibility of military conflict. Such tools include communication agreements (e.g., "hot lines" or direct lines between capitals), constraints (e.g., demilitarized zones), transparency (e.g., data exchanges), and verification (e.g., on-site inspections) measures. CBMs normally precede the negotiation of formal arms control agreements or are added to arms control agreements to strengthen them.

Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty: This treaty was opened for signature to a total of 23 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact states on November 19, 1990. It entered into force on November 9, 1992, and is of unlimited duration. It has since been adapted to accommodate the break-up of the U.S.SR and Czechoslovakia, raising its membership to 30 states. The treaty allows each side equal numbers of battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, attack helicopters, and combat aircraft. The purpose of the

treaty is threefold: to promote security and stability in Europe through verifiable lower levels of conventional armed forces; to eliminate disparities prejudicial to this objective; and to reduce the capability for launching surprise attacks initiating large-scale offensives. The CFE Treaty was adapted to accommodate the break-up of the U.S.S.R. and Czechoslovakia during the 1990s, raising its membership to 30 states. During 2007, Russia decided to suspend its membership to the pact, stating that the treaty no longer reflected Russian security interests. Media accounts of the decision allege that Russia decided to freeze its implementation of the treaty in response to U.S. plans to put missile defense interceptors in Eastern Europe.

Conventional forces: Armed troops that operate non-WMD weapons such as tanks, artillery, and tactical aircraft.

Conventional weapons: Weapons and military equipment, including aircraft, tanks, and artillery that use non-nuclear explosives or kinetic energy to damage targets.

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material: Provisions of this convention oblige parties to ensure that during international transport across their territory or on ships or aircraft under their jurisdiction, nuclear materials for peaceful purposes (plutonium, uranium (U)-235, U-233 and irradiated fuel) are protected at the agreed levels. The convention also provides a framework for international cooperation on the protection, recovery, and return of stolen nuclear material and on the application of criminal sanctions against persons who commit crimes involving nuclear material. It opened for signature on March 3, 1980 and entered into force on February 8, 1987. As of May 2008, parties included 135 states and Euratom.

Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR): A U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) program established in 1992 by the U.S. Congress, sponsored primarily by Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar. The program remains the largest and most diverse U.S. program addressing former Soviet weapons of mass destruction threats. The program has focused primarily on (1) destroying vehicles for delivering nuclear weapons, their launchers (such as silos and submarines), and their related facilities; (2) securing former Soviet nuclear weapons and their components; and (3) destroying Russian chemical weapons. The term is sometimes used generically to refer to all U.S. nonproliferation programs in the former Soviet Union, including those implemented by the U.S. Departments of Energy, Commerce, and State. [See The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program.]

Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (COCOM): Based in Paris, this organization was established in 1949 to restrict the sale of goods to Warsaw Pact countries. Its 17 members were Japan and all the NATO states except Iceland. Following the end of the Cold War, many of COCOM's restrictions on Eastern Europe were lifted. COCOM ceased to exist in

1994, and in 1995 the organization was superseded by the Wassenaar Arrangement On Export Controls For Conventional Arms And Dual-Use Goods and Technologies.

Counterproliferation: Military efforts to combat proliferation, including the application of military power to protect forces and interests, intelligence collection, and analysis. [See Nonproliferation]

Crisis instability: A condition where small events or minor conflicts can cause very large disturbances or escalate to major conflicts within the international system.

Critical mass: The minimum amount of concentrated fissionable material required to sustain a chain reaction.

Cruise missile: An unmanned self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. A cruise missile may deliver a conventional or nuclear warhead.

D

De-activate: To remove a weapon from operational status for an indefinite period. Used synonymously with "de-alert" in referring to nuclear missiles.

De-alert: To reduce the level of readiness to launch of nuclear weapons systems. Measures include removing nuclear warheads from missiles and storing the warheads separately from the missiles.

Defensive: An action taken or intended to protect or defend. [See offensive]

Deliver (a weapon): To place a warhead or munition on its target.

Deterrence: The actions of a state or group of states to dissuade a potential adversary from initiating an attack or conflict by the threat of retaliation. To be credible, deterrent acts must demonstrate to an adversary that the costs of an attacking would be huge, outweighing any potential gains.

Diversion: The clandestine removal or appropriation of imported materials or technologies for use in projects or in weapons programs that violate requirements agreed to between the importing and exporting parties on how the materials and technologies must be used.

DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA molecules carry the genetic information necessary for the organization and functioning of most living cells and control the inheritance of characteristics.

Dual-use item: An item that has both civilian and military applications. For example, many of the precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of chemical weapons have legitimate civilian industrial uses, such as the production of pesticides or ink for ballpoint pens.

E

Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC): The predecessor to the U.N. Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, the ENDC existed from 1962-68, and hosted most of the negotiations of the NPT text. It consisted of five Western countries, five Eastern (Soviet bloc) countries, and eight non-aligned (in neither the U.S. nor Soviet camp) countries, with the United States and Soviet Union as co-chairs.

Enriched uranium: Uranium with an increased concentration of the isotope U-235. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U-235, whereas nuclear weapons typically require uranium enriched to 90% or more U-235. Nuclear power plant fuel typically uses uranium enriched to 3-5% U-235, material that is not sufficiently enriched to be used for nuclear weapons.

Entry into force: The moment at which all provisions of a treaty are legally binding on its parties. Every treaty specifies preconditions for its entry into force. For example, the NPT specified that it would enter into force after the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (the Depository governments) and 40 other countries ratified the Treaty, an event that occurred on March 5, 1970.

Equine encephalitis: A member of the Alphavirus family, equine encephalitis is transmitted by mosquitoes and generally infects horses, but can cause epidemics in human. The virus can be weaponized and dispersed through aerosol, causing infection if inhaled. Infection is manifested by fever, headache, sore throat, vomiting, and muscle aches. Less than four percent of victims later develop encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). Both the United States and the Soviet Union weaponized equine encephalitis during the Cold War.

European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM): Launched in 1958 to facilitate the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes within the European Community.

Export control arrangements: Treaties, laws, or agreements established to restrict the sale of goods to certain countries or to ensure that safeguards or end-use guarantees are applied to the export and sale of sensitive technologies and materials.

Extended deterrence: Also known as a "nuclear umbrella", this process involves security derived through military protection from a nuclear power. A country protected from potential enemies by the nuclear weapons of an ally is said to be under extended deterrence. Through extended deterrence, countries allied with a nuclear weapon state hope to deter or avoid nuclear attack or threat from other countries.

F

First strike: The launch of a surprise attack to considerably weaken or destroy an adversary's military installations or nuclear forces and thus severely reduce its ability to attack or retaliate.

Fissile material: Fissionable material the nuclei of which are able to be split by neutrons of various speeds. Uranium-233, Uranium-235, and Plutonium-239 are all fissile materials. Fissile materials undergo fission more easily than other fissionable materials, and are more desirable for most reactor types and essential for nuclear explosives.

Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT): Treaty currently under discussion in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) to end the production of weapons-usable fissile material (highly enriched uranium and plutonium) for nuclear weapons. [See Ending Further Production: Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty.]

Fission: The splitting of the nucleus of a heavy atom into two lighter nuclei. It is accompanied by the release of neutrons, X-rays, gamma rays, and kinetic energy of the fission products. It is usually triggered by collision with a neutron, but in some cases can be induced by protons and other particles or gamma rays. [See fusion below]

Fission bomb: A nuclear bomb based on the concept of releasing energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy elements such as Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239.

Fleet ballistic missile submarine (SSBN): A nuclear-powered submarine designed to deliver ballistic missile attacks against assigned targets from either a submerged or surfaced condition, which is designated as "SSBN."

Force structure: The configuration of a country's nuclear or conventional forces. In the United States and Russia, nuclear forces are structured in a triad, as nuclear warheads are deployed on bombers, land-based, and sea-based missiles.

Full-scope safeguards: Safeguards that apply to all the fissile material in a non-nuclear weapon state.

Fusion: A type of nuclear reaction in which two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus and release energy. This reaction takes place under conditions of extreme heat and pressure, and involves the nuclei of deuterium and tritium – two isotopes of hydrogen.

Fusion bomb: A nuclear bomb based on the fusing or burning of light elements. Fusion bombs use fission bombs for ignition.

G

Geneva Protocol: Formally known as the "Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare," this protocol prohibits the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gases, and bans bacteriological warfare. It was opened for signature on June 17, 1925. As of January 2008, there were 135 contracting parties to the protocol, many of which had signed but not ratified the agreement. Most of the parties in joining the Geneva Protocol made reservations to the effect that they would abide by the terms of the protocol as long as other states did not resort to the use of chemical or biological weapons. There are 45 states that have submitted such reservations.

Ground Based Interceptor (GBI): The missile intercept of the proposed U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) system, the GBI will intercept incoming ballistic missile warheads outside the earth's atmosphere (exo-atmospheric) and collide with the incoming ballistic missile, thereby destroying the missile. The NMD Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2CMC) will transmit information on the location of the incoming missile to the GBI during its flight. The GBI would consist of a multi-stage solid propellant booster and an exo-atmospheric kill vehicle.

H

High alert: The state of readiness of nuclear forces sufficient to launch an immediate attack.

Highly enriched uranium (HEU): Uranium in which the naturally occurring Uranium (U)-235 isotope (0.7 percent in natural uranium) is increased to 20 percent U-235 or above. In HEU used in nuclear weapons, the U-235 isotope is usually increased to 90 percent or more. HEU is used in nuclear weapons and in some types of research and submarine propulsion reactors.

HEU deal: The United States and Russia concluded the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Purchase Agreement in 1993. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States will purchase 500 tons of HEU over a 20-year period from the former Soviet weapons program, dilute it to low-enriched uranium, and sell it as fuel for nuclear power plants on the commercial market. The HEU Deal is also referred to as the "Megatons to Megawatts" program. [See Overview of the U.S.-Russian HEU-LEU Program]

Horizontal proliferation: The spread of weapons of mass destruction to states that have not previously possessed them. [See vertical proliferation below]

Hydrogen bomb: A weapon that uses nuclear fusion to provide explosive power. Also referred to as a thermonuclear bomb.

I

Incentives: a motive or incitement to action. Positive incentives refer to rewards offered in exchange for a certain course of action. Negative incentives refer to punishments threatened if a forbidden course of action is taken.

Information Circular 26 (INFCIRC/26): The first International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards system applicable to reactors rated less than 100 thermal megawatts, approved by the IAEA Board of Governors on January 31, 1961. It was revised in June 1963 to cover reactors of any size. (Read the full text.)

Information Circular 66 (INFCIRC/66): The model safeguards agreement approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency in February 1965 to safeguard individual nuclear facilities. The guidelines were later revised to include reprocessing and fuel fabrication plants. It was most widely employed prior to the advent of nonproliferation treaties in the 1960s that required full-scope safeguards.

Information Circular 153 (INFCIRC/153): An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) document entitled "The Structure and Content of Agreements Between the Agency and States Required in Connection with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)." Established by the IAEA in April 1970 after the NPT entered into force. The document created the full scope safeguards system whereby any non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT agrees to establish and maintain a system of accounting and control of all nuclear material under its jurisdiction. Accordingly, non-nuclear weapon states who are party to or who have signed but not ratified the NPT must conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA.

Information Circular 540 (INFCIRC/540): A document approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in May 1997, called the "Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s) between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards," which supplements the INFCIRC/153. The Model Protocol grants IAEA inspectors additional physical access to sites of IAEA member states where nuclear material is or could be present, expands the use of unannounced inspections, and allows for collection of environmental samples. The provisions in this protocol are also known as the "Program 93+2".

Intelligence: Information and data collected by a government to learn about other states' capabilities and intentions.

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): Ballistic missiles with ranges greater than 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles).

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: This treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union, signed on December 8, 1987, entered into force on June 1, 1988. It aimed to eliminate and ban all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 300-3,400 miles (500-5,500 kilometers). The treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to conduct inspections at each other's sites during the elimination of treaty-limited items (TLI). By May 1991, all intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, launchers, related support equipment, and support structures were eliminated.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization under the United Nations with 132 member states, as of August 2001. The IAEA is charged both with the control of nuclear technology to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation and the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Article III of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA.

International Science and Technology Center (ISTC): Established in 1992 by the European Community (now the EU), Japan, the Russian Federation, and the United States, the Moscow-based ISTC serves as a clearinghouse for developing, approving, financing, and monitoring

projects aimed at engaging weapon scientists and engineers from the NIS in peaceful civilian science and technology activities. Through their projects, the ISTC contributes to ongoing efforts to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Their larger goals include reinforcing the NIS countries' transition to a market-based economy responsive to civilian needs.

J

K

Kiloton: The energy of a nuclear explosion that is equivalent to the explosion of 1,000 tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive.

Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO): KEDO was established in early 1995 to implement the 1994 Agreed Framework between the DPRK and United States. Its primary responsibilities are finance and supply of the light-water reactor (LWR) project, to provide heavy oil to the DPRK to meet its interim heating and electricity-generation needs, and to provide for the implementation of other measures required under the terms of the Agreed Framework. The LWR project was terminated on May 31, 2006, although KEDO continues to exist. Thirteen states are members: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), Finland, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic of Korea and the United States.

L

Land-based missile systems: Missile systems located on land in hardened bunkers and underground silos or on mobile launchers. Missile systems on mobile launchers are less vulnerable to first-strike attacks than are hardened or underground systems because the positions of mobile missiles can be changed.

Latin American Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone: See Treaty of Tlatelolco below.

Layered BMD system: A ballistic missile defense system that consists of several sets of defensive interceptors that operate against incoming ballistic missiles at different phases in the

missile's trajectory. Thus, there could be a first layer (e.g., boost phase) of defense with remaining targets passed on to succeeding layers (e.g., midcourse and terminal). The Bush Administration uses the terms "BMD" or "layered BMD" in lieu of the "TMD" and "NMD" phrases that were preferred by the Clinton Administration. [See WMD 411: BMD Systems.]

Light-water reactor (LWR): A term used to describe reactors using ordinary water as coolant, including boiling water reactors (BWRs) and pressurized water reactors (PWRs), the most common types used in the United States.

Limited Test Ban Treaty: Another name for the Partial Test Ban Treaty.

Lisbon Protocol: The protocol was opened for signature in 1992 by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. It made these states parties to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as successors to the former U.S.SR. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine also committed themselves in that protocol to adhere to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) as non-nuclear weapon states.

Low enriched uranium (LEU): Uranium in which the naturally occurring U235 isotope is increased, to less than 20 percent and usually between two and four percent. LEU is used in nuclear fuel for reactors using natural (light) water as a moderator and coolant.

M

Material protection, control, and accountability (MPC&A): An integrated system of physical protection, material accounting, and material control measures designed to deter, prevent, detect, and respond to unauthorized possession, use, or sabotage of nuclear materials. The U.S. Department of Energy's MPC&A program is implemented in cooperation with the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry and other agencies to install and upgrade physical protection systems at the nuclear energy and weapons production facilities in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. [See DOE MPC&A Program.]

Megaton (MT): The energy equivalent released by 1,000 kilotons (1,000,000 tons) of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosive. Typically used as the unit of measurement to express the amount of energy released by a nuclear bomb.

Mid-phase (or midcourse phase): That part of the ballistic missile's flight when the re-entry vehicle and warhead travel freely through space outside the atmosphere. For an ICBM, this stage lasts about 20 minutes.

Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR): An informal arrangement established in April 1987 by an association of states concerned about the proliferation of missile equipment and technology relevant to missiles that are capable of carrying a payload over 500 kilograms over a 300-kilometer range. Though originally intended to restrict the proliferation of nuclear-capable missiles, the regime has been expanded to cover unmanned delivery systems capable of carrying all types of WMD. As of August 2008, the membership included 34 states. Four others have agreed to comply with the MTCR Guidelines. [See Missile Technology Control Regime Summary]

Multilateral: Negotiations, agreements or treaties that effect or are between three or more parties, countries, etc.

Multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRV): An offensive ballistic missile system with multiple warheads, each of which can strike a separate target and can be launched by a single booster rocket.

Mutual deterrence: Deterrence between two adversaries.

N

National missile defense (NMD): A ground-based anti-ballistic missile system designed to protect a country against ballistic missile threats. The proposed U.S. system consists of four elements: ground-based interceptors (GBI); a ground-based radar (GBR); a battle management command, control, and communications (BM/C 3) system; and a constellation of Space and Missile Tracking System (SMTS) satellites. The term was used by the Clinton Administration to differentiate systems able to intercept long-range missiles from systems able to intercept only short-range, or "theater"-range missiles. The Bush Administration integrated TMD and NMD into a layered BMD system.

National technical means (NTMs): Satellites, aircraft, and electronic and seismic monitoring devices used to survey the activities of other states, including military movements and treaty compliance. NTMs are used to verify arms control treaties.

Negative security assurances: A pledge by a nuclear weapon state that it will not use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear weapon state. Some states have policies that allow for the use of nuclear weapons if attacked with other WMD by a non-nuclear weapon state. [See positive security assurances below]

New Agenda Coalition (NAC): In June 1998, the foreign ministers from Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, and Sweden issued a statement calling for a new nuclear disarmament agenda. (Slovenia later withdrew from the NAC.) The NAC calls for the five nuclear weapons states and the three nuclear-capable states to make an unequivocal commitment to nuclear disarmament and to begin multilateral negotiations that would lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons through a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

New Triad: The new U.S. strategic force structure, first articulated in the 2002 nuclear posture review. The new triad includes three “legs”: The first leg includes non-nuclear and nuclear strike capabilities. The second leg includes active and passive defense mechanisms, including ballistic missile defenses. The third leg includes responsive defense infrastructure, as part of an effort to better meet more amorphous and untraditional threats. [See WMD 411: Case Studies: The New Triad.]

Nodong: Name for a series of theater ballistic missiles being developed by North Korea. [See Nodong: Overview and Technical Assessment.]

No First Use: A pledge on the part of a nuclear weapons state not to be the first party to use nuclear weapons in a conflict or crises. No-first-use guarantees may be made in unilateral statements, bilateral or multilateral agreements, or as part of a treaty creating a nuclear-weapons-free zone.

Non-nuclear weapon state (NNWS): Under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, states that had not detonated a nuclear device prior to January 1, 1967 (that is, all states other than the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China).

Non-party: A state or entity that is not participating in an agreement, convention, or treaty.

Nonproliferation: Prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction. [See Counterproliferation above]

Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT): Signed in 1968, the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) provides that signatory nations without nuclear weapons will not seek to build them and will accept safeguards to prevent diversion of nuclear material and technology from peaceful uses to weapons program. States possessing nuclear weapons at the signing of the NPT agreed not to help non-nuclear states gain access to nuclear weapons, but to offer them access to peaceful nuclear technology. All states agree to work towards the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons. As of August 2008, there were 188 Parties to the NPT. The NPT also provides for review conferences at five-year intervals.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): The North Atlantic Treaty is a collective security agreement meant to deter Soviet aggression. It was signed in Washington on April 4, 1949. The treaty created an alliance of 10 European and two North American independent nations committed to each other's defense. Today NATO has 26 members. The member countries have committed to maintaining and developing their defense capabilities, to consulting on issues of mutual security concern, and to the principle of collective self-defense. NATO's members are Belgium, Bulgaria Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Nuclear energy: The energy derived from nuclear reactions. Two types of nuclear energy are especially relevant, nuclear fission – when the nucleus of an atom is split into two lighter nuclei, and nuclear fusion – when two nuclei are joined together.

Nuclear fuel cycle: The process of mining and refining uranium for use as reactor fuel.

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG): A group of states that cooperate to ensure that nuclear exports are made only under appropriate safeguards, physical protection, nonproliferation conditions, and other appropriate constraints. It first met in 1975 in London. As of August 2008, the NSG had 45 members.

Nuclear umbrella: Also known as extended deterrence, the term describes security derived through military protection from a nuclear power. A country protected from potential enemies by the nuclear weapons of an ally is said to be under a nuclear umbrella. By coming under a nuclear umbrella, countries allied with a nuclear weapon state hope to deter nuclear attack or threat from other countries.

Nuclear use doctrine: The fundamental principles by which military forces or political leaders guide their decisions regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapon: A device that releases nuclear energy in an explosive manner as the result of nuclear chain reactions involving the fission or fusion or both, of atomic nuclei.

Nuclear weapon-capable states: Those states not party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty but which have the ability to build nuclear weapons (India, Israel, and Pakistan).

Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ): A geographical area in which nuclear weapons are not allowed to be built, possessed, transferred, deployed, or tested. [See the NWFZ Tutorial.]

Nuclear weapon states (NWS): As defined by Article IX, paragraph 3 of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the five states that detonated a nuclear device prior to January 1, 1967 (China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States).

O

Offensive (research, weapon): Meant for use in instigating an attack, as opposed to defending against an attack. [See defensive above]

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): Based in the Hague, The Netherlands, the OPCW is responsible for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). All countries ratifying the CWC become states parties to the CWC and make up the membership of the OPCW. It meets annually and in special sessions when necessary.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): Created in 1975 as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) as part of the Helsinki negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The OSCE is composed of most NATO and former Warsaw Pact nations, including the United States, Canada, and Russia. Its purpose is to guarantee European security and human rights. As of January 2008, 55 states were participating.

Outer Space Treaty: The "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies" prohibits the placement of WMD in orbit around the earth, on the moon or any other celestial body, or otherwise in outer space. The treaty also stipulates that the exploration and use of outer space be carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries, and that the moon and other celestial bodies are to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. It was opened for signature on January 27, 1967, and entered into force on October 10, 1967. As of August 2008, there were 131 states parties.

P

P-5: The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (which are also the five NWS under the NPT): China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT): Also known as the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), the "Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water" prohibits

nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion" in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. While not banning tests underground, the treaty does prohibit nuclear explosions in this environment if they cause "radioactive debris to be present outside the territorial limits of the State under whose jurisdiction or control" the explosions were conducted. The treaty entered into force on October 10, 1963. The treaty is of unlimited duration, and as of August 2008, 121 states have ratified or acceded to the treaty, and 10 other states have signed but not ratified it.

Party: A person, group, or state that agrees to abide by the requirements of an agreement or a treaty.

Passive defenses: Passive defenses are measures that reduce the impact of a WMD attack once it has occurred. Two well-known examples of passive defenses are the use of protective clothing to reduce the impact of chemical weapons and the use of inoculations to reduce the impact of biological weapons. [See active defenses above]

Peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE): Nuclear explosions carried out for non-military purposes, such as the construction of harbors or canals. PNEs are technically indistinguishable from nuclear explosions of a military nature. Although Article V of the NPT allows for PNEs, no significant peaceful benefits have been discovered. In the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference, the States party agreed that Article V of the NPT is to be interpreted in light of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which will ban all nuclear explosions, including PNEs, once it enters into force.

Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Treaty (PNET): "The Treaty Between the United States and the U.S.SR on Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes," was signed in May 1976. The treaty governs all nuclear explosions conducted outside of nuclear test sites specifically named in the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. The PNET entered into force in December 1990. Many of its provisions were superseded by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which bans all nuclear explosions. [See the Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Treaty.]

Plutonium (Pu): A transuranic element produced when uranium is irradiated in a reactor. It is used primarily in nuclear weapons and, along with uranium, in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Plutonium-239 is the most suitable isotope for use in nuclear weapons.

Positive security assurances: Guarantees by nuclear weapon states that they will assist any non-nuclear weapon state that is the target of nuclear aggression or is threatened by such aggression. [See negative security assurances above]

Precursor chemical: A chemical that can be chemically combined with another substance to form a chemical warfare agent. Most precursors controlled through nonproliferation initiatives also have commercial uses.

Preemptive strike: An attack launched to destroy a country's weapons in order to eliminate the threat of those weapons being used in an attack against an enemy. Orders to launch a preemptive strike would be given after intelligence data has been received and analyzed. If the data indicate that an adversary is preparing for a nuclear attack, a preemptive strike could be undertaken to stop (or 'blunt') the nuclear attack.

Preemptive military action: An attack launched to deter expected aggression. Related to WMD issues, this would involve striking WMD arsenals or facilities to eliminate them before broader hostilities ensue. [See WMD 411: Preventive and Preemptive Actions.]

Proliferation (of WMD): The spread of WMD. Horizontal proliferation refers to the spread of WMD to states that have not previously possessed them. Vertical proliferation refers to an increase in the amount or devastating capacity of any currently existing WMD arsenals within a state.

Protocol: A negotiated document often meant as a supplement to a treaty or agreement, stipulating specific action that should be taken to fulfill the terms of the agreement or modifying the agreement.

Q

R

Radiological weapons: Devices that release radiation with the intent of inflicting severe injury or financial and psychological costs. The radiological isotopes used to produce radiological dispersal devices are found in waste from medical facilities, industrial plants, and nuclear power plants. [See the Radiological Terrorism Tutorial.]

Ratification: The implementation of the formal process established by a country to legally bind its government to a treaty, such as approval by parliament. In the United States, treaty ratifications require approval by the president after he has received the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate. The country then submits the required legal instrument of ratification to the treaty's depositary governments.

Re-activation: The reversal of measures to deactivate or de-alert missiles or the return of former military facilities or equipment to military use. In the case of missile re-activation, warheads are removed from storage facilities and redeployed on missiles in response to a perceived threat escalation.

Reentry phase: That portion of the trajectory of a ballistic missile or space vehicle when the vehicle reenters the earth's atmosphere.

Regime: An institution in which rules or practices (sometimes memorialized in a treaty or convention) are generally accepted by a group of states to help them work together in an otherwise anarchic world.

"Rogue" states: Countries regarded as hostile to the United States and its allies and suspected of developing or deploying WMD. Though the U.S. State Department discourages use of this term, it is still used by some U.S. officials in reference to North Korea and Iran. States of concern has replaced the term "rogue" states.

S

Safeguards: Monitoring of nuclear material to ensure it is not used for military purposes, as implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (See full-scope safeguards).

Sanctions: Economic or military penalties or measures enacted against a state in response to that state's violation of international rules or "norms" or treaty obligations.

Sarin: A nerve agent used in chemical weapons. Code named GB in the West (NATO), sarin is a highly toxic organophosphate compound, similar to an insecticide, first developed by German scientists in the 1930s. Like other agents in this category, it binds with the body's enzymes and causes chemical imbalances within the body's nervous system. Most binary chemical munitions have been built to deliver sarin on the battlefield. [See Sarin (GB).]

Science and Technology Center Ukraine (STCU): Established in 1993 by the European Union, the United States, Canada, and Ukraine, the STCU supports research and development activities that engage weapons scientists and engineers from Ukraine, Georgia, and Uzbekistan in peaceful civilian science and technology activities.

Scud: Name for a series of short-range ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and transferred to many other countries. Most theater ballistic missiles developed and deployed in countries of concern are based on the Scud design.

Seabed Treaty: The "Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons Of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof" prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons or any other weapons of mass destruction on the seabed, the ocean floor, and in the subsoil of the ocean floor beyond a signatory's 12-mile coastal zone. A conference to review the treaty is held every five years. Opened for signature on February 11, 1971, it entered into force on May 18, 1972. As of August 2008, there were 95 parties to the treaty; in addition, 21 states have signed but not ratified the treaty. [See Seabed Treaty Narrative.]

Shahab: Name for a series of theater ballistic missiles under development in Iran. Also spelled Shehab. [See Iran’s Missile Capabilities.]

Short-range missiles: Also referred to as theater missiles. Short-range missiles have a range of less than 1,000 kilometers.

Signature: The signing of a treaty by a senior representative of a country (such as the president or secretary of state) which indicates that the country accepts the treaty and commits, until the country completes its ratification process, not to take any actions that would undermine its purposes, according to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Silo: Hardened underground facility for housing and launching a ballistic missile and designed to provide pre-launch protection against nuclear attack.

Space Launch Vehicle: A rocket used to carry a payload, such as a satellite, from Earth into outer space. Space launch vehicles are made of technologies similar to long-range ballistic missiles. Therefore, some states have developed space launch vehicle programs in order to augment their ballistic missile capabilities.

Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone: See Treaty of Bangkok below.

South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone: See Treaty of Rarotonga below.

States of Concern: The term used to denote states hostile to the United States and its allies and which are developing or possess WMD. (See Rogue States).

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I & II): Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the Soviet Union and the United States were aimed at limiting missile systems and other strategic armaments. The first round of talks (SALT I) was held from 1969-1972, and the second from

1972-1979. SALT I concluded on May 20, 1971, when the ABM Treaty and the Interim Agreement limiting strategic offensive arms were signed. The SALT II Treaty was signed on June 18, 1979, but was not ratified by either country.

Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START I & II): This term refers to the negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union/Russian Federation held from 1982 to 1993 to limit and reduce the numbers of strategic offensive nuclear weapons in each country's nuclear arsenal. The talks resulted in the 1991 START I Treaty, which entered into force in December 1994, and the 1993 START II Treaty. Each treaty is officially named the "Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms." START I was originally negotiated between the United States and the Soviet Union, and now applies to the United States, Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have all renounced their possession of nuclear weapons under the 1992 Lisbon Protocol to START I. START II, which calls for further reductions in the United States and Russia has been ratified by the two countries, but has not yet entered into force. START I is set to expire in December 2009. As of August 2008, it was unclear whether the agreement would be extended, replaced, or allowed to expire at that time.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): The national defense program launched by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in March 1983, to study the feasibility of researching and developing defensive measures against ballistic missiles. President Reagan called for "a long-term research and development program to begin to achieve our ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by strategic nuclear missiles" that is consistent with U.S. obligations under the ABM Treaty.

Strategic nuclear warheads: Warheads placed on long-range delivery systems, on land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and long-range bombers.

Sub-critical tests: Tests that are used to gather information about nuclear warhead design and performance. Although sub-critical tests use some fissile materials, the tests do not produce a nuclear explosion or lead to any release of radioactivity.

Submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM): A ballistic missile that is carried aboard and launched from a submarine.

Supreme national interests: Essential requirements that influence and guide a state in the creation of its foreign policy. Supreme national interests include territorial integrity, self preservation, independence, military security, and economic well-being.

T

Tactical nuclear weapons: Short-range nuclear weapons, such as artillery shells, bombs, and short-range missiles, deployed for use in battlefield operations.

Taepodong: Name for a series of theater ballistic missiles under development in North Korea. The most advanced versions of this series may have sufficient range to strike parts of Alaska and Hawaii. [See North Korea’s Missile Capabilities.]

Targeting: The use of computer code to determine the location where a missile will strike. Since computer codes cannot be observed by the adversaries it is difficult to verify whether de-targeting pledges have been implemented.

Terminal-phase: The final phase of a warhead's trajectory when it re-enters the earth's atmosphere and strikes the target.

Theater high altitude air defense (THAAD): The U.S. Army's air defense program designed to provide extended defense and to engage an incoming missile at ranges of up to several hundred kilometers. THAAD will deploy a hit-to-kill interceptor equipped with an infrared seeker. Unlike fragmentation warheads that explode near an object in order to destroy it, the THADD interceptor is designed to collide with the target ballistic missile. The interception is intended to occur outside the earth's atmosphere, or high in the atmosphere.

Theater missile: Short-range delivery system (missile) with a range of 1,000 kilometers or less.

Theater missile defense (TMD): Missile interceptors designed to destroy shorter-range ballistic missiles aimed at deployed troops or overseas facilities. Because the ABM Treaty prohibited NMD, but permitted defenses against shorter-range missiles, the Clinton Administration sought to separate TMD and NMD. The Bush Administration, anticipating that the United States would withdraw from the ABM Treaty, eliminated the distinction between NMD and TMD and incorporated both programs into a layered BMD system.

Thermonuclear weapon: A nuclear weapon in which fusion of light nuclei, such as deuterium and tritium, contributes the main explosive energy. The high temperatures required for such fusion reactions are obtained by means of an initial fission explosion. It is also referred to as a hydrogen bomb.

Thirteen Practical Steps: The Thirteen Practical Steps toward nuclear disarmament were adopted as part of the Final Document at the 2000 NPT Review Conference. The steps outline ways in which Article VI, the nuclear disarmament provision of the NPT, can be implemented. Most noteworthy was the "unequivocal undertaking" given by the nuclear-weapon states

(NWS) to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament. Furthermore, the NWS agreed to steps leading to nuclear disarmament in a way that promotes international stability. [See Towards NPT 2005: An Action Plan for the “13-Steps.”]

Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT): Officially called the "Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests." This treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union prohibits underground nuclear weapon tests having a yield exceeding 150 kilotons. The treaty was signed on July 3, 1974, and entered into force on December 11, 1990.

Toxin: A poison formed as a specific secretion product in the metabolism of a vegetable or animal organism as distinguished from inorganic poisons. Such poisons can also be manufactured by synthetic processes.

Transparency measures: The exchange of information, access to facilities, and cooperative arrangements states undertake to provide ready observation and verification of treaty or defense obligations, as well as other activities.

Treaty of Bangkok (Treaty on the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone): The treaty prohibits the development, manufacture, acquisition, or testing of nuclear weapons anywhere within the region of the parties. It also prohibits the transport of nuclear weapons through the region. Signatories also undertake to enact International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and to refrain from dumping at sea, discharging into the atmosphere, or burying on land any radioactive material or waste. Opened for signature on December 15, 1995, the treaty entered into force on March 27, 1997. As of August 2008, there were ten parties to the treaty. This treaty has no protocols for nuclear weapon states. [See NWFZ Tutorial: The Treaty of Bangkok.]

Treaty of Moscow (Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty): Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush signed this treaty on May 24, 2002. The approximately 475-word treaty states that both the United States and Russia will reduce their numbers of deployed nuclear warheads to between 1700-2200 within the next ten years. It establishes a Bilateral Implementation Commission, scheduled to meet at least twice a year, which will establish procedures to verify and assist reductions. The treaty will remain in force until December 31, 2012, at which time the parties have the option of extending or terminating the agreement. Either party can withdraw from the treaty upon giving three months written notice to the other. The document does not require the destruction of strategic delivery systems, specify what is to be done with the warheads once they have been removed from launchers, or constrain the development of ballistic missile defenses. [See SORT Treaty Overview.]

Treaty of Pelindaba (Treaty on the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone): The African nuclear-weapon-free zone treaty was opened for signature in Cairo on April 11, 1996. This treaty

prohibits the research, development, manufacturing, stockpiling, acquisition, testing, possession, control, and stationing of nuclear explosive devices in the members' territory. The treaty also prohibits the deposit of radioactive waste originating from outside the continent within the region. Under the treaty, signatories are required to put all their nuclear programs under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. The treaty also provides for the establishment of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), which will supervise treaty implementation and ensure compliance. As of August 2008, there were 53 parties to the treaty; in addition, 37 states have signed but not ratified the treaty. All five nuclear weapon states have signed the relevant protocols to the treaty. [See NWFZ Tutorial: The Treaty of Pelindaba.]

Treaty of Rarotonga (Treaty on the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone): This treaty prohibits the testing, manufacturing, acquiring, and stationing of nuclear explosive devices in any member's territory. The treaty prohibits dumping radioactive wastes into the sea. In addition, the treaty requires all parties to apply International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards to all their peaceful nuclear activities. It was opened for signature on August 6, 1985, and entered into force on December 11, 1986. As of August 2008, there were 13 parties to the treaty. The treaty has three Protocols that refer to provisions of territories within the zone that belong to the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. All five nuclear weapon states have signed the protocols. [See NWFZ Tutorial: The Treaty of Rarotonga.]

Treaty of Tlatelolco (Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean): This treaty created a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Treaty of Tlatelolco was the first international agreement that aimed at excluding nuclear weapons from an inhabited region of the globe. The member states accept the application of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards for all their nuclear activities to assist in verifying compliance with the treaty. The treaty also establishes a regional organization, the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), to help ensure compliance with its provisions. The treaty was opened for signature on February 14, 1967. The treaty will enter into force when all states of the region have signed and ratified. To date, all of the 33 states of the region have ratified the treaty. Cuba was the last country to ratify the treaty, in October 2002. China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands and Spain have signed the relevant protocols to the treaty. [See NWFZ: The Treaty of Tlatelolco.]

Triad: The strategic force structure, whereby nuclear weapons are deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines (SLBMs), and aircraft, such as heavy bombers. [See new triad above]

Trilateral Statement on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Means of Their Delivery: Signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk in January 1994, the Trilateral Statement commits Ukraine to rid itself of nuclear weapons and to transfer 200 SS-19 and SS-24 warheads to Russia over a ten-month period. The Trilateral Statement also specifies that Ukraine is to deactivate its SS-24s within the same ten-month period. The United States and Russia Agree to guarantee Ukraine's borders and grant Ukraine security guarantees as long as Ukraine joins the NPT as a non-nuclear weapons state.

U

Unauthorized launch: The accidental or unintended launch of nuclear missiles because of faulty intelligence, systematic or mechanical failures, or mistaken action of military personnel.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): Remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry a number of payloads. UAVs are mainly used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering, although experts worry that they could be used to deliver chemical or biological weapons.

United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC): Successor to UNSCOM established by UN Security Council Resolution 1284 (1999). The Commission is mandated to establish a reinforced, ongoing monitoring and verification system to check Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to reacquire WMD. Resolution 1284 provides for a temporary lifting of sanctions against Iraq once it verifies that Iraq has cooperated with the Commission for a period of 120 days.

United Nations Security Council: Under the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. The Council consists of fifteen members, five of which are permanent - China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. The other ten members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The five permanent members have veto power.

United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM): An inspection and weapons destruction program established pursuant to paragraph 9(b)(I) of UN Security Council Resolution 687 (1991) following the Gulf War. Section C of this resolution called for the elimination, under international supervision, of Iraq's WMD and ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers, together with related items and production facilities. It also called for measures to ensure that Iraq did not resume the acquisition and production of prohibited

items. UNSCOM was set up to implement the non-nuclear provisions of the resolution and to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in the nuclear areas.

V

Verification: The process of using mechanisms such as satellites, seismic monitoring, or on-site inspections, to collect data that demonstrates a party's compliance with an agreement or treaty.

Vienna Convention: The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which was drafted in 1969 and entered into force in 1980, codified pre-existing customary international law covering treaties.

Vertical proliferation: An increase in the size, quality, or destructive capacity of an existing weapon of mass destruction arsenal. [See horizontal proliferation above]

W

Warsaw Pact: Created in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its six Central European satellites, this military and political security alliance was the counterpart of NATO. It was formally dissolved on April 1, 1991.

Wassenaar Arrangement: Representatives of 33 states met in Vienna, Austria, in July 1996, and established this arrangement to contribute to regional and international security by promoting transparency and greater responsibility with regard to transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. Members also seek through national policies to ensure that transfers of these items do not contribute to the development or enhancement of military capabilities that undermine these goals, and are not diverted to support such capabilities. This organization is the successor to COCOM. As of August 2008, 40 states participated in the arrangement.

Weapons-grade: Refers to nuclear material that is most suitable for the manufacture of nuclear weapons- e.g., uranium (U) enriched to 93 percent U-235 or plutonium (Pu) that is over 90 percent Pu-239. Crude weapons can be fabricated from lower-grade material.

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD): In official U.S. documents, WMDs are most frequently described as nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. Some experts also define radiological weapons as a type of weapon of mass destruction. [See WMD 411: Definitions of WMD.]

Weapons-usable material: Nuclear material in a form that can be readily fabricated into nuclear weapons, without need for processes that alter the isotopic content. These materials are not as desirable as weapons-grade material, such as highly enriched uranium (HEU) or plutonium-239.

X

Y

Yield: The amount of energy released by a nuclear explosion, generally measured in equivalent tons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). A kiloton is equivalent to 1,000 tons of TNT; a megaton is equivalent to one million tons of TNT.

Z

Zangger Committee: A group of 36 nuclear exporting states established in 1971 under the chairmanship of Claude Zangger of Switzerland. The purpose of the committee is to maintain a "trigger list" of (l) source or special fissionable materials, and (2) equipment or materials especially designed or prepared for the processing, use, or production of special fissionable materials. Additionally, the committee has identified certain dual-use technologies as requiring safeguarding when they are supplied to non-nuclear weapon states to be used for nuclear purposes. These include explosives, centrifuge components, and special materials. The Zangger Committee is an informal arrangement and its decisions are not legally binding upon its members.