Nuclear

North Korea’s failing currency

By The World ⋅ February 4, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The North Korean government recently knocked two zeros off its currency, the won. And it ordered citizens to turn in their old cash savings. The move caused panic and riots, now the North Korean government has apparently fired the official who led the currency revaluation program. Katy Clark talks with Marcus Noland who is an expert on North Korea’s economy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Download MP3

North Korea’s strategic arsenal

By Michael Rass ⋅ December 11, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

kim150 North Korea says it will continue to co-operate with the United States on ending its nuclear program and agrees that stalled talks need to resume. The country’s foreign ministry said Pyongyang would work with Washington to “narrow remaining differences”. In June, the UN Security Council voted to impose tougher sanctions on communist North Korea, following a nuclear test carried by the North Koreans in defiance of previous UN resolutions.

Assessing US intelligence on Iran

By The World ⋅ September 28, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Iranian state media today said the military has successfully test-fired Shahab and Sejil missiles, which are capable of reaching much of the Middle East, including Israel and American bases in the Gulf. The move comes just days after revelations of a secret nuclear enrichment program, and just days before multi-party talks on Iran’s nuclear program that will involve the United States. Anchor Jeb Sharp speaks with Charles Duelfer, a former US intelligence officer and weapons inspector. Download MP3 (AP Photo/Fars News Agency, Ali Shaigan)

Iran ‘concealed nuclear facility’

By The World ⋅ September 25, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Iran has been accused of concealing a second uranium enrichment plant in defiance of international calls for transparency over its nuclear plans. The US, UK and France demanded UN inspectors be given immediate access to the facility. Iran revealed the existence of the plant to the UN watchdog, saying it was not yet operational and would only be used for nuclear energy. Tehran has previously acknowledged it has one enrichment plant, at Natanz (pictured in AP photo). Katy Clark reports.

BBC coverage
Iran’s key nuclear sites
Background Brief: Nuclear Standoff with Iran

Iran reveals a secret nuclear plant

By The World ⋅ September 25, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Iran has revealed it’s developing a second uranium enrichment plant. Until now it’s acknowledged only one. President Obama called on Tehran today to open the facility international inspectors. The World’s Katy Clark has the story.

Reaction to Iran’s second nuclear fuel plant

By The World ⋅ September 25, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Jacqueline Shire, an expert on arms control and proliferation, about revelations that Iran has a secret underground nuclear plant.

Nuclear disarmament

By The World ⋅ September 24, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for nuclear disarmament, in a session chaired by President Barack Obama. Many organizations and networks have been campaigning for complete nuclear disarmament for decades. The World’s Jeb Sharp takes a look at these movements and where they are now. Download MP3 (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The “no nukes” movement

By The World ⋅ September 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
The World’s Jeb Sharp reports on what happened to the nuclear disarmament movement after its heyday during the Cold War.

The state of nuclear non-proliferation

By The World ⋅ September 23, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

In his first speech before the General Assembly, the President also addressed nuclear non-proliferation and related security issues. The World’s Katy Clark gives us an update on the issue of containing the spread of nuclear weapons. Download MP3

Iran to hold talks over nuclear program

By The World ⋅ September 14, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

International attempts to get Iran to stop enriching uranium have gotten nowhere. Today, it was announced that the United States and other world powers will soon try again. They will hold talks with Iran in two weeks. The discussions will concentrate on Tehran’s latest proposals for dealing with the controversy over its nuclear program. We speak with Lawrence Korb, who is senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Download MP3

India’s nuclear development

By The World ⋅ July 27, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
India has launched its first nuclear submarine. And the US is close to a deal that would allow India to re-process spent US nuclear fuel. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Henry Sokolski, of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, who is concerned about both developments.

North Korean leader reportedly has cancer

By The World ⋅ July 13, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Reports that North Korea’s leader has pancreatic cancer are unconfirmed, but they’re fueling speculation about who will next rule the reclusive communist dictatorship. Listen

Best of the BBC: Inside North Korea

By admin ⋅ June 12, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

North Korea’s recent nuclear test has received condemnation from around the world. But North Korean residents themselves make of it? Despite the difficulties of investigating inside a closed society like North Korea’s, a Japanese magazine called ‘Rimjingang’ managed to get a glimpse behind the facade, helping a few brave people to film inside North Korea. BBC correspondent Roland Buerk went to Osaka to meet the man behind the project, Jiro Ishimaru.

A Successor to Kim Jong-il?, and Two American Journalists on Trial in the DPRK

By Clark Boyd ⋅ June 4, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

Kim Jong un? On this week’s podcast, we focus exclusively on North Korea. There are signs that Kim Jong-il may be paving the way for his third son, Kim Jong-un, to take over power. Also, we hear about two American journalists set to go on trial in Pyongyang for entering North Korea illegally. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a North Korean prison, then this is the podcast for you. We speak with a former US Navy Officer who spent more than 11 months in one after the ship he was on was captured in 1968. Read more…