1992

January 28
President George Bush in his State of the Union Address announces the following: cancellation of the Midgetman Missile Program; no additional production of W-88 warheads or MX2 test missiles; termination of the B-2 bomber program after 20 planes are built (in about 1996); and cessation of production of the advanced cruise missile at 640 missiles.

January 31
The United Nations Security Council, at heads of state level, unanimously declares that nuclear proliferation constitutes a threat to international peace and security.

February 7
Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan of Pakistan admits in an interview with the Washington Post that his country has the components to assemble at least one nuclear bomb.

February 12
Workers strike for the first time at the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel, a plant believed to be the center of Israel's nuclear arms production.

February 17
The Joint Declaration for a Non-Nuclear Korean Peninsula enters into force between North and South Korea. Among the provisions, each side agrees not to "test, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons."

March 9
China adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a nuclear weapons state. China's instrument of accession states, "Pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace, China has all along stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons. With a view to bringing about this objective and maintaining international peace, security and stability, and taking into consideration the aspirations and demands of the large numbers of non-nuclear-weapon countries, China has decided to accede to the treaty."

March 24
A Chernobyl-type nuclear reactor leaks radioactive gases and iodine into the air at Sosnovy Bor, west of St. Petersburg.

April 3
The 27 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group agree on controls for dual-use, nuclear-related equipment and technology.

April 8
French Premier Pierre Beregovoy announces that France will suspend nuclear testing.

May 21
China conducts a one-megaton nuclear weapon test, its largest test ever.

May 23
The United States and four former Soviet Republics (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine) sign a multilateral Protocol to maintain the nuclear weapons of the former Soviet Union within their combined national territories "under the safe, secure, and reliable control of a single authority."

June 1
The U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC) is dissolved and replaced with the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) which has a greatly reduced nuclear structure. Many of SAC's assets -- tankers, reconnaissance and communications aircraft, and a portion of its bombers - are assigned to other generals.

June 15
Defense Minister Tom King of Great Britain announces that the British Navy will no longer routinely carry nuclear weapons on their surface ships and that the weapons previously earmarked for this role will be destroyed.

June 16
President George Bush and President Boris Yeltsin agree on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads to 3000-3500 for each country by 2003.

June 17
Russian President Boris Yeltsin addresses a joint session of Congress, stating that the nuclear weapons of the Cold War "turned out to be obsolete and unnecessary to mankind. And it is now simply a matter of calculating the best way and the best time schedule for destroying them and getting rid of them."

July 2
The Kazakhstan parliament ratifies the START Treaty by 238 to 1. [see June 16, 1992]

August 3
France officially adheres to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a nuclear weapons state, 24 years after the treaty was opened for signatures. [see July 1, 1968]

August 4
The U.S. Senate votes 68 to 26 for a nine-month moratorium on nuclear weapons testing beginning October 1, 1992, and a final cut-off of all testing by September 30, 1996.

August 15
The United States launches its 14th Trident nuclear submarine, the USS Nebraska , with 24 multi-warhead missiles.

October 1
The United States initiates a unilateral nine-month moratorium on nuclear testing.

November 7
The Akatsuki Maru , a Japanese ship carrying 1.7 tons of plutonium, sets off for Japan from Cherbourg, France.

December 13
The Kazakhstan parliament approves the Non-Proliferation Treaty . [see July 1, 1968]

President Carlos Menem of Argentina and President Fernando Collor de Mello of Brazil sign a pledge not to build nuclear weapons. Under the terms of the pledge, each state has the right to inspect the other's nuclear installations to ensure compliance.