US Department of Defense "Extremely Concerned About China's Construction of Facilities Potentially Dedicated to Nuclear Weapons... Lack of Transparency"

"China Does Not Disclose Plutonium Stockpile"
"Must Show No Intention to Divert for Military Use"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Regarding the recent mention of China as a major threat in the U.S. Department of Defense's Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the Chinese government expressed concerns about hiding plutonium stockpiles and constructing facilities that could be exclusively used for nuclear weapons development. It also pointed out that China must prove to the international community that it will not repurpose nuclear facilities for military use.

On the 1st (local time), Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, stated at an NPR-related seminar hosted by the U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, "We are extremely concerned about China’s recent construction of two fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities capable of extracting significant amounts of plutonium usable for nuclear weapons," adding, "The fast breeder reactors for civilian purposes do not require the fuel China is using."

He continued, "In the past, permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have disclosed their civilian plutonium stockpiles, but China has stopped doing so, resulting in a lack of transparency," and said, "If China does not wish to discuss nuclear issues with us through bilateral channels, it must demonstrate through International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reporting, among other means, that it has no intention of repurposing these nuclear facilities for military use."

Earlier, on the 27th, the U.S. Department of Defense released the integrated National Defense Strategy (NDS), which includes the NPR and the Missile Defense Review (MDR). In this report, China is identified as a country that could threaten U.S. national security, with projections that it could possess at least 1,000 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2030.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Johnson emphasized, "The growth of China’s nuclear forces has become a new and significant factor we must consider. This was not something we needed to think about in previous NPRs," and added, "This document clearly shows that we are now potentially facing the rise of two nuclear-armed competitors, which must be considered from both deterrence and arms control perspectives."

However, he explained that the U.S. will not immediately demand China to reduce its nuclear forces as the U.S. and Russia have pursued. Johnson stated, "If that is China’s position, we will not request to discuss numbers. Instead, we are suggesting discussing a kind of guardrail (safety measure) to prevent unnecessary crises or misunderstandings in the region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.