The 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the first use of a nuclear weapon in history, comes amid circumstances not necessarily favorable for abolishing nuclear weapons. The Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima killed some 140,000 people; the bombing of Nagasaki three days later, some 70, 000. Many survivors still suffer radiation-caused illnesses, including cancer.
North Korea, which tested a nuclear weapon in October 2006, has shut down its plutonium-producing reactor and other facilities at Yongbyon, and accepted International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. But it is unclear when it will complete its next-stage commitments under the Feb. 13 six-party deal to declare all its nuclear programs and disable all its nuclear facilities. Iran is refusing to stop its program to enrich uranium, thus retaining the potential to obtain weapons-grade material.
The United States and India have agreed on broad terms for U.S. resumption of sales of civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India and virtual admission of India into the nuclear club. Although the deal provides for international supervision of India's nuclear fuel cycle, it could undermine the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime, which India has refused to join. After 1974, when India exploded a nuclear device, the U.S. had stopped providing it with aid for nuclear power generation.