The United States is considering deploying more nuclear weapons to deter Russia, China and North Korea, according to a U.S. official.

• The United States is considering deploying more strategic nuclear weapons, a senior Biden official said.

• Russia, China and North Korea are rapidly increasing their nuclear capabilities, Pranay Vaddi said.

• The United States must modernize its nuclear arsenal to deter threats and preserve stability, the official said.

The United States is considering deploying more strategic nuclear weapons after years of post-Cold War reductions, a senior Biden administration official said.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Arms Control Association (ACA) on Friday, Pranay Vaddi, the top arms control official at the National Security Council, said: “We could reach a point in the years to come where an increase in the number of personnel currently deployed is necessary. be fully prepared to execute if the president makes that decision.

Vaddi warned that America's adversaries, specifically referring to Russia, China and North Korea, are “all expanding and diversifying their nuclear arsenals at a breakneck pace, showing little or no interest in arms control”.

With Iran, these countries are “increasingly cooperating and coordinating in ways that undermine peace and stability, threaten the United States, our allies, and partners, and exacerbate regional tensions.” “, did he declare.

Vaddi's comments contrast with US government's position on nuclear proliferation outlined by national security adviser Jake Sullivan at the ACA meeting last year.

Sullivan said the United States did not need to “deploy ever more dangerous nuclear weapons to maintain deterrence” or engage in a Cold War-style arms race.

“We went there. We learned that lesson,” Sullivan said.

In February last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin withdrew from the 2010 New START treaty, which imposed controls on the number of nuclear weapons Russia and the United States could have.

These limits meant that neither country could deploy more than 1,550 nuclear warheads.

Putin said that to resume treaty activities, the United States would have to end its support for Ukraine and force France and the United Kingdom to participate in arms control negotiations.

At the time, President Joe Biden called Putin's decision a “big mistake.”

Last week, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to launch nuclear strikes against the West, Reuters reported.

The former president served from 2008 to 2012 and is currently vice chairman of the Russian Security Council.

Reuters reported that Medvedev said: “No one today can rule out the transition of the conflict to its final stage.”

In May, Russia announced tactical nuclear attack exercises near Ukraine, which it said were taking place in response to recent “threats” from the West.

Speaking about the growing threat of nuclear conflict, Vaddi said: “We will have no choice but to adjust our posture and capabilities to preserve deterrence and stability.”

“We must persuade our adversaries that managing rivalry through arms control is preferable to unbridled competition,” he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider