U) The Nuclear Programs of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran

1 The NDAA language requires the final report to cover 10 topics for each country: (1) the activities, budgets, and policy documents regarding the nuclear weapons program; (2) the known research and development activities with respect to nuclear weapons; (3) the inventories of nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles with respect to both deployed and nondeployed weapons; (4) the capabilities of such. [...] It states: The Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it and/or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy.11 But in practice, as nuclear threats by the Russian l. [...] The ideological foundation of the North Korean regime rests on the philosophy of Juche, which means “agency” but is often translated as “self-reliance.” The nuclear program and national ideology are inextricably linked in that they feed off each other with respect to how the regime portrays itself to the people and how the people view the legitimacy of the regime. [...] The primary motivations behind the Soviet Union’s decision to acquire nuclear weapons were knowledge of the existence of foreign nuclear programs, a desire to elevate the position of the Soviet Union in the post‒World War II period, and a desire to hedge against an uncertain 38 Fink and Oliker, “Russia’s Nuclear Weapons in a Multipolar World”; Sokov, The Evolving Role of Nuclear Weapons in Russia’. [...] “Nuclear deterrence is ensured by the presence in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of the combat-ready forces and means that are capable to inflict guaranteed unacceptable damage on a potential adversary through employment of nuclear weapons in any circumstances, as well as by the readiness and resolve of the Russian Federation to use such weapons.” • Russian nuclear forces are always on.