One step forwards, many backwards

摘要

On june 30th, when President Donald Trump took a few paces inside North Korean territory with Kim Jong Un at Pan-munjom, the symbolism suggested a determined new push towards easing nuclear tensions. Talks between America and North Korea, stalled since an unsuccessful summit in Hanoi in February, were due to resume in Berlin this week. Away from the world's cameras, however, the broader picture on nuclear arms control looks very different. Things are heading not forwards but backwards, at an accelerating rate.