"Trust on nuclear and other issues between the United States and the Russian Federation continues to ebb," Guterres said during the Security Council meeting on Thursday, adding that "important measures to reduce strategic weapons, taken during and after the Cold War, are under threat".
"After the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in 2021, there is no desire to work on a new agreement to reduce nuclear arsenals," he said during a UNSC meeting on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The statement was made in wake of the recent Huffington Post report, citing the unclassified part of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), that claims that Russia has advantages in the production of nuclear weapons over the US and its allies. According to the newspaper, Russia aims to build a "large, diverse, and modern set of non-strategic systems", not accountable under the START. However, this information has not been officially confirmed by Russia's or US authorities.
READ MORE: Alleged Nuclear Posture Review Recognizes Russia's Superiority Over US
The START III Treaty between Russia and the United States was signed in 2010, entering into force in 2011. The agreement stipulates the reduction of deployed strategic carriers of each side to 700 units and up to 1,000 550 nuclear warheads on them. The contract is valid for 10 years — until 2021.
North Korea
The UN Chief has touched upon a ceaseless issue of the escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula, expressing his concern over the situation.
"I remain deeply concerned over the growing risk of military confrontation and any immeasurable consequences that would result," Guterres said.
Despite the months of ramping tensions on the Korean peninsula, escalated over North Korea's nuclear program and missile tests, recently the situation has slightly improved
Earlier, the UN Security Council has introduced multiple sanctions against North Korea in order to impede the development of the country's nuclear program.
Tensions have escalated on the Korean Peninsula in recent months after the United States and North Korea traded threats and insults following Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
