Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, opened for signature in July 1968 and in force from 1970, rests on a bargain between nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states. The states that did not have nuclear weapons agreed not to acquire them, and in return were promised access to peaceful nuclear technology under safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, while the five recognized nuclear-weapon states, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China, pledged to work toward disarmament. The treaty was extended indefinitely in 1995 and has been joined by almost all countries. India, Pakistan and Israel never signed it, North Korea withdrew in 2003, and compliance and disarmament remain subjects of continuing dispute.

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