International security

World Cannot Be Lucky Forever Escaping Nuclear Threat - ICAN Chief

Threats of using weapons of mass destruction (WMD), coming from certain states, are doomed to come true one day unless urgent measures are taken, Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), told Sputnik in an interview.

"It's not acceptable to threaten to kill innocent civilians. It's not a security strategy. If you continue to use nuclear weapons, they will be used. And we are very ill-prepared for dealing with consequences. If threats continue, eventually, the weapons will be used. We are not going to be lucky forever," Fihn said.

In December 2017, ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its efforts "to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons" and to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons. This happened amid a growing threat of WMD use as the situation on the Korean peninsula became extremely tense in 2017, when Pyongyang continued to pursue its nuclear and missile programs despite warnings of the international community.