New Generation of Arms

Nuclear Energy Minister Viktor Mikhailov has said in an interview that a new generation of nuclear weapons could be developed by the year 2000 unless military nuclear research was stopped. The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper published the interview Saturday that the new fourth generation of nuclear weapons could be directed more accurately than current arms. He gave no further details but seemed to be suggesting new weapons could be programed to wipe out people while leaving buildings standing. Mikhailov, one of the scientists who helped develop the current generation of nuclear weapons, said it was a toss-up whether Russia or the United States would be the first country to devise the new arms. British television researchers have said Russian scientists designed a miniature neutron bomb which would destroy human life but leave buildings and machinery intact. The small "clean" neutron bombs are not made from "dirty" plutonium and so are not covered by non-proliferation treaties. An expert told researchers a neutron bomb would have the yield of 10 tons of TNT high explosive and kill humans within 600 meters by radiation while leaving little lingering radiation.