nuclear arms verification

The process of checking the number and types of nuclear weapons held by a country in accordance with negotiated limits. The chief means are: reconnaissance satellites that detect submarines or weapon silos, using angled cameras to give three-dimensional pictures of installations, penetrating camouflage by means of scanners, and partially seeing through cloud and darkness by infrared devices; telemetry or radio transmission of instrument readings; interception to get information on performance of weapons under test; on-site inspection by experts visiting bases, launch sites, storage facilities, and test sites in another country; radar tracking of missiles in flight; seismic monitoring of underground tests, in the same way as with earthquakes. This is not accurate and on-site inspection is needed. Tests in the atmosphere, space, or the oceans are forbidden, and the ban is accepted because explosions are not only dangerous to all but immediately detectable.