the american people this administration's highest priority is your safety and security one year ago we began a focused and comprehensive look at what was needed to meet this fundamental responsibility it started with president trumps national security strategy and in support secretary mabus led the development of the national defense strategy both state the need for a safe secure effective nuclear deterrent at the president's direction the department of state energy and defense work together on a daily basis for this past year for the coordinated whole of government analysis of our nuclear deterrent we leveraged centuries of combined expertise from across the government in the nonproliferation community for a strategy to keep america safe in this century with a deterrent that is modern and credible shannon every day we in the department of defense ask ourselves how can we give our diplomats leverage so they always speak from a position of strength the national defense strategy directly supported by the two thousand and eighteen n p r is our answer so now to the n p r itself this review is consistent with u s nuclear policies since the end of the cold war it reaffirms that the fundamental role of u s nuclear policy is deterrence and continues our clear commitment to nonproliferation and arms control since the end of the cold war the united states is work to reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons but the world looks different since the last n p r in two thousand  the challenging and dynamic security environment requires steady action to strengthen deterrence this n p r responds to today's security needs with a tailored nuclear deterrence strategy and flexible capabilities for effective deterrence a one size fits all approach has its limits this n p r ensures we can deter any potential adversary because they are not all alike we must keep america's deterrent credible by making it modern the two thousand and eighteen n p r calls for which is necessary affordable and long overdue our nuclear triad has kept us safe for over seventy years we cannot afford to let it become obsolete the n p r also makes recommendations to keep our deterrent effective for our world today namely lowering the yield of some existing submarine launched ballistic missile warheads and bringing back nuclear c based launched cruise missiles a capability our nation had for decades neither recommendation requires developing new nuclear warheads neither will increase the size of our nuclear stockpile they break no treaty they align with our non proliferation commitments they strengthen american deterrence some will say any additional capability no matter how measured increases the chance of using one of these weapons on the contrary it is the exact opposite the n p r states and i quote the united states would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme in extremis circumstances to defend the vital interests of the united states its allies and partners the n p r clarifies a longstanding policy that extreme circumstances could include significant non nuclear strategic attacks this clarification is stabilizing it lowers the risk of nuclear use by anyone the united states does not want to use nuclear weapons we do want to maintain an effective deterrent to keep americans and our allies and partners safe and secure under secretary shannon will speak to our n p r and gauge went with allies and partners but before he does i want to thank the men and women of our nuclear forces your dedication keeps america safe we look forward to working with congress as we implement these recommendations and for ongoing support for nuclear modernization we also look forward to working with our allies partners to reduce the chances that these weapons will ever be used now under secretary of state shannon thank you very much deputy secretary i'm glad to be here today with you and deputy secretary breaux yet as deputy secretary shanahan noted the nuclear posture review as a whole of government effort it is an important document that identifies the nuclear policies strategy and corresponding capabilities needed to protect us in an increasingly complex threat environment over the past decade the united states has reduced the number in salience of our nuclear weapons by more than eighty five percent since its cold war peak well russia has joined us in strategic productions including ongoing implementation of the new start treaty a large stockpile of non strategic nuclear weapons and continues to modernize those as well as its strategic systems china is also modernizing and expanding its nuclear forces both countries are challenging the free and open international order we know that other unfriendly regimes and enemies of our country put our lives at risk by pursuing nuclear weapons north korea continues it illicit nuclear weapons program and missile capabilities iran retains the technological capability to develop a nuclear weapon within one year of deciding to do so the potential threat of non state actors getting their hands on a nuclear weapon remains at the front of all of our minds nuclear terrorism is still a major threat in this century and one we must work to mitigate at every opportunity because of the dangerous world we live in and our unwavering commitment to our allies the twenty eighteen nuclear posture review focuses on strengthening extended the turns the united states has formal extended deterrence commitments that assure european asian and pacific allies of our commitment to use nuclear force to protect them if necessary ongoing close collaboration with allies and partners is essential to deterring or defeating the common threats we face this collaboration includes sustained dialogues and joint military exercises but we also realize that every ally and partner faces a different threat environment we will continue to work with them t tailor our assurance strategies in ways that are most effective for their specific situation but let me be clear the united states is committed to our allies under the us nuclear umbrella our extended deterrence commitments are unwavering we have the ability and will to fulfill them potential adversaries should not doubt our resolve in addition as the twenty eight thousand nuclear posture review makes clear the united states will hold accountable any state or non state actor that supports terrorist efforts to obtain or employ a nuclear weapon important to this to terrence is maintaining our capabilities so that united states can respond decisively across the full spectrum of potential or potential nuclear and non nuclear scenarios but as this n p r makes clear the united states will only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend a vital interest of the united states its allies and partners the n p r also states that and i quote the united states will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non nuclear weapons states that are party to the end p in compliance with their nuclear nonproliferation obligations the united states is committed to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty and essential cornerstone of nuclear nonproliferation effective nuclear  nonproliferation and weapons control measures like the end of n p t support u s allied and partner security these measures to control the spread of nuclear materials and technology place limits on the production stockpiling and deployment of nuclear weapons decrease misperception and miscalculation and help avoid destabilizing nuclear weapons competition finally this review also affirms that the united states will not resume nuclear explosive testing unless we find it necessary to ensure the stability and effectiveness of our nuclear arsenal we call on all states possessing nuclear weapons to declare or to maintain a moratorium on nuclear testing going forward we are also eager to increase transparency and predictability to avoid miscalculation among nuclear states and other pows essar states that includes reestablishing the conditions necessary for greater trust with russia and improved transparency with china as it expands and modernize its nuclear forces the twenty eighteen highlights the trump administration's commitment to both the long term goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and the requirement that the united states have modern flexible and resilient nuclear capabilities until nuclear weapons can be eliminated from the world we must continue to ensure the security of our people and that of our allies and partners thank you very much good afternoon everyone let me begin by thanking deputy secretary shanahan and under secretary shannon my colleagues from defense and state respectively the secretary just pointed out and just mentioned a few moments ago this n p r is the culmination of nearly a year of briefings with congress consultations with our allies and partners and collaboration with experts from all three of our departments the twenty eighteen n p r reflects the president's priority to put america first dancing our national interest by protecting our country and our allies and partners from those who would intend to do us harm to that in this years n p r reflects a clear eyed approach to moderniz cold war nuclear arsenal as we confront the challenging geo political demands of the twenty first century as with previous npr's this review reflects both continuity and change in its robust support for the tr and its reaffirming commitment to nonproliferation counterproliferation and counterterrorism the review endorsers our basic nucular policies of the past quarter century however the review also supports change in the specific area of nucular weapons reduction over the past decade while the united states has led the world in these reductions every one of our potential nuclear adversaries has been pursuing pursuing the exact opposite strategy these powers are increasing the numbers and types of nuclear weapons in their arsenal which some which with some of them establishing doctrines of limited and coercive nuclear use these moves which are identified in the administration's recently released national security and national defense strategies represent a change in the contemporary security environment the united states needs to respond by cheating a new ineffective balance in our deterrent capabilities as for my agency the department of energy it is clear that our national laboratories plants and production sites play a vital role in ensuring that the n p r priorities are met in order to support the u s nuclear deterrent for the next several decades deal we need to maintain capabilities that are  modern flexible and resilient and consequently this in p r recognizes that the national imperative a recapitalizing deal we infrastructure we will be updating aging facilities some buildings that are nearly fifty years old and recapitalizing facilities that are needed to produce the strategic materials so critical to maintaining our arsenal we will also continue our successful execution of programs that are designed to extend warhead life and we will continue to meet the nation's deterrent requirement through our department's unique and highly technical capabilities these programs and capabilities are the basis of our nuclear triad in the bedrock of our nation's deterrent supporting the npr's goals of preventing terrorism and reducing global nucular dangers the department of energy will continue to focus on nonproliferation counterproliferation and counterterrorism together with our allies and partners we have enjoyed great great success in these areas finally it is important to note that none of our modernization efforts or possible without people this review recognizes the need for a highly skilled nuclear security workforce and is vital work to maintain a credible deterrent into the future thank you steve earhart about the change in the security environment which has led to some of the adjustments that we are making going forward you'll see mostly in the nuclear posture review a lot of continuity with past policy with respect to the role of nuclear weapons to provide deterren overall that that is the primary objective of our nuclear force as well as sure allies to hedge against uncertainty and if necessary to provide a credible response option one of the things in that security environment that is discussed in the report that we're concerned about some of the adjustments in potential adversaries thinking about nice with a greater reliance on nuclear weapons a featuring of them in some cases for example in the russian nuclear doctrine called escalating to deescalate and so with this greater reliance on nuclear weapons and a need to maintain a flexible approach so that our deterrent can be credible we have as mentioned in the report said that we pursue some supplementary capabilities one of which is launch ballistic missile armed with a low yield nuclear weapon we're going to be coming forward of course later this month the president will submit his budget requests to the congress including for the defense department spe one of the things they'll be contained in that part one of your questions was the funding for that obviously they'll have to await the release of the president's budget later this month it's a modest amount because what we're talking about is we have an existing submarine force armed with existing submarine launched ballistic missiles this is a supplementary capability that would make some modifications to our existing force does not involve production of new nuclear warheads fielded that that's something that remains to be determined but certainly in the near term this is one of the near term enhanced mintz that we would like to pursue here next year and i think i'll leave it as in the near term where we're planning to pursue this all started and perhaps others like to add certainly we've seen in the recent past some statements with her from russian officials in the public domain talking about threats to use nuclear weapons there is published doctrine that the russian government has put forward in addition to some of these statements of course we've also seen exercises involving some of these capabilities and so the combination of  that there are definitely some increased threats russia's also russia has increased its reliance on nuclear weapons and its capabilities and it's as we've pointed out it's building a large and diverse nuclear arsenal that said we do not want to consider russia an adversary as under secretary shannon others have mentioned we continue to successfully implement the new start look forward to meeting the central treaty limits on monday as a matter of fact on february fifth and we seek stable relations but we also have an issue with russia in terms of treaty compliance russia has violated treaties we've and is prepared to use nuclear weapons if there's a cyber attack that would affect the population or do great damage to the infrastructure of our allies or of the united states is that the message you intended to send because that's how it was interpreting declaratory policy in that sense the declaratory policy the united states as exist as articulated in this nuclear posture review is constant with that of the past again it is that the united states would employ nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the united states allies and partners now that part of the declaratory policy that you are referring to is the circumstances under which the united states would contemplate the use of nuclear weapons or what constituted extreme circumstances and i think in that area the context of an attack that it does not involve nuclear weapons initially would be very important to take into account it's been a longstanding u s policy to maintain some ambiguity around the circumstances under which we would consider the use of nuclear weapons in response to a strategic nuclear attack on the united states in the in this n p r s explicit in saying it is in our interest is part of reinforcing deterrence to maintain some ambiguity in those circumstances