Brown: Britain's nuke stockpile may be cut

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (UPI) -- Britain's nuclear stockpile could be cut as part of a global initiative to induce Iran and North Korea to give up nuclear aspirations, the prime minister said.

Officials said U.S.-sponsored talks in 2010 designed to prevent nuclear arms proliferation could provide an avenue for Britain to reduce its 160-warhead arsenal in exchange for proof that the two nations had halted their weapons programs, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama invited nearly three dozen nations to Washington next March to discuss halting the spread of nuclear material to rogue states and terrorist groups.

Speaking at the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown Thursday intimated the number of British warheads and nuclear-armed submarines could be reduced as part of a new international agreement.

"What we need is collective action by the nuclear weapons powers to say that we are prepared to reduce our nuclear weapons, but we need assurances also that other countries will not proliferate them," he said.