World's medical journals warn of growing nuclear weapons threat

In this photo taken from undated footage distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, an intercontinental ballistic missile lifts off from a silo in Russia. © AP

More than 100 medical journals across the world issued a rare joint call on Thursday for urgent action to eliminate nuclear weapons, warning that the threat of nuclear catastrophe was "great and growing".

The call comes with Russia repeatedly issuing thinly veiled warnings that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as repeated North Korean missile tests and stalling efforts towards non-proliferation.