The nuclear experimentation indulged in by North Korea and the tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme show that the nuclear question, far from having disappeared from the field of international relations with the end of the Cold War, is more than ever in the news. Are the tools for the control of nuclear dissemination still appropriate, or do they merely reflect a vanished world, totally out of kilter with a new strategic situation with which we have not yet come fully to terms? The aim of this article is to show that the NPT, despite its dated aspects, should be retained because it represents the ultimate barrier against uncontrolled proliferation, which would be dangerous for the world. It must, however, be renewed and complemented, in particular by regional agreements and international measures governing fuel supplies.