US warship to visit New Zealand, end 30-year stalemate

A US Navy warship will visit New Zealand next month, ending a 30-year-old military stalemate between the countries that was triggered when New Zealand banned nuclear warships.

New Zealand PM John Key announced on Tuesday that he had given clearance for the destroyer USS Sampson to visit during celebrations marking the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 75th anniversary. The visit marks a thaw in military relations, when New Zealand enacted its nuclear-free policy in the mid-1980s.