ICAN "North Korea Estimated to Spend $620 Million on Nuclear Development Last Year"... US Tops with $35.4 Billion

Costs of Nuclear Development Disclosed for 9 Countries... China, UK, Russia in Order

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] A report has emerged estimating that North Korea spent more than 750 billion won on nuclear development last year.

On the 13th (local time), the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) released the "2019 Global Nuclear Weapons Spending" report, revealing the nuclear weapons expenditures of nine countries including North Korea, estimating that North Korea spent $620 million (approximately 750 billion won). The United States spent the most at $35.4 billion, followed by China with $10.4 billion, the United Kingdom with $8.9 billion, and Russia with $8.5 billion.

The report based its estimate of North Korea's nuclear costs on a South Korean think tank analysis from 2009, which found that North Korea spent $8.77 billion on defense?about 35% of its Gross National Income (GNI)?and on Global Zero data from 2011 suggesting that 6% of North Korea's defense budget was allocated to its nuclear program.

ICAN analyzed that North Korea likely invested a similar proportion in nuclear development last year, explaining that "North Korea appears to have spent $1,180 per minute on nuclear development last year." However, it noted the difficulty in obtaining accurate information on North Korea's defense spending and nuclear development costs.

ICAN has annually estimated the costs each nuclear-armed country spends on their nuclear programs based on data from governments and research institutions worldwide.

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