US Department of Defense Estimates North Korea Has Up to 60 Nuclear Weapons and Up to 5,000 Tons of Chemical Weapons

US Department of Defense Army Division's 'North Korea Tactical Report'

(Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] An analysis has emerged that North Korea possesses up to 60 nuclear weapons and has a chemical weapons stockpile estimated to be as large as 5,000 tons.

According to the "North Korea Tactical Report" prepared by the U.S. Department of Defense Army Division on the 18th, North Korea is expected not to abandon its nuclear weapons, learning from the case of Libya. It is estimated that North Korea has between 20 and 60 nuclear weapons and has secured the capability to produce six more annually.

The report also noted that North Korea holds a large quantity of lethal chemical weapons such as sarin gas and VX. The U.S. Army report stated, "It is estimated to possess 2,500 to 5,000 tons of about 20 types of chemical weapons," adding, "This is the third largest stockpile in the world."

The possibility of North Korea developing biological and chemical weapons was also mentioned. The report estimated that North Korea began developing biological and chemical weapons in the 1960s and may have weaponized anthrax, cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, and others. It stated, "North Korea may have weaponized anthrax and smallpox and could launch them via missiles toward South Korea, the United States, and Japan."

Furthermore, it was noted that the number of North Korean hackers reaches about 6,000, operating not only in China but also in Belarus, India, Malaysia, Russia, and other countries. This figure accounts only for personnel belonging to the 'Bureau 121,' the cyber warfare command under North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau.

The report explained that the 'Bluenoroff Group,' consisting of about 1,700 members, is involved in financial cybercrime, while the 'Andariel Group,' with around 1,600 members, is responsible for gathering information from enemy computer systems.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.