Japanese Nuclear Weapons Institute: "North Korea's Total Nuclear Warheads 40, Increased by 5 in 2 Years"

Global Nuclear Warheads Status Poster Korean Version
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] An analysis has emerged that North Korea's nuclear warheads have increased by more than five in two years.

According to the '2022 Edition of the World Nuclear Material Data' released on the 3rd by the Nuclear Weapon Abolition Research Center (RECNA) at Nagasaki University in Japan, North Korea is estimated to possess 40 nuclear warheads as of this month. This number has increased from the maximum of 35 recorded two years ago. Compared to 2013, when the estimated number of warheads was 10, it has more than tripled.

The total number of nuclear warheads on Earth is estimated to have decreased by 410 from a year ago, totaling 12,720. This estimate sums the stockpiles of the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea. The country with the most nuclear warheads is Russia with 5,975, followed by the United States with 5,425. Next were China (350), France (290), the United Kingdom (225), Pakistan (165), India (160), and Israel (90).

Among Russia's nuclear warheads, 1,660 are deployed on land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), and 1,735 are sea-based warheads such as those on Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs).

The global stockpile of separated plutonium and highly enriched plutonium as of the end of 2020 is equivalent to 112,000 nuclear warheads, a decrease of 270 warheads compared to the previous year.

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