Nuclear security

Revealed: North Korea Could Have Far More Nuclear Warheads Than Estimated

Recent estimates indicate that North Korea has expanded its nuclear arsenal to 30 warheads, and may control enough weapons-grade fissile material to double that number in about three years.

The Institute for Science and International Security in Washington attributes this growth to increased production in plutonium and uranium.

It’s a drastic change from previous assessments, as in 1999 the US believed Pyongyang only had one or two weapons in their nuclear arsenal, with the possibility of increasing to 10 by 2020, according to a Defense Intelligence Agency report obtained by The Washington Times. 

Institute founder David Albright told the Times, "The bottom line is that North Korea has an improving nuclear weapons arsenal … The last several years have witnessed a dramatic and overt buildup in North Korea’s nuclear weapons capabilities."