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This Nuclear Notebook examines North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The authors cautiously estimate that North Korea may have produced enough fissile material to build between 45 and 55 nuclear weapons; however, it may have only assembled 20 to 30.
- Introduction
- What Are North Korea’s Nuclear Capabilities?
- What Missiles Has North Korea Tested?
- Have Other Countries Aided North Korea’s Nuclear Program?
- What Punitive Steps Has North Korea faced?
- Does North Korea Possess Other Weapons of Mass Destruction?
- What Are North Korea’s Conventional Military Capabilities?
- Does It Pose A Cybersecurity Threat?
- What Drives North Korea’s Militarization?
The United States and its Asian allies see North Korea as a grave security threat. North Korea has one of the world’s largest conventional military forces, which, combined with its missile and nuclear tests and aggressive rhetoric, has aroused concern worldwide. But world powers have been ineffective in slowing its path to acquire nuclear weapons. ...
The exact size and strength of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal are unclear. However, analysts say Pyongyang has tested nuclear weapons six times and developed ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea. The North Korean regime possesses the know-how to produce nuclear bombs with weapons-grade uranium...
North Korea has tested more than one hundred ballistic missiles with the ability to carry nuclear warheads, including short-, medium-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range missiles and submarine-launched ones. The regime successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), each capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead, in July a...
The program is predominantly indigenous but has received external assistance over the years. Moscow, for instance, assisted Pyongyang’s nuclear development from the late 1950s to the 1980s: it helped build a nuclear research reactor and provided missile designs, light-water reactors, and some nuclear fuel. In the 1970s, China and North Korea cooper...
North Korea’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 and its missile tests and first nuclear test in 2006 prompted the UN Security Council to unanimously adopt resolutions that condemned North Korea’s actions and imposed sanctions against the country. The Security Council has steadily ratcheted up sanctions through subseq...
North Korea is believed to have an arsenal of chemical weapons, including sulfur mustard, chlorine, phosgene, sarin, and VX nerve agents. The regime reportedly has the “capability to produce [PDF] nerve, blister, blood, and choking agents” and is estimated to have stockpiled [PDF] between 2,500 and 5,000 tons of chemical weapons. These toxins can b...
North Korea’s military is the world’s fourth largest, with nearly 1.3 million active personnel, accounting for about 5 percent of the total population. More than six hundred thousand others serve as reserve soldiers. Article 86 of the North Korean constitution[PDF] states, “National defense is the supreme duty and honor of citizens,” and it require...
North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities have advanced significantly over the years, and its hackers use increasingly sophisticated tools to target government, media, financial, and private institutions around the world. Some experts say that North Korea’s cyberwarfare capabilities now pose a more immediate threat than its military programs. Pyongya...
North Korea’s guiding philosophical principles have been juche (self-reliance) and songun (military-first politics). The military plays a central role in political affairs and its position has been steadily elevated through the Kim dynasty. North Korean leadership believes that hostile external forces, including South Korea and the United States, c...
Apr 20, 2017 · Missile Defense Project. Updated April 25, 2023. This database provides a chronology of North Korean missile launches and nuclear detonations. These entries include full flight tests of ballistic and cruise missiles, both successful and unsuccessful, and nuclear tests.
DateMissile TypeNumber Launched/yieldMore InfoApr-13-2023Hwasong-18 (ICBM)1Mar-27-2023KN-23 (SRBM)2Mar-22-2023Cruise Missile4Mar-19-2023KN-23 (silo variant)1Apr 10, 2023 · The average estimate, if rounded, is about 45 nuclear weapons with a range of 35 to 65 nuclear weapons, where it should be viewed as containing a mix of composite core nuclear weapons, thermonuclear weapons, and plutonium-only and weapon-grade-only nuclear weapons.
Jul 21, 2021 · One assessment in 2020 concluded North Korea only had 10–20 nuclear weapons if it committed its fissile material to thermonuclear weapons production (Fedchenko and Kelley 2020 ). Another assessment concluded North Korea had around 40 weapons and only “very few thermonuclear bombs” (Hecker 2020; 38 North 2021 ).
- Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda
- 2021
Jul 21, 2021 · In April 2021, Siegfried Hecker––the former Los Alamos National Laboratory director who was given unprecedented access to North Korean nuclear facilities over several years––estimated that North Korea had a plutonium inventory in the range of 25 to 48 kilograms and was capable of producing up to six kilograms per year at full operation (38 North...
Overview. North Korea continues to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs despite UN Security Council sanctions and high-level diplomatic efforts. Recent ballistic missile tests and military parades suggest that North Korea is continuing to build a nuclear warfighting capability designed to evade regional ballistic missile defenses.
