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Mar 29, 2024 · No one is quite sure how many nuclear weapons the North Koreans have produced since the first nuclear crisis with the country, in 1994, or since it first tested a nuclear weapon in...
Nov 18, 2022 · North Korea has carried out 34 weapons tests this year, involving about 88 ballistic and cruise missiles. In a single day this month, North Korea fired at least 23 missiles, one of which fell...
Based on North Korea’s estimated ability to produce fissile material, outside analysts have posited that North Korea may have between 40 and 60 nuclear weapons, but some analysts have estimated that North Korea could have as many as 100 warheads in its current inventory.
- 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...
On 3 September, South Korea’s weather agency, the Korea Meteorological Administration, estimated that the nuclear weapons blast yield of the presumed test was between 50 and 60 kilotons based on a magnitude 5.6 detection.
SequenceDate Time ( Ut )Local Time Zone [note 1] [7]Location9 October 2006 01:35:27KST (+9 hrs)Punggye-ri Test Site, North Korea ...25 May 2009 00:54:43KST (+9 hrs)Punggye-ri Test Site, North Korea ...12 February 2013 02:57:51KST (+9 hrs)Punggye-ri Test Site, North Korea ...6 January 2016 01:30:01PYT (+8:30 hrs)Punggye-ri Test Site, North Korea ...- 2006–2017
- Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, North Korea
Sep 8, 2022 · 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.
Dec 16, 2021 · An August 2021 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report says that North Korea was operating its Radiochemical Laboratory (reprocessing) plant and its Yongbyon Experimental Light Water 5MW (e) Reactor. Spent fuel from this reactor has been reprocessed in the past to extract plutonium for weapons.
