The world’s nuclear club is an exclusive group – and it has become even more dangerous with the relatively recent and unwelcome addition of North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
The United States wants the rogue regime to give up its nuclear-weapons ambitions, and President Donald Trump aims to achieve that goal, possibly through direct diplomacy. The White House said Friday that Trump still intends to meet Kim by the end of May, following his on-the-spot acceptance of an invitation to talk.
It might be too big a demand, however. North Korea is the only country to test nuclear weapons this century, and Kim has emphasized that nuclear weapons are a fundamental part of his regime’s national security. And so the potential summit puts into motion the most significant development in years of intermittent negotiations about North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
North Korea is one of nine nations to have stockpiled nuclear weapons – about 14,500 total worldwide, a figure that has declined since the Cold War.
While the exact number of nukes in each country’s arsenal is closely guarded, below is a breakdown of how many weapons exist, according to estimates from the Arms Control Association and Federation of American Scientists.
North Korea
- Total nuclear weapons: ~10 to 20
- Total nuclear tests: ~6
- First tested: October 2006
- Most recent test: September 2017
Israel
- Total nuclear weapons: ~80
- Total nuclear tests: 0
- First tested: No confirmed tests
- Most recent test: No confirmed tests
India
- Total nuclear weapons: ~120 to 130
- Total nuclear tests: ~3
- First tested: May 1974
- Most recent test: May 1998
Pakistan
- Total nuclear weapons: ~130 to 140
- Total nuclear tests: ~2
- First tested: May 1998
- Most recent test: May 1998
United Kingdom
- Total nuclear weapons: ~215
- Total nuclear tests: ~45
- First tested: October 1952
- Most recent test: November 1991
China
- Total nuclear weapons: ~270
- Total nuclear tests: ~45
- First tested: October 1964
- Most recent test: July 1996
France
- Total nuclear weapons: ~300
- Total nuclear tests: ~210
- First tested: February 1960
- Most recent test: January 1996
United States
- Total nuclear weapons: ~ 6,550
- Total nuclear tests: ~ 1,030
- First tested: July 1945
- Most recent test: September 1992
Russia
- Total nuclear weapons: ~6,800
- Total nuclear tests: ~ 715
- First tested: August 1949
- Most recent test: October 1990
