IX. North Korean nuclear forces

Chapter:

10. World nuclear forces

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2022

Author(s):

Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) maintains an active but highly opaque nuclear weapon programme. SIPRI estimates that, as of January 2022, North Korea possessed approximately 20 nuclear weapons, but that it probably possessed sufficient Fissile material for approximately 45–55 nuclear devices (see table 10.10). These estimates are based on calculations of the amount of Fissile material—plutonium and highly enriched uranium (HEU)—that North Korea is believed to have produced for use in nuclear weapons (see section X), North Korea’s nuclear weapon testing history and its observable missile forces. Analysing the numbers and types of North Korean warheads and delivery vehicles is fraught with uncertainty due to limited official public data and the fact that North Korean state media sources can be subject to manipulation, misinterpretation or exaggeration. Most of the data presented here is derived from sources outside North Korea, including satellite imagery, United States government reports and statements, and expert analyses.¹