President Lee: "North Korea Increasing Nuclear Weapons Annually"... Actual Numbers Have Grown

SIPRI Estimates North Korea Now Holds 60 Nuclear Warheads

North Korea is estimated to possess 60 nuclear warheads. The country continues to increase its number of nuclear warheads each year, with the total rising by 10 over the past year and by 30 compared to 2023.

It was reported by the Korean Central News Agency on the 9th that a performance was held at the Pyongyang Gymnasium on the 8th to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea. Yonhap News Agency

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank, raised its estimate of North Korea's nuclear arsenal from 50 to 60 warheads in its recently released "SIPRI Yearbook 2026" (as of January this year). This represents a 20% increase in just one year. Notably, SIPRI also estimated that North Korea possesses enough fissile material to produce up to 90 nuclear warheads, and analyzed that 60 of these have actually been assembled as nuclear warheads.

President Lee Jaemyung also emphasized during a press conference marking his first year in office, held at the Blue House State Guest House the previous day, "North Korea is currently producing enough nuclear material to manufacture 10 to 20 nuclear weapons per year." He went on to state, "In reality, we need to engage in genuine dialogue based on short-, medium-, and long-term goals." Previously, the government put forward a three-phase plan for North Korean denuclearization last year, consisting of 'stop (development)–reduction–elimination.'

North Korea is expected to further increase the number of its nuclear warheads in the future. SIPRI predicted that North Korea's nuclear arsenal will expand in the coming years, explaining that "North Korea is accelerating the development of its nuclear capabilities in order to achieve its declared goal of expanding its nuclear weapons 'exponentially'." The main reason North Korea is able to expand its warhead stockpile is largely due to China's tacit approval.

Chinese President Xi Jinping may hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over a luncheon on his final day in North Korea, June 9. As North Korea has declared its "status as a nuclear-armed state is an absolute and irreversible red line," there is keen interest in how the nuclear issue will be discussed. Some observers suggest that, during the coordination process for this visit, China at least tacitly accepted or acquiesced to North Korea's position that the denuclearization agenda is unacceptable. President Xi is expected to head to Pyongyang International Airport (Sunan Airport) in the afternoon and return home on his private jet.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.