Politics · Singapore Bureau
Seoul puts North Korea's nuclear arsenal at 80-120 warheads
South Korea's defence ministry has estimated Pyongyang possesses significantly more nuclear warheads than recently claimed by the United States, widening the gap between allied assessments of the North's weapons capability.
LSN Singapore ·
South Korea's defence minister said Thursday that North Korea is believed to possess between 80 and 120 nuclear warheads, a figure substantially higher than U.S. President Donald Trump's recent claim that the regime has 57 weapons.
The Seoul estimate underscores diverging assessments among key allies regarding the scale of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. South Korean officials have long maintained that North Korea's weapons programme has advanced more rapidly than some Western analysts acknowledge.
The discrepancy reflects the challenges in verifying the exact size of North Korea's nuclear stockpile, given the secretive nature of the regime's military programmes and limited access for independent verification. Intelligence agencies typically provide ranges rather than precise figures when assessing Pyongyang's capabilities.
The issue carries significant implications for regional security in Northeast Asia, as assessments of North Korea's nuclear strength directly influence defence planning and diplomatic strategy among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. Previous U.S. administrations have also provided varying estimates of the North's weapons capacity.