There Are 14,500 Nuclear Weapons in the World And These Are The Nations That Have Invested in Them

The thermonuclear club is rather elite and it has become even more vulnerable after the entry of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The United States wants the despotic regime to give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons and president Trump is aiming to achieve that objective with the help of direct diplomacy. Statements were made by the White House that the president expects to meet Kim by the end of May following the receipt of an invitation for talks by the North Korean leader.

Can POTUS Convince The North Korean Despot to Refrain From Developing Nuclear Weapons?

The demand may be too big to make as North Korea is the only nation which has tested nuclear weapons after the turn-of-the-century. The North Korean leader has been emphasizing that nuclear arsenal is a fundamental part of the national security of his regime. Therefore the potential summit only puts into motion the most meaningful improvement in years of sporadic negotiations about this nation’s program of nuclear weapons. North Korea is just one of nine nations that have invested in nuclear weapons, of which an estimated 14,500 nuclear weapons exist globally. It is believed that this figure may have declined after the Cold War.

While the precise number of nuclear weapons in every nation’s arsenal is a closely guarded secret, given below is an analysis of the number of weapons which presently exist. These estimates have been provided by the Arms Control Association and the Federation of American scientists.

List of Nations That Have Invested in Nuclear Weapons

North Korea is said to have an estimated 10 to 20 weapons in hand and the total number of tests it has conducted is six. The initial test was conducted in October 2006 and the most recent being in September 2017.

Israel has an arsenal which is estimated at 80 weapons but has never conducted any tests. No data is available about any tests being conducted by Israel ever since the nation was confirmed as having a nuclear arsenal.

India has an estimated 120-130 weapons and has conducted three tests until now, with the initial one being in May 1974 and the most recent in May 1998.

Pakistan also has an estimated 130-140 weapons and has conducted two tests in May 1998. Thereafter this nation has refrained from testing its nuclear arsenal.

The United Kingdom has a total of 215 nuclear weapons and has to this date conducted 45 tests beginning in October 1952 and culminating in November 1991.

China has a total of 270 nuclear weapons and also equals the United Kingdom in the number of tests conducted. China began its nuclear program in October 1964 and conducted its last test in July 1996.

France is also a member of this elite group and has an estimated 300 nuclear weapons. 210 is the total number of tests conducted by France with the first being in February 1960 and the most recent in January 1996.

The United States which has dropped the only nuclear bomb on Japan, has an estimated 6550 nuclear weapons and the number of tests it has conducted total to 1030. The US began testing nuclear weapons in July 1945 and continued until September 1982 after which it has refrained from doing so.

Russia is the nation which has the highest number of nuclear weapons which are estimated to be at 6800. This nation has conducted 715 tests beginning in August 1949 until stopping the testing phase in October 1990.

The figures mentioned above give an indication of the kind of investment these nations have made in nuclear weapons. It must be understood that apart from the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China the other nations are still categorized as developing countries. However, they too have invested significant sums of money for national security which they feel is paramount.

Of these, the developed nations may be able to justify their expenditure on nuclear arsenal but it will certainly be difficult for five of the nine nations to provide any justification for the investment they made. North Korea will certainly not be able to do so given the fact that it is an impoverished nation apart from being an outcast without support from the others except for China. Whether president Trump succeeds in his objective or not, will be witnessed in a couple of months but the numbers mentioned in this list will not be witnessing a reduction in their arsenal, anytime soon.