North Korea could possess 50 to 60 nuclear warheads, according to an assessment by Siegfried S. Hecker, Carlin’s co-author. Five years ago, Hecker and others estimated Pyongyang’s stockpile at roughly 35.
“What worries me the most is they’ve continued to increase the size and sophistication of their nuclear arsenal and delivery means,” said Hecker, who in the past has visited North Korea’s nuclear facilities as an international inspector.
Kim is playing a longer, more strategic game with a nuclear arsenal that has quickly grown since talks broke down at the February 2019 summit with former President Donald Trump in Hanoi. That has made predicting his next steps murkier and more worrisome.
Particularly troubling, security experts say, is how sure-footed Kim looks, despite widespread food shortages, a more confrontational South Korean administration and a U.S. that is rotating nuclear assets into the region more often.
At the 2022 weapons launch, Kim oversaw North Korea’s first full-range intercontinental ballistic missile test in nearly five years. In the past, Russia and China would have condemned the behavior at the United Nations. But Beijing and Pyongyang had grown tighter over their shared animosity toward Washington, and North Korea just weeks earlier had become one of the few countries to publicly back Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, Pyongyang has ripped off eight more ICBM tests. The U.S. has tried more than a dozen times at the U.N. Security Council to condemn or punish the…
Read more@BisonAlexandraPatriot3mos3MO
Throw a dart at a map of the world and chances are you will hit a location that is ready to set afire the entire world. At least there are no mean tweets
@ThrillingPoliticalDemocrat3mos3MO
Oh let me guess, in your alternate universe this is Biden's fault, despite Ye Grate Combover fawning over Gratest Bestust Leedur Kim and SALUTING HIS GENERALS. Nothing projects power and competence and strikes fear into our foes like the president of the united states saluting the general of an enemy power.
@GraciousRavenRepublican3mos3MO
"While Joe Biden was Eating Ice Cream Every Evening, North Korea Became a Bigger Threat"
There.
Fixed another headline
@OutlyingL0bby1stDemocrat3mos3MO
You do know that Kim built many more nuclear weapons between 2018 and 2020, right? And your cult leader was in power then? Typical of the uneducated indoctrinated MAGA.
It’s very amusing that people think Trump is tough. Laughable. During his romancing of Kim No. Korea went from 4 nukes to 40. He invited the Taliban to Camp David after signing a unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan. He lost Hong Kong. Oh and that nuclear deal with Iran he tore up. For all the so called short comings they have no nukes right now. Can you imagine what the Israeli Hamas war would be like now with a nuclear armed Iran. And finally he abandons Ukraine and invites his idol Putin to invade Europe. Yes, what a tough guy.
@BisonAlexandraPatriot3mos3MO
Except every belligerent nut rose under Biden.
Feelings and imagery are more appealing than reality in our current society.
@FishRubyLibertarian3mos3MO
I think we're turning into Europe, blowing all our resources on domestic giveaways, wagging our fingers at brutal expansionist dictators, letting our once mighty military wither, and abusing king dollar by using it to punish bad actors and inflating it causing much of the world to work toward an alternative reserve currency. We're more divided than at any time since the Civil War and we can't even agree that men and women are not interchangeable, so yeah, we're in deep doo doo.
@L3ftyBillyPeace and Freedom3mos3MO
Reminiscent of the Axis powers of the 1930’s leading up to The Second World War. At that time it was Gemany, Italy, and Japan. Today it is Russia, China and North Korean. I hope I dont live to see a WWIII.
And this didnt happen while the world was looking the other way. It happened under Joe Biden’s sleepy nose and the noses of his incompetent foreign policy entourage.
@9KBDM3VIndependent3mos3MO
North Korea is getting dangerous.
@lemans3427Republican3mos3MO
North Korea is not afraid of us anymore - they have an alliance with China and Russia.
@9KC3J2R3mos3MO
That’s gonna be bad if used on us
@9KBQ2253mos3MO
I think North Korea Doubles Its Nuclear Arsenal is important because North Korea is a really strong country and if they're doubling their nuclear weapons that means they are either entering a war or trying to fight us.
@9KBPX24Republican3mos3MO
I think that the US from hearing this will wanna do the same thing.
@9KBG6453mos3MO
what is to come? we need to up our game too.
@9KBP6SG3mos3MO
I think we need to know what is going on outside the US
@Covan3mos3MO
It is important to inform citizens of global matters
@9KBMSVJ3mos3MO
I think the news of North Korea's double in its nuclear arsenal is the most important because that could help the U.S. know who to definitely not fight.
@9KBL4SY3mos3MO
kim is not scared to lunch a nuke, because of that reason its best to stop doing stuff with north korea
@9KBL2393mos3MO
We will die if we get bombed so we need to fight back and get ready to protect ourselves.
Makes me worry we might catch a nuke one of these days.
@9KBHGV33mos3MO
there is no need to spend money on nuclear war power cause if once sends a nuclear bomb the whole world would die cause we would too
@ISIDEWITH3mos3MO
@ISIDEWITH3mos3MO
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