According to most estimates, North Korea currently has an arsenal of 60 ready-to-use and combat-capable nuclear warheads - a figure that has tripled since 2022. At the same time, the South Korean Ministry of Defense does not rule out the possibility that the total stockpile of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) varies between 80 and 120 warheads.
Analysts from Defence Express note that some of these warheads are thermonuclear. Pyongyang's claims of possessing such weapons are confirmed by tests conducted in 2017, when an underground explosion with a power of over 100 kilotons was recorded.
Experts point out that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by North Korea is a known fact. This was largely made possible thanks to smuggled supplies from Pakistan, facilitated by a network created by nuclear weapons developer Abdul Qadeer Khan.
However, it remains to be seen whether the DPRK has successfully made the qualitative leap to thermonuclear warheads.
Analysts note that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, North Korea is receiving a set of ready-made nuclear technologies in exchange for sending its troops to participate in the war against Ukraine. Specifically, it concerns technologies related to tactical nuclear weapons and submarine-launched ballistic missile systems.
Experts also emphasize the need to pay attention to the DPRK's ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
In particular, the entire territory of South Korea falls within the range of the KN-23 ballistic missiles; even the initial version, the Hwasong-11A, had a range of 450-690 km. However, North Korea can reach any point in the United States with its solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-19 - in which the Russian "Yars" is easily recognizable - or with the liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 missile, which includes design solutions borrowed from the RS-28 "Sarmat".