The North Korean nuclear arsenal poses a new threat with a new uranium enrichment facility and up to 20 warheads produced annually. Can American defenses still contain this growing power?
It is no longer a secret: North Korea has made “significant progress” in its ability to produce nuclear weapons. Recently, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, pointed out the creation of a new uranium enrichment facility and increased activities in a secretive complex.
Before him, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated in January that Pyongyang could produce enough materials to make up to 20 nuclear warheads per year.
Experts at Bloomberg have analyzed this data and have come up with a shocking new analysis: “At the same time, the intercontinental ballistic missiles Hwasong-15, -17, -18, and -19, combined with existing warheads, could provide enough firepower to overcome the American ground-based missile defense system in mid-course, built at a cost of around $65 billion,” our colleagues write. In addition, experts from Militarnyi specify that the short-range missiles possessed by North Koreans could threaten US allies in Asia, such as the American military base located in Guam in the Pacific, which houses “one of the largest ammunition depots in the world.”
The capacity of North Koreans in intercontinental ballistic missiles is still unclear. Militarnyi suggests there are about twenty missiles available, but “their production continues.” However, it is unclear if they are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Since his re-election, Donald Trump has been working to reconnect with Kim Jong-un and North Korea, a country he no longer considers a nuclear threat. However, the international context is so unstable that all parameters must be considered. The factors leading to the strengthening of North Korea’s nuclear power are never good news.
