Skip to content

Subscriber Only

Seoul: North Korea Estimated to Have 20-60 Nuclear Weapons

A military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang in April — A military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean People's Army in Pyongyang in April
Photographer: KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (HYUNG-JIN KIM)

October 2, 2018, 5:33 AM UTCUpdated onOctober 2, 2018, 7:47 AM UTC

Seoul, South Korea (AP) -- A top South Korean official told lawmakers that North Korea is estimated to have up to 60 nuclear weapons, in Seoul's first public comment about the size of the North's secrecy-clouded weapons arsenal.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told parliament Monday the estimates on the size of North Korea's nuclear arsenal range from 20 bombs to as many as 60. He was responding to a question by a lawmaker, saying the information came from the intelligence authorities. The National Intelligence Service, South Korea's main spy agency, couldn't immediately comment.