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| A submarine missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, to celebrate the 105th birthday of Kim Il Sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un, on April 15, 2017.(File photo by=Wong Maye-e via AP) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] A research report revealed on Tuesday (April 13) that North Korea could have up to 242 nuclear weapons and dozens of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) by 2027 calling for South Korea and the United States to weigh "all options" to counter the evolving threats.
The Asan Institute for Policy Studies and the Rand Corp. made the estimate in a joint report, stressing "serious" considerations should be given to deploying tactical nuclear arms in the South and other measures to deter the North's possible attempt at nuclear warfare. The report came as signs of worrisome activity at the North's east coast shipyard seen as a site for submarine-launched ballistic missile tests and after a U.N. panel report that Pyongyang continues to develop its nuclear and missile programs.
"It is estimated that the total number of North Korea's nuclear weapons by 2027 would be between 151 and 242, in addition to tens of mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles," the report, titled "Countering the Risks of North Korean Nuclear Weapons," said. The report based its estimate on the amount of fissile material, such as plutonium and highly enriched uranium, which Pyongyang is believed to have produced. It cited such data as the U.S. intelligence community's estimate and other known analysis.
