Revealed, North Korea Currently Has At Most 20 Nuclear Warheads

North Korean ballistic missile illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Stefan Krasowski)

JAKARTA - For the first time, North Korea's estimated number of nuclear warheads has been disclosed, as concerns grow in the Asia Pacific region over the country's possible imminent nuclear test.

North Korea now has at most 20 nuclear warheads, according to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, providing an estimate for this year for "the number of homemade warheads North Korea actually has."

Figures released in previous years refer to the number of warheads that can be built, with reference to the amount of fissile material they produce.

According to the Korea Times on June 13, estimates for North Korea were added for the first time to the global inventory of nuclear warheads.

The SIPRI annual report comes as North Korea's neighbors Japan and South Korea and their ally the United States prepare for a new nuclear test, which if conducted would be the first since September 2017.

Earlier, Washington and Seoul said Pyongyang had completed preparations for a nuclear test at the Punggye-ri test site in the country's northeast.

The Sweden-based think-tank said in its report North Korea's stockpile of fissile material is projected to increase by 2021, enough to produce 45 to 55 nuclear warheads. It may also have "a small number of warheads for medium-range ballistic missiles," according to the report.

North Korea has also escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula since earlier this year with repeated ballistic missile launches.

It is known, the number of nuclear warheads worldwide is currently estimated at 12,705 pieces. Russia has the world's largest nuclear arsenal with 5,977 warheads, followed by the United States with 5,428. Together, they account for nearly 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads.

China is in third place with 350 warheads, unchanged from the previous year, with France trailing with 290 and Britain with 180. Pakistan is estimated to have 165 warheads while India has 160 and Israel has 90.