Russia could help North Korea acquire more nuclear weapons than Britain by 2035, an expert has said in an alarming warning.
The Hermit state could reportedly develop as many as 300 nuclear weapons in the coming decade, bolstering its 50-strong arsenal with Moscow’s assistance.
That’s according to Ankit Panda, an expert on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
He told Radio Free Asia: “I think by the mid-2030s, we might be looking at a North Korea with 300-plus nuclear warheads.”
Meanwhile, Britain has an estimated 225 nukes in its arsenal, the Mailonline reports. The UK has committed to a nuclear stockpile ceiling of owning and developing no more than 260 nuclear weapons.
This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has been striking closer ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in recent years, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine in mid-February 2022.
According to Mr Panda, Putin “will be very, very eager to help the North Koreans out.”
He said: “The area where I think the Russians can really help them is with guidance computers, cruise missile manoeuvring, cruise missile control and potentially even countermeasures.”
Mr Panda added that already North Korea could “very probably” hit an American city with a nuclear weapon if it so desired.
Last month, North Korea said an “accelerated bolstering up” of its nuclear programme is a “realistic requirement for coping with the military threat of the US”.
The chief of the Information Office released this alarming statement at the DPRK Ministry of National Defence.
The North Korean regime accused the US and its allies of escalating military provocations, referring to the presence of a B-1B strategic bomber over the Korean Peninsula on Thursday and the test-firing of a Minuteman 3 ICBM at the Vandenberg Space Force Base the previous day.
The statement read: “Such military muscle-flexing of the US clearly show the invariable supremacy ambition of the present US administration to gain an overwhelming edge of strength through the maintenance and updating of military capabilities capable of mounting a nuclear attack on any country and region of the world without prior warning.”
“The DPRK’s solution to the military threat and challenge to the security being posed by the US is clear and consistent.
“The DPRK will counter the strategic threat of the US and other enemies with strategic means and continue its responsible military activities to control and manage the unstable security environment on the Korean peninsula with powerful deterrence.”
