Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:
Which countries currently have nuclear weapons?
The Canadian Press - The Associated Press
Tue, June 17, 2025 at 6:30 a.m. PDT·1 min read
The first to have nuclear arms were the five original nuclear weapons states — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
All five are signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits countries that don't have nuclear arms not to build or obtain them, and those that do to “pursue negotiations in good faith” aimed at nuclear disarmament.
Rivals India and Pakistan, which haven't signed the NPT, have built up their nuclear arsenals over the years. India was the first to conduct a nuclear test in 1974, followed by another in 1998. Pakistan followed with its own nuclear tests just a few weeks later.
Israel, which also hasn't signed the NPT, has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons but is widely believed to.
North Korea joined the NPT in 1985 but announced its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003, citing what it called U.S. aggression. Since 2006, it has conducted a string of nuclear tests.
Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing the bomb now. But it has in recent years been enriching uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.
In an annual assessment released this week, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that the nine countries had the following stockpiles of military nuclear warheads as of January:
Russia: 4,309
United States: 3,700
China: 600
France: 290
United Kingdom: 225
India: 180
Pakistan: 170
Israel: 90
North Korea: 50
Translation
目前哪些國家擁有核武？
目前有九個國家聲稱擁有核武或被認為擁有核武。
最早擁有核武的是五個最原本的核武國家－美國、俄羅斯、中國、法國和英國。
這五個國家都是《核不擴散條約》的締約國，該條約要求沒有核武器的國家不製造或獲得核武器，而擁有核武器的國家則 “真誠地進行談判” ， 以實現核裁軍。
尚未簽署《核不擴散條約》的競爭對手 - 印度和巴基斯坦多年來一直在不斷增強其核武庫。印度於1974年率先進行核子試驗，隨後於1998年進行了第二次核子試驗。巴基斯坦在幾週後也進行了核子試驗。
以色列同樣沒有簽署《核不擴散條約》，從未承認擁有核武器，但外界普遍認為它擁有核武。
北韓於1985年加入《核不擴散條約》，但於2003年宣布退出條約，理由是其所謂的美國侵略行為。自2006年以來，北韓進行了一系列核試驗。
伊朗長期以來堅稱其核計劃僅用於和平目的，美國情報機構評估認為，德黑蘭目前並未積極尋求核彈。但近年來，伊朗一直在將鈾濃縮至純度高達60% - 接近武器級的 90%水平。
斯德哥爾摩國際和平研究所本週發布的年度評估報告估計，截至今年1月，這九個國家的軍用核彈頭庫存如下：
俄羅斯：4309枚
美國：3700枚
中國：600枚
法國：290枚
英國：225枚
印度：180枚
巴基斯坦：170枚
以色列：90枚
北韓：50枚
So, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that nine countries have military nuclear warheads. I am wondering which other countries will try to obtain nuclear weapon in the coming decades for self defense as the balance of power is shifting globally, for example South Korea or Japan in response to North Korean nuclear threats in Asia, and Germany or Ukraine against Russia in Europe.
