Shocking new assessment of North Korea's nuclear weapons

Tensions on the Korean peninsula show no signs of easing as Pyongyang continues to test missiles and the US sends another aircraft carrier to the region.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made no secret of his ambition to increase the number of nuclear weapons in his arsenal. So how many weapons does the country currently possess?

Mr. Kim Jong Un among North Korean soldiers. Photo: Reuters

Last year, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated that the Pyongyang regime had 10 to 16 nuclear weapons as of the end of 2014. That figure was based on analysis of North Korea's ability to produce weapons-grade plutonium and uranium.

New estimates suggest the total has risen to 13-21 weapons, and North Korea is believed to have four nuclear warheads, each of which is believed to be half as powerful as the two bombs dropped by the United States on Japan in World War II.

New satellite images of North Korea's main missile test site show the country's weapons are far more powerful than outsiders had thought, raising concerns that Kim Jong Un will soon have weapons capable of reaching Alaska and Hawaii.

A close analysis of images of test sites provided by Planet shows that Pyongyang is also increasing the size of its missiles.

North Korea shows off missiles at a parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late leader Kim Il Sung. Photo: AP

Currently, US military officials are concerned that the head of the Pyongyang government is ready to detonate a nuclear bomb placed in a bunker.

Also according to new satellite images, North Korea has secretly built several artificial islands to use as military bases in case of nuclear war.

According to reports, North Korea's Musudan missile has a range of 5,600km and can strike US naval and air bases on Guam, or any location in South Korea and Japan. The US has installed the advanced THAAD defense system in South Korea to intercept North Korean missiles.

This reality raises concerns that a US-North Korea war is imminent. However, Jim Walsh - an international security expert and a senior fellow at the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - said that war is unlikely to break out because no one wants it.

According to Vietnamnet.vn