A Swedish think tank estimates that North Korea possesses a stockpile of 50 nuclear warheads and could increase this number to as many as 90.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI) presented the estimate in its SIPRI Yearbook 2025, released Monday. 

The organization estimated that as of January, there were 12-thousand-241 nuclear warheads worldwide, of which nine-thousand-614 were ready for potential use, with three-thousand-912 deployed on missiles or aircraft.

SIPRI said the U.S. and Russia together accounted for almost 90 percent of the total, adding that all nine of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to strengthen their nuclear arsenals in 2024.

It added that North Korea continues to prioritize its nuclear program as a central element of its national security strategy.