RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 12 sourcesPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that North Korea possesses 57 nuclear weapons as he previewed a possible meeting with leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
Trump made the remark while defending his relationship with Kim, arguing that his rapport with the North Korean leader is "a good thing," not a bad one.
Trump’s unusually precise figure appears to be the first time a U.S. official has publicly put an exact number on North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Public assessments have generally estimated that Pyongyang has roughly 50 to 60 assembled warheads, while warning that the country’s secretive program makes a definitive count impossible. It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s specific figure was based on a classified U.S. intelligence assessment.
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Trump said Kim is "a very powerful player" and blamed prior administrations for allowing North Korea to develop a nuclear arsenal.
"The fact that I get along with him, that’s a good thing," Trump said. "You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon. And I know Kim Jong Un very well, and he’s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president."
Trump said he expected to meet with Kim later this year, though he did not provide a date or location.
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North Korea’s nuclear stockpile is closely guarded, and public estimates vary. The Federation of American Scientists estimated in 2024 that Pyongyang may have assembled roughly 50 nuclear warheads, while possessing enough fissile material for up to 90.
Trump’s comment came after he ordered War Secretary Pete Hegseth this week to substantially scale back the annual U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, arguing that the drills were costly and sent an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to North Korea. The U.S. and South Korean militaries said Wednesday they would shorten the exercises and end them Friday.
The decision is one of several overtures Trump has made toward Kim as he seeks to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang. Trump has said he expects to meet with Kim later this year, potentially during a planned November trip to Asia, though no summit has been announced.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, dismissed the reduction in drills as insufficient, saying Washington’s policy toward North Korea remains hostile. Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but their negotiations broke down in 2019 without an agreement to curb North Korea’s nuclear program.
North Korea’s arsenal remains far smaller than those of the world’s two largest nuclear powers. Russia has about 4,400 nuclear warheads in its military stockpile, while the United States has 3,700, according to January estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. China has 620, followed by France with 290, the United Kingdom with 225, India with 190, Pakistan with 170 and Israel with 90. SIPRI estimated North Korea has about 60 assembled warheads — broadly in line with Trump’s figure — while cautioning that the secrecy surrounding Pyongyang’s program makes precise counts uncertain.
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