How did North Korea build nuclear weapons, and what have its tests shown?
North Korea is the only country confirmed to have tested nuclear weapons in the 21st century.
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North Korea built nuclear weapons step by step, from a refused 1963 request for help to six underground tests between 2006 and 2017. It is the only country confirmed to have tested nuclear weapons in the 21st century.
It began with a refusal: in 1963 North Korea asked the Soviet Union for help developing nuclear weapons but was refused, while the Soviet Union agreed to help with a peaceful nuclear energy programme, including training scientists. In 1993 the International Atomic Energy Agency reported North Korea's noncompliance to the UN Security Council, and North Korea announced its withdrawal from the , then suspended it. Under a 1994 framework North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear development in return for two , but the framework collapsed in 2003, when North Korea expelled inspectors and announced withdrawal from the treaty.
The tests followed. The first was announced on 9 October 2006, with a yield estimated at less than a . A second came on 25 May 2009, estimated between 2 and 7 kilotons, and a third on 11 February 2013. After the fourth, on 6 January 2016, North Korea claimed a hydrogen bomb, a claim that has not been verified. On 3 September 2017 it claimed a test.
9 Oct 2006
First test, yield under a
25 May 2009
Second test, 2 to 7 kilotons
11 Feb 2013
Third test, reported by USGS
6 Jan 2016
Fourth test; hydrogen bomb claim unverified
3 Sep 2017
Claimed test
Figures on how many warheads exist are estimates. One estimate puts it at about 60 warheads, with material for six to seven more per year. In 2017 it test-launched two intercontinental missiles, the second able to reach the continental United States. In September 2022, North Korea passed a law declaring itself a nuclear weapons state and rejected .
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Recap
A refused request, a broken 1994 deal and six tests from 2006 to 2017, with claims about the bombs often unverified.
💡 A trick to remember it · One refusal, one deal that cracked, six blasts: 2006 to 2017.
Surprising fact · North Korea is the only country confirmed to have tested nuclear weapons in the 21st century.
Sources (1)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (15 claims) cites at least one of these.