The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) establishes that states that carried out a nuclear explosion before January 1, 1967 are recognized as nuclear powers. Thus, de jure the “nuclear club” includes Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France and China.

India and Pakistan are de facto nuclear states, but de jure they are not.

First nuclear test charger was conducted by India on May 18, 1974. On May 11 and 13, 1998, according to a statement from the Indian side, five nuclear charges were tested, one of which was thermonuclear. India is a consistent critic of the NPT and still remains outside its framework.

A special group, according to experts, consists of states that do not have nuclear status and are capable of creating nuclear weapon, but refraining, due to political and military inexpediency, from transitioning to the category of nuclear states - the so-called “latent” nuclear states (Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and others).

Three states (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan), which had nuclear weapons on their territory remaining after the collapse of the Soviet Union, signed in 1992 the Lisbon Protocol to the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. By signing the Lisbon Protocol, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus acceded to the NPT and were included in the list of countries that do not possess nuclear weapons.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

IN recent months North Korea and the United States are actively exchanging threats to destroy each other. Since both countries have nuclear arsenals, the world is closely monitoring the situation. On the Day of the Struggle for the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, we decided to remind you who has them and in what quantities. Today, it is officially known that eight countries that form the so-called Nuclear Club have such weapons.

Who exactly has nuclear weapons?

The first and only state to use nuclear weapons against another country is USA. In August 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The attack killed more than 200 thousand people.

Year of first test: 1945

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines, ballistic missiles and bombers

Number of warheads: 6800, including 1800 deployed (ready for use)

Russia has the largest nuclear stockpile. After the collapse of the Union, Russia became the only heir to the nuclear arsenal.

Year of first test: 1949

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines, missile systems, heavy bombers, and in the future - nuclear trains

Number of warheads: 7,000, including 1,950 deployed (ready for use)

Great Britain is the only country that has not conducted a single test on its territory. The country has 4 submarines with nuclear warheads; other types of troops were disbanded by 1998.

Year of first test: 1952

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines

Number of warheads: 215, including 120 deployed (ready for use)

France conducted ground tests of a nuclear charge in Algeria, where it built a test site for this.

Year of first test: 1960

Nuclear charge carriers: submarines and fighter-bombers

Number of warheads: 300, including 280 deployed (ready for use)

China tests weapons only on its territory. China has pledged not to be the first to use nuclear weapons. China was suspected of transferring nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan.

Year of first test: 1964

Nuclear charge carriers: ballistic launch vehicles, submarines and strategic bombers

Number of warheads: 270 (in reserve)

India announced the possession of nuclear weapons in 1998. In the Indian Air Force, nuclear weapons carriers can be French and Russian tactical fighters.

Year of first test: 1974

Nuclear charge carriers: short, medium and extended range missiles

Number of warheads: 120−130 (in reserve)

Pakistan tested its weapons in response to Indian actions. The reaction to the emergence of nuclear weapons in the country was global sanctions. Recently ex-president Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan considered launching a nuclear attack on India in 2002. Bombs can be delivered by fighter-bombers.

Year of first test: 1998

Number of warheads: 130−140 (in reserve)

DPRK announced the development of nuclear weapons in 2005, and conducted its first test in 2006. In 2012, the country declared itself a nuclear power and made corresponding amendments to the Constitution. Recently, the DPRK has been conducting a lot of tests - the country launches intercontinental ballistic missiles and threatens the United States with a nuclear strike on the American island of Guam, which is located 4 thousand km from the DPRK.

Year of first test: 2006

Nuclear charge carriers: nuclear bombs and missiles

Number of warheads: 10−20 (in reserve)

These 8 countries openly declare the presence of weapons, as well as the tests being carried out. The so-called “old” nuclear powers (USA, Russia, UK, France and China) signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, while the “young” nuclear powers - India and Pakistan refused to sign the document. North Korea first ratified the agreement and then withdrew its signature.

Who can develop nuclear weapons now?

The main "suspect" is Israel. Experts believe that Israel has owned nuclear weapons of its own production since the late 1960s and early 1970s. There were also opinions that the country conducted joint tests with South Africa. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Israel has about 80 nuclear warheads. The country can use fighter-bombers and submarines to deliver nuclear weapons.

Suspicions that Iraq develops weapons mass destruction, was one of the reasons for the invasion of the country by American and British troops (recall the famous speech of US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the UN in 2003, in which he stated that Iraq was working on programs to create biological and chemical weapons and possessed two of the three necessary components for production of nuclear weapons. - Note TUT.BY). Later, the US and UK admitted that there were insufficient grounds for the 2003 invasion.

Was under international sanctions for 10 years Iran due to the resumption of the uranium enrichment program in the country under President Ahmadinejad. In 2015, Iran and six international mediators concluded the so-called “nuclear deal” - sanctions were lifted, and Iran pledged to limit its nuclear activities to “peaceful atoms” only, placing them under international control. With Donald Trump coming to power in the United States, sanctions were again introduced against Iran. Tehran, meanwhile, began testing ballistic missiles.

Myanmar V last years also suspected of attempting to create nuclear weapons; it was reported that technology was exported to the country by North Korea. According to experts, Myanmar lacks the technical and financial capabilities to develop weapons.

IN different years many states were suspected of seeking or capable of creating nuclear weapons - Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Libya, Mexico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Sweden. But the transition from a peaceful atom to a non-peaceful one either was not proven, or the countries curtailed their programs.

Which countries allowed to store nuclear bombs and which refused?

Some European countries store US warheads. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in 2016, 150-200 US nuclear bombs are stored in underground storage facilities in Europe and Turkey. Countries have aircraft capable of delivering charges to intended targets.

Bombs are stored at air bases in Germany(Büchel, more than 20 pieces), Italy(Aviano and Gedi, 70−110 pieces), Belgium(Kleine Brogel, 10−20 pieces), the Netherlands(Volkel, 10−20 pieces) and Turkey(Incirlik, 50−90 pieces).

In 2015, it was reported that the Americans would deploy the latest B61-12 atomic bombs at a base in Germany, and American instructors were training Polish and Baltic Air Force pilots to operate these nuclear weapons.

The United States recently announced that it was negotiating the deployment of its nuclear weapons in South Korea, where they were stored until 1991.

Four countries voluntarily renounced nuclear weapons on their territory, including Belarus.

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were in third and fourth place in the world in terms of the number of nuclear arsenals in the world. The countries agreed to the withdrawal of weapons to Russia under international security guarantees. Kazakhstan transferred strategic bombers to Russia, and sold uranium to the United States. In 2008, the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev was nominated for Nobel Prize world for its contribution to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine in recent years there has been talk of restoring the country's nuclear status. In 2016 The Verkhovna Rada proposed to repeal the law “On Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” Earlier, Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov stated that Kyiv is ready to use available resources to create effective weapons.

IN Belarus the withdrawal of nuclear weapons was completed in November 1996. Subsequently, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko more than once called this decision the most serious mistake. In his opinion, “if there were nuclear weapons left in the country, they would be talking to us differently now.”

South Africa is the only country that independently produced nuclear weapons, and after the fall of the apartheid regime voluntarily abandoned them.

Nuclear Club list of countries

Russia

• Russia received most of its atomic weapons after the collapse of the USSR, when mass disarmament and removal of nuclear warheads to Russia were carried out at the military bases of the former Soviet republics.
• Officially, the country has a nuclear resource of 7,000 warheads and ranks first in the world in terms of weapons, of which 1,950 are deployed.
• The former Soviet Union conducted its first test in 1949 with a ground launch of an RDS-1 rocket from the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan.
• The Russian position regarding nuclear weapons is to use them in response to a similar attack. Or in case of attacks with conventional weapons, if this threatens the existence of the country.

USA

• The incident of two missiles dropped on two Japanese cities in 1945 is the first and only example of a live atomic attack. Thus, the United States became the first country to carry out an atomic explosion. Today it is also the country with the most powerful army in the world. Official estimates report 6,800 active units, with 1,800 deployed in combat status.
• The last US nuclear test was carried out in 1992. The US takes the position that it has sufficient weapons to protect itself and allied countries from attack.

France

• After World War II, the country did not pursue the goal of developing its own weapons of mass destruction. However, after the Vietnam War and the loss of its colonies in Indochina, the country's government reconsidered its views, and since 1960 it conducted nuclear tests, first in Algeria, and then on two uninhabited coral islands in French Polynesia.
• In total, the country conducted 210 tests, the most powerful of which were the Canopus in 1968 and the Unicorn in 1970. There is information about the presence of 300 nuclear warheads, 280 of which are located on deployed carriers.
• The scale of the global armed confrontation clearly demonstrated that the longer the French government ignores peaceful initiatives to curb weapons, the better for France. Even France acceded to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty proposed by the UN in 1996 only in 1998.

China

• China. China conducted its first test of an atomic weapon, codenamed “596,” in 1964, opening the way to becoming one of the five residents of the Nuclear Club.
• Modern China has 270 warheads in storage. Since 2011, the country has adopted a policy of minimal weapons, which will be used only in case of danger. And the developments of Chinese military scientists are in no way behind the leaders in weapons, Russia and the United States, and since 2011 they have presented to the world four new modifications of ballistic weapons with the ability to load them with nuclear warheads.
• There is a joke that China is based on the number of its compatriots, who make up the largest diaspora in the world, when talking about the “minimum necessary” number of combat units.

Great Britain

• Great Britain, like a true lady, although it is one of the leading Five nuclear powers, has not practiced such indecency as atomic testing on its own territory. All tests were carried out away from British lands, in Australia and in Pacific Ocean.


• She began her nuclear career in 1952 with the activation of a nuclear bomb with a yield of more than 25 kilotons of TNT on board the frigate Plym, anchored near the Pacific islands of Montebello. In 1991, testing was stopped. Officially, the country has 215 charges, of which 180 are located on deployed carriers.
• The UK actively opposes the use of nuclear ballistic missiles, although there was a precedent in 2015, when Prime Minister David Cameron cheered up the international community with the message that the country, if desired, could demonstrate the launch of a couple of charges. The minister did not specify in which direction the nuclear greeting would fly.

Young nuclear powers

Pakistan

• Pakistan. The common border with India and Pakistan prevents them from signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In 1965, the country's foreign minister said that Pakistan would be ready to begin developing its own nuclear weapons if neighboring India began to do so. His determination was so serious that he promised to put the entire country on bread and water for the sake of protection from armed provocations of India.
• Development of explosive devices has been ongoing for a long time, with variable funding and construction of facilities since 1972. The country conducted its first tests in 1998 at the Chagai training ground. There are about 120-130 nuclear warheads in storage in the country.
• The emergence of a new player in the nuclear market forced many partner countries to impose a ban on the import of Pakistani goods into their territory, which could greatly undermine the country's economy. Fortunately for Pakistan, it had a number of unofficial sponsors who provided funds for nuclear testing. The largest receipts were oil from Saudi Arabia, which was imported into the country at a rate of 50 thousand barrels daily.

India

• The homeland of the most cheerful films was pushed to participate in the nuclear race by its proximity to China and Pakistan. And if China has long been in the position of superpowers and does not pay attention to India, and does not particularly oppress "
• Nuclear power prevented India from venturing out into the open from the very beginning, so the first test, codenamed “Smiling Buddha” in 1974, was carried out secretly, underground. All developments were so classified that the researchers even notified their own Minister of Defense about the tests at the last moment.
• Officially, India admitted that yes, we sin, we have charges, only in the late 1990s. According to modern data, there are 110-120 units in storage in the country.

North Korea

• North Korea. The favorite move of the United States - “showing strength” as an argument in negotiations - was very disliked by the DPRK government back in the mid-1950s. At that time, the United States actively intervened in the Korean War, allowing the atomic bombing of Pyongyang. The DPRK learned its lesson and set a course for militarizing the country.
• Together with the army, which today is the fifth largest in the world, Pyongyang is conducting nuclear research, which until 2017 was not particularly interesting to the world, since it took place under the auspices of space exploration, and relatively peacefully. Sometimes the neighboring lands of South Korea were shaken by medium-sized earthquakes of unknown origin, that’s all the troubles.
• At the beginning of 2017, the “false” news in the media that the United States was sending its aircraft carriers to meaningless promenades off the Korean shores left a residue, and the DPRK, without much concealment, conducted six nuclear tests. Today the country has 10 nuclear units in storage.
• How many other countries are conducting research on developing nuclear weapons is unknown. To be continued.

Suspicions of nuclear weapons storage

There are several known countries suspected of storing nuclear weapons:

• Israel, like the old and wise Reve, is in no hurry to lay his cards on the table, but does not directly deny the presence of nuclear weapons. The “Non-Proliferation Treaty” has also not been signed, and it’s more invigorating than the morning snow. And all that the world has are only rumors about the nuclear tests that the Promised One allegedly conducted since 1979 together with South Africa in the South Atlantic and the presence of 80 nuclear warheads in storage.
• Iraq, according to unverified data, has been storing an unknown number of nuclear weapons for an unknown number of years. “Simply because it can,” they said in the United States, and at the beginning of the 2000s, together with Great Britain, they sent troops into the country. Later they apologized heartily that they were “mistaken.” We didn't expect anything else, gentlemen.
• Came under the same suspicions Iran, due to testing the “peaceful atom” for energy needs. This became the reason to impose sanctions on the country for 10 years. In 2015, Iran pledged to report on uranium enrichment research, and the country was released from sanctions.

Four countries cleared themselves of all suspicion by officially refusing to participate “in these races of yours.” Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine transferred all their capacities to Russia with the collapse of the USSR, although the President of Belarus A. Lukashenko sometimes sighs with a hint of nostalgia that “If only there were any weapons left, they would talk to us differently.” And South Africa, even though it once participated in the development of nuclear power, openly withdrew from the race and lives quietly.

Partly due to the contradictions of internal political forces that opposed nuclear policy, partly due to a lack of necessity. One way or another, some have transferred all power to the energy sector to cultivate the “peaceful atom”, and some have abandoned nuclear potential altogether (like Taiwan, after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine).

List of nuclear powers in the world for 2018

The powers that have such weapons in their arsenal are members of the so-called “Nuclear Club”. Intimidation and world domination are the reasons for the research and production of atomic weapons.

USA

• First nuclear bomb test - 1945
• The last one was 1992.

It ranks 1st in the number of warheads among nuclear powers. In 1945, the world's first nuclear explosion was carried out with the first Trinity bomb. Besides large quantity warheads, the United States has missiles with a range of 13,000 km that can deliver nuclear weapons to this distance.

Russia

• First tested a nuclear bomb in 1949 at the Semipalatinsk test site
• The last one was in 1990.

Russia is the rightful successor to the USSR and a power with nuclear weapons. And for the first time the country exploded a nuclear bomb in 1949, and by 1990 there were approximately 715 tests in total. The Tsar Bomba is the name given to the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in the world. Its capacity is 58.6 megatons of TNT. Its development was carried out in the USSR in 1954-1961. under the leadership of I.V. Kurchatov. Tested on October 30, 1961 at the Sukhoi Nos training ground.

In 2014, President V.V. Putin changed the military doctrine of the Russian Federation, as a result of which the country reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, as well as any other, if the the very existence of the state.

As of 2017, Russia has launchers in its arsenal missile systems intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear combat missiles (Topol-M, YaRS). Navy The Russian Armed Forces have ballistic missile submarines. The air force has long-range strategic bombers. The Russian Federation is rightfully considered one of the leaders among the powers possessing nuclear weapons, and one of the technologically advanced ones.

Great Britain

USA's best friend.

• First tested an atomic bomb in 1952.
• Last test: 1991

Officially joined the nuclear club. The US and UK are long-standing partners and have been cooperating on nuclear issues since 1958, when the countries signed a mutual defense treaty. The country does not seek to reduce nuclear weapons, but also does not increase their production in view of the policy of containing neighboring states and aggressors. The number of warheads in stock is not disclosed.

France

• In 1960, she conducted the first test.
• The last time was in 1995.

The first explosion took place in Algeria. A thermonuclear explosion was tested in 1968 at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific and since then there have been more than 200 tests of weapons of mass destruction. The power strove for its independence and began to officially possess deadly weapons.

China

• First test - 1964
• Latest - 1996

The state has officially stated that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, and also guarantees not to use them against countries that do not have lethal weapons.

India

• First nuclear bomb test - 1974
• The last one was 1998.

It officially recognized the presence of nuclear weapons only in 1998 after successful underground explosions at the Pokharan test site.

Pakistan

• Tested a weapon for the first time - May 28, 1998.
• Last time: May 30, 1998

In response to nuclear weapons explosions in India, he conducted a series of underground tests in 1998.

North Korea

• 2006 - first explosion
• 2016 is the last one.

In 2005, the leadership of the DPRK announced the creation dangerous bomb and in 2006 conducted its underground test for the first time. The second explosion was carried out in 2009. And in 2012 it officially declared itself a nuclear power. In recent years, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has worsened and North Korea periodically threatens the United States with a nuclear bomb if it continues to interfere in the conflict with South Korea.

Israel

• allegedly tested a nuclear warhead in 1979.

The country does not officially have nuclear weapons. The state neither denies nor confirms the presence of nuclear weapons. But there is evidence that Israel has such warheads.

Iran

The world community accuses this power of creating nuclear weapons, but the state declares that it does not possess such weapons and does not intend to produce them. Research was carried out only for peaceful purposes, and that scientists have mastered the entire cycle of uranium enrichment and only for peaceful purposes.

South Africa

The state possessed nuclear weapons in the form of missiles, but voluntarily destroyed them. There is information that Israel provided assistance in creating bombs

History of origin

The creation of a deadly bomb began in 1898, when the spouses Pierre and Marie Suladovskaya-Curie discovered that some substance in uranium releases a huge amount of energy. Subsequently, Ernest Rutherford studied the atomic nucleus, and his colleagues Ernest Walton and John Cockcroft split the atomic nucleus for the first time in 1932. And in 1934, Leo Szilard patented a nuclear bomb.

Types of nuclear weapons

• Atomic bomb - energy release occurs due to nuclear fission
• Hydrogen (thermonuclear) - explosion energy occurs as a result of first nuclear fission, and then nuclear fusion.

At the heart of a nuclear explosion, damage occurs due to the mechanical effects of a shock wave, the thermal effects of a light wave, radioactive effects and radioactive contamination.

As a result of the shock wave, unprotected people can suffer injuries and concussions. Mechanical damage, depending on the power, will cause destruction to buildings and houses. The light wave can cause burns on the body and burns to the retina of the eyes. Fires occur as a result of the thermal effects of light waves. Radioactive contamination and radiation sickness are the result of radioactive exposure.

At the session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, many states have already signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (it was adopted on July 7, 2017 at UN headquarters and opened for signature on September 20. - Ed.). As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres put it, they want to create a world “without doomsday weapons.” But countries possessing nuclear weapons (NW) are not participating in the initiative.

Uwho has nuclear weapons and how many?

It is generally accepted that today there are actually nine nuclear powers in the world - the USA, Russia, France, Great Britain, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the DPRK. At their disposal, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) as of January 2017, there are a total of about 15 thousand nuclear warheads. But they are distributed very unevenly among the G9 countries. The United States and Russia account for 93 percent of all nuclear warheads on the planet.

Who has official nuclear status and who does not?

Officially, only those that signed the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons are considered nuclear powers. These are (in order of the creation of their first atomic bomb) - USA (1945), USSR/Russia (1949), Great Britain (1952), France (1960) and China (1964). The remaining four countries, although they have nuclear weapons, have not joined the treaty on their non-proliferation.

North Korea withdrew from the treaty, Israel has never officially recognized its nuclear weapons, but Tel Aviv is believed to have them. In addition, the United States assumes that Iran continues to work on creating an atomic bomb, despite the official renunciation of the military use of nuclear energy and control by the IAEA.

How the number of nuclear warheads changed

Although over time more and more states have begun to possess nuclear weapons, the number of nuclear warheads today is significantly lower than during the Cold War. In the 1980s there were about 70 thousand. Today, their number continues to decline in accordance with the disarmament agreement concluded by the United States and Russia in 2010 (START III Treaty). But the quantity is not so important. Almost all nuclear powers are modernizing their arsenal and making it even more powerful.

What initiatives are there for nuclear disarmament?

The oldest such initiative is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The signatory states that do not have nuclear weapons undertake to permanently abandon their creation. The official nuclear powers undertake to negotiate disarmament. However, the agreement did not stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Another weakness of the treaty is that in the long term it divides the world into those who have nuclear weapons and those who do not. Critics of the document also note that the five official nuclear powers are also permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Have there been successful nuclear disarmament treaties?

The United States and the USSR/Russia have destroyed a significant number of nuclear warheads and their delivery vehicles since the end of the Cold War. According to the START I treaty (signed in July 1991, entered into force in December 1994, expired in December 2009. - Ed.), Washington and Moscow have significantly reduced their nuclear arsenals.

Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signing the New START Treaty, April 2010

This process was not easy and was slowed down from time to time, but the goal was so important for both sides that Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the START III treaty in the spring of 2010. Obama then announced his desire for a nuclear-free world. The further fate of the treaty is considered uncertain amid the politics of demonstration military force led by US President Donald Trump, and Russian actions in relation to Ukraine.

Which countries have given up nuclear weapons?

South Africa abandoned attempts to create an atomic bomb shortly before the abolition of the apartheid regime, as did Libya in 2003. The former republics of the USSR stand apart here, having inherited nuclear weapons after its collapse. Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Lisbon Protocol, making them parties to the START I treaty, and then acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Ukraine had the largest arsenal, the third in the world after the United States and Russia. Having abandoned it, Kyiv received in return financial assistance, as well as guarantees of security and territorial integrity from nuclear powers, enshrined in the so-called Budapest Memorandum. However, the memorandum was in the nature of a voluntary commitment, was not ratified by any of the states that signed it, and did not provide for a sanctions mechanism.

Context

Since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, critics of the memorandum say that Kyiv’s refusal to renounce nuclear weapons has not justified itself. They believe that Ukraine's nuclear weapons would not allow Russia to annex Crimea. On the other hand, experts note that the example of North Korea could cause a chain reaction when more and more countries want to obtain atomic warheads.

What are the prospects for banning nuclear weapons?

The current initiative to ban nuclear weapons is nothing more than a symbolic gesture against race nuclear weapons. If only because all nine nuclear powers are not taking part in this initiative. They argue that nuclear weapons are the best defense against attack and point to the pre-existing non-proliferation treaty. But this agreement does not talk about a ban.

NATO also does not support the treaty, which opened for signature on September 20. The campaign to sign it, as stated in the alliance's official statement, "does not take into account the increasingly threatening international security situation." Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's foreign minister, called the initiative an "almost irresponsible" "self-deception." According to him, it can only weaken the non-proliferation treaty.

On the other hand, Beatrice Fihn, head of the international campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons, called on countries around the world to join the initiative. She emphasized that nuclear weapons are “the only type of weapons of mass destruction that have not yet been banned, despite their destructive power and threat to humanity.” According to her, with Donald Trump coming to power in the United States, this threat has increased.

See also:

North Korean missiles and bombs

Missile launches in the DPRK have become noticeably more frequent in recent years. Pyongyang is testing ballistic missiles in defiance of UN resolutions and gradually tightening sanctions. Experts do not even rule out the outbreak of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Beginning - during the late Kim Il Sung

Although the number of missile tests has increased in the last four years, the first of them were carried out back in 1984 - under then North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, over the last 10 years of his rule, the DPRK conducted 15 tests, with no launches from 1986 to 1989 inclusive.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Kim Jong Il: the beginning of nuclear tests

Kim Jong Il, the son of Kim Il Sung, who led the country in July 1994, also did not stand aside. During the 17 years of his reign, 16 missile tests were carried out, although almost all of them occurred in two years - 2006 (7 launches) and 2009 (8). This is less than in the first 8 months of 2017. However, it was during the reign of Kim Jong Il that Pyongyang conducted its first two nuclear weapons tests - in 2006 and 2009.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Kim Jong-un: unprecedented activity

Under the son and grandson of the former rulers, North Korea's missile activity reached an unprecedented level. Over the past 6 years, Pyongyang has already carried out 84 ballistic missile launches. Not all of them were successful; in some cases, the rockets exploded at launch or during flight.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Towards Guam

In early August 2017, reports emerged that the North Korean army was developing a plan to launch four medium-range ballistic missiles towards military base USA on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. US President Donald Trump's response was predictably harsh and threatening.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Over Japanese territory

On August 29, 2017, the DPRK carried out another test, and this time the missile flew over Japanese territory - the island of Hokkaido. Kim Jong-un said that launching a missile towards Japan is preparation for war in the Pacific Ocean.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Sixth nuclear

A few days after the missile was launched over Japan, the DPRK announced that it had successfully tested a nuclear weapon, clarifying that it was a hydrogen bomb. This was the sixth underground nuclear explosion carried out by Pyongyang. Experts estimated the bomb's yield to be approximately 100 kilotons.



North Korea's missile and nuclear tests: a project of three generations of Kims

Meetings and condemnatory statements

After almost every North Korean missile or nuclear test, the security councils convene for emergency meetings. different countries and the UN Security Council. But they, like the condemning statements of world leaders, have not yet brought any effect.

Have you noticed that the further you go, the more incomprehensible the processes occurring on the planet become. It is explainable. Firstly, there are more and more residents. Secondly, they are not sitting on a palm tree, but developing. But their creations are not always safe. Therefore, it is necessary for a person to understand where the threats lurk. It is proposed to study the list of countries that have politicians and the military closely monitoring what is happening inside these states. Yes, and you and I need to take a closer look, is it going to burn?

What are we talking about?

Before talking about how many countries in the world have nuclear weapons, it is necessary to define the concepts. The fact is that not everyone imagines the strength and power of the described threat. Nuclear weapons are a means of mass extermination of populations. If (God forbid) someone dares to use it, then there will not be a single person left on the planet who has not suffered as a result of such an act. Some will simply be destroyed, the rest will be subject to secondary risks. The nuclear arsenal includes the devices themselves, the means of “delivery” and control. Fortunately this complex systems. To create them, you need to have the appropriate technologies, which reduces the risk of joining the “owners club.” Therefore, the list of countries with nuclear weapons remains unchanged for a long time.

A little history

Back in 1889, the Curies discovered strange behavior in some elements. They discovered the principle of separation huge amount energy during the process of their decay. This topic was studied by D. Cockcroft and other great minds. And in 1934 L. Szilard received a patent for the atomic bomb. He was the first to figure out how to put the discovery into practice. We will not delve into the reasons for its work. However, there were many who wanted to take advantage of the discovery.

Such weapons were then believed to be the key to world domination. There is no need to use it. Swing it like a club, everyone will obey in fear. By the way, the principle has been around for almost a century. All nuclear powers, the list of which is given below, have significant, compared to others, weight on the world stage. Of course, many people don't like this. But this is the order of things, according to philosophers.

Which countries are nuclear powers

It is clear that technologies could not be created by undeveloped states that do not have an appropriate scientific and industrial base.

Although this is not all that is needed to create such complex devices. Therefore, the list of countries with nuclear weapons is small. It includes eight or nine states. Are you surprised by this uncertainty? Now let's explain what the problem is. But first, let's give a list of them. List of countries with nuclear weapons: Russia, USA, Great Britain, France, China, Pakistan, India. These states were able to implement Curie's discovery to varying degrees. Their arsenals differ in composition and, naturally, in threats. However, one bomb is believed to be enough to destroy life.

On the discrepancies in the quantitative composition of the “nuclear club”

This is the kind of intrigue that exists on the planet. Some experts include Israel on the list of countries with nuclear weapons. The state itself does not recognize that it can already be included in this “club”. However, there is some indirect evidence that Israel does possess lethal weapons. In addition, some states are secretly working on creating their own nuclear “baton”. They talk a lot about Iran, which does not hide it. Only the government of this country recognizes the development of the “peaceful atom” carried out in its laboratories. I am inclined to believe that such a program, if successful, will make it possible to create weapons of mass destruction. Experts say this. They also say that nuclear powers supply technology to their “satellites.” This is done for political purposes to strengthen their own influence. Thus, some experts are trying to convict the United States of supplying nuclear weapons to its partners. So far no one has presented any recognized evidence to the world.

About the positive effects

Not all experts consider nuclear weapons only a threat to the existence of the planet. In times of crisis, it, oddly enough, can act as a powerful tool for “peace enforcement.” The fact is that some leaders consider it possible to resolve claims and conflicts by military means. This, of course, does not bring good to people. Wars mean death and destruction, a brake on the development of civilization. It was like that before. Today the situation is different. All countries are connected in one way or another. As they say, the world has become very small and cramped. It is almost impossible to fight without hurting the “nuclear club.” A power that has such a “club” can use it in the event of a serious threat. Therefore, you have to calculate the risks before using conventional weapons. It turned out that peace is guaranteed by members of the “nuclear club”.

About differences in arsenals

Of course, the club of the “chosen ones” is not homogeneous. Countries have completely disparate parameters. If the USA and the Russian Federation have a so-called triad, then other states are limited in the potential use of their bombs. Strong countries (USA, RF) have carriers of all types. These include: ballistic missiles, air bombs, submarines. That is, it can be delivered to the point of impact by land, air and sea. Other members of the “nuclear club” have not yet achieved such development. The issue is further complicated by the fact that powers do not seek to reveal their secrets. Estimates of their nuclear arsenals are very relative. Negotiations are being conducted in strict confidence. Although efforts are being made constantly to establish parity. Nuclear weapons are currently not a military, but a political factor. Many politicians and specialists are working to ensure that this state of affairs remains unchanged. Nobody wants to die.

Today, when more than 70 years have passed since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the scientific and industrial potential of many states makes it possible to create super-powerful ammunition, any educated person should know that there are nuclear weapons. Considering the secrecy of this topic, the reluctance of some governments and regimes to declare the current state of affairs in this area is not an easy task.

The Fab Five

The USA was the first. A country that traded with both allies and enemies, and received a net profit from the war greater than all the gigantic losses of Hitler's Germany, was able to invest huge amounts of money in the Manhattan Project. The birthplace of Batman, Captain America in its characteristic democratic manner, without hesitation, in 1945 the United States tested an atomic bomb on the peaceful cities of Japan. In 1952, the United States was the first to use thermonuclear weapons, many times more destructive than the first atomic weapons.

In the list called “Which countries have nuclear weapons,” the death of innocent residents and radioactive ash was the first line written.

I had to become the second Soviet Union. Having a “democratic” savage waving an atomic club as a neighbor on the planet was simply dangerous, without having similar weapons for protection and the possibility of a retaliatory strike. Exhausted Great Patriotic War the country required colossal efforts of scientists, intelligence officers, engineers, and workers in order to inform the Soviet people already in 1949 that they had created atomic bomb. In 1953, thermonuclear weapons were tested.

Fortunately, Nazi Germany was not the first, working on the creation of a military-defense complex based on a chain reaction of fission of uranium nuclei. The help of German scientists and engineers, the use of the technologies they developed, exported by the US Army, greatly simplified the creation of superweapons by the overseas empire of “good”.

Which countries have nuclear weapons? England, China, and France tried to answer this question, following the leaders of the rapidly developing race spurred by the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. Chronologically it looked like this:

1952 - Great Britain tested atomic weapons at an island test site near Australia, in 1957 - thermonuclear weapons in Polynesia.

1960 - France in Algeria, thermonuclear in 1968 on an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

1964 - China at a test site near Lake Lop Nor, where a thermonuclear charge was tested in 1967.

In 1968, these five great nuclear powers, which are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, in order to maintain the military-technical and political balance of power and under the slogan of universal peace on the planet, signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Such Weapons, prohibiting the transfer of nuclear technology for military purposes to other countries .

Explicit and secret

Which countries have nuclear weapons besides the “old” nuclear powers? Those who openly declared the creation and testing of both atomic and later thermonuclear weapons at one time were:

India tested an atomic weapon back in 1974, but did not admit it. Only in May 1998, after several underground explosions, including a thermonuclear one, did it declare itself a country with nuclear weapons.

Pakistan, in the same May 1998, according to its own statement, carried out its own tests in response to India's actions.

North Korea announced the creation of weapons in 2005, tested them in 2006, and declared itself a nuclear power in 2012.

This concludes the list of 8 states that admit to having nuclear weapons. The remaining states, which do not officially declare the presence of such weapons, do not hide this fact very much, demonstrating to everyone their high scientific, technological, military-technical potential.

First of all, this is Israel. No one doubts that this country has nuclear weapons. She did not carry out his above-ground or underground explosions. There are only suspicions about joint tests in the South Atlantic together with South Africa, which was also considered to have nuclear reserves before the fall of the apartheid regime. Currently, South Africa completely denies their existence.

For many years, the world community and, above all, Israel suspected Iraq and Iran of developing and creating nuclear technologies for military use. The valiant defenders of democracy who invaded Iraq did not find any nuclear weapons there, nor chemical or bacteriological ones in addition, which they immediately bashfully kept silent about. Iran, under the influence of international sanctions, recently opened all its nuclear energy facilities to IAEA inspectors, who confirmed the absence of developments in the creation of weapons-grade plutonium.

Now Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is suspected of secretly seeking to acquire superweapons.

This concludes the list of nuclear club states, consisting of overt and secret members.

At the moment, all interested parties know quite precisely which countries have nuclear weapons, because this is a matter of global security. From time to time, information appears in the media about the ongoing work in many countries from South Korea, Brazil to Saudi Arabia, which have sufficient scientific and production potential, to create their own nuclear weapons, but there is no official, documentary evidence of this.