Trump says North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons, sidesteps questions on renewed denuclearization talks
The unsourced figure aligns with some independent estimates, while South Korea's Defense Minister put Pyongyang's arsenal at 80 to 120 weapons — enough for layered use against multiple targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on August 17.REUTERS/YONHAP
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump put North Korea's nuclear arsenal at 57 weapons on Wednesday, a figure he did not source but one that lands close to what independent researchers estimate.
Trump made the remark to reporters at the White House while walking through the construction of a new helipad. A reporter had asked whether he was exchanging letters with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
"I can't tell you that," Trump said. He then turned to the arsenal.
"He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons. Should have never allowed it to happen," Trump said. "They should have never allowed it. If I were president, I wouldn't have allowed it."
"But I get along with him. And you know what? The fact that I get along with him, that's a good thing, not a bad thing."
Trump has argued repeatedly that North Korea held off on provocations while he was negotiating with Kim in 2018 and 2019. The remark reads as a claim that he would have stopped the North's nuclear work had he won re-election in 2020 instead of Joe Biden.
Trump did not say where the figure of 57 came from. The U.S. President's number sits inside the range arms researchers have published this year. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) estimated in its 2026 yearbook that North Korea had assembled around 60 warheads as of January, with enough fissile material to build at least 30 more. The Federation of American Scientists put the figure at roughly 60 in its own 2026 assessment.
Some analysts have suggested Trump drew the number from an intelligence briefing. He has disclosed sensitive details before. After the Hanoi summit collapsed in February 2019, Trump told an interviewer that Kim had wanted to dismantle one or two nuclear facilities while the North had five, and that he had asked what would happen to the other three. That account also drew accusations of exposing classified material.
The number matters for what it allows. A small arsenal must take place back almost entirely as a last resort to guarantee the government's survival. At around 60, layered use becomes possible in theory: strategic warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at the United States mainland, warheads on short- and medium-range missiles covering South Korea, Japan and Guam, and a reserve held for retaliation.
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 27, 2019AP/YONHAP
North Korea has spent recent years diversifying its missiles and developing tactical warheads. Numbers alone do not deliver a second-strike capability, though. That requires mobile launchers, underground facilities and a command-and-control system that can survive a first strike.
No U.S. president has acknowledged North Korean capability in these terms before. Trump has said previously that the North holds a substantial nuclear force, but he had not named a figure. Last October, he called North Korea a "nuclear power," a description that drew criticism.
Trump may regard denuclearization as effectively out of reach. Sipri estimated that in 2018 and 2019, North Korea held fissile material for 10 to 30 warheads. That would mean its production capacity has been multiplied several times over since. Analysts say that if talks resume on that footing, they could turn into arms control talks aimed at freezing and cutting the arsenal rather than eliminating it.
Later on Wednesday, Trump was asked whether denuclearization remained the goal of reengaging Kim and why he believed it could work this time. He did not answer directly.
"I don't want to talk about that, but I do have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un as you know, you've seen," he said. "He didn't like Biden. He didn't like Obama. He didn't like anybody, but he likes me."
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told the National Assembly Defense Committee on Thursday that the North is estimated to have around 80 to 120 nuclear weapons.
Ahn was responding to a lawmaker’s question on Trump’s statement on the size of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.
"We generally view the figure as being between 80 and 120, though there are significant limitations to stating an exact number,” Ahn said.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
