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In justifying the war they launched on Iran at the end of February, the US and Israel said they wanted to ensure the country wasn’t able to build nuclear weapons. North Korea, another state alienated from the West, has long had these capabilities, and has recently significantly increased its capacity to produce such arms, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.During the first Trump administration, the US tried to negotiate denuclearization with North Korea. But the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, chose to retain the “nuclear shield and sword” that state media says has protected the regime from operations such as the one against Iran. How many nuclear weapons does North Korea have?IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on April 15 that the agency estimated the country’s arsenal at “a few dozen warheads.” Inspectors from the IAEA have been barred from North Korea for years, but the UN nuclear watchdog continues to monitor developments there through satellite imagery and other analytical tools.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent think tank, estimated that, as of January 2025, North Korea had assembled some 50 warheads and possessed enough fissile material for another 40.Kim has pledged to rapidly enlarge his country’s nuclear weapons program, and the IAEA says it has seen signs that the expansion is underway. Specifically, it says it has observed stepped-up activities at a number of facilities that point to a major acceleration of the ability to produce fissile material. What’s within range of North Korea’s nuclear weapons?North Korea possesses an array of ballistic missiles, routinely lobbing such projectiles into the waters off its east coast and regularly working to upgrade their capabilities. It’s been pursuing the ability to arm its short- and medium-range missiles — and possibly those with a longer reach — with nuclear warheads.That puts South Korea, certainly, within range of North Korea’s nukes, including the 28,500 US troops stationed in the country. The two Koreas are still technically in a state of war. The peninsula was divided after World War II, and the two sides fought a war in the early 1950s, with the North backed by China and the South by the US. The conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.Japan, also a significant host of US military forces, is another potential target for North Korea’s short-range missiles.It would be a bigger reach for North Korea to deliver an atomic strike on Guam, a US territory in the Western Pacific Ocean that houses military bases, or on the US mainland. North Korea has developed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that can travel far enough to reach the US. But it’s unclear whether they could beat US antimissile systems, whether they’re refined enough to strike their intended targets or if the warheads could survive reentry into the atmosphere. Can North Korea be persuaded to relinquish its nuclear arms?In an effort to push North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, the UN, the US and its allies have made it one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world. But the pressure hasn’t worked. Nor did three meetings between Kim and Trump during his first term as US president.In recent years, North Korea’s isolation has eased as the country has developed a close relationship with Russia. In 2024, the two sealed a pact that includes mutual defense commitments. China, meanwhile, continues to provide diplomatic support and critical economic assistance to North Korea.Addressing a congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in February, Kim laid out his vision for more weapons development, vowing to build stronger ICBMs, according to state media. He’s urged the US to drop its longstanding demand for denuclearization and said it should instead recognize North Korea as a nuclear power. 

North Korea will never give up nuclear weapons, leader Kim Jong-un said, indicating that it will soon designate South Korea the "most hostile state", according to a state media report Tuesday.Kim also told the country's rubber-stamp legislature in a policy address on Monday that the US was committing "state terrorism", in an apparent reference to its military attacks on Iran."We will continue to firmly consolidate our status as a nuclear-armed state as an irreversible course, while aggressively stepping up our struggle against hostile forces," Kim told the Supreme People's Assembly."We will, in line with the mission entrusted by the Constitution of the Republic... further expand and advance our self-defensive nuclear deterrent," Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.While the US and Israel have said that their attacks on Iran are to stop the Islamic republic from developing nuclear weapons — an aim Tehran denies — Pyongyang is thought to be light years ahead by comparison.Despite years of sanctions and diplomatic isolation, the Chinese ally is estimated to have dozens of nuclear warheads and the fissile material for many more.It has also unveiled increasingly sophisticated delivery systems, including new solid?fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles that can launch with little warning.Kim, a day after his reappointment as head of the authoritarian nation's highest policymaking body, the State Affairs Commission, also did not mince words about his southern neighbour."We will designate South Korea as the most hostile state and deal with it by thoroughly rejecting and disregarding it," Kim said.The announcement came despite repeated overtures by President Lee Jae Myung, a doveish leader who took office in June, for dialogue without preconditions. Pyongyang has ignored these gestures.Pyongyang will "make it pay mercilessly — without the slightest consideration or hesitation — for any act that infringes upon our Republic," Kim added.Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that Kim's comments on consolidating its nuclear status showed Pyongyang sees US actions in Iran and Venezuela with "deep concern and seriousness"."It indicates that Kim and the leadership... interpret these developments as reinforcing their decision to pursue the further advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities," Hong told AFP.Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, said that: "Iran's experience once again confirmed what the North Koreans have always known, (that) in the modern world, the only security guarantee is, well, nuclear weapons."Donald Trump met Kim in his first term and there has been speculation of a re-run when the US president makes his delayed visit to China next month.Kim, who was greeted with cheering crowds and received a standing ovation in the assembly, said Monday that the US is "carrying out acts of state terrorism and aggression across the world."Washington and its allies "are constantly bringing nuclear strategic assets into the areas surrounding our country, shaking the foundations of regional security," Kim said.This refers to systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons, even if the US does not actually deploy them with nuclear payloads, explained Lim Eul-chul, an expert on North Korea at Kyungnam University.Pyongyang also thinks it is possible that nuclear-powered submarines that South Korea wants to make could be armed with nuclear weapons — "a potential that is not entirely unfounded," Lim told AFP.On the economy, Kim outlined a goal of increasing industrial output by 1.5 times.Progress made "shattered... false claims of hostile forces that there can be no prosperity without nuclear abandonment", he said.Kim said 15.8 % of the total spending for 2026 will be on defence, compared to 15.7 % in 2025.He also proposed creating a formal "police system," signalling a shift from the traditional reliance on broader public security forces.He said this would strengthen legal frameworks and elevate public order, calling it "essential" for national security and social stability, and "advantageous" to "realise cooperation with police organisations in other countries." 

Qatar participated in the high-level plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The State of Qatar was represented at the meeting by HE Director of International Organisations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sheikha Hanouf bint Abdulrahman al-Thani.

Iran president speaking at UN General AssemblyGaps remain between Iran and E3 as deadline loomsEuropean powers offering delay if Iran makes concessionsIran has no intention to build nuclear weapons, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, just days before international sanctions could be reimposed on his country over Tehran's nuclear ambitions."I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek nuclear weapons," Pezeshkian said.On August 28, Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions that ends on September 27, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.The European powers have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months to allow space for talks on a long-term deal if Iran restores access for UN nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the United States.Pezeshkian criticised the move by European powers as "illegal", saying it was made at "the behest of the United States of America".The United States, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear programme as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only."In doing so, they (the E3) set aside good faith. They circumvented legal obligations. They sought to portray Iran's lawful remedial measures ... as a gross violation," Pezeshkian said.But amid the looming threat of sanctions and last-ditch talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, gaps remain between Tehran and European powers over a deal to avert the snapback of sanctions.Still, both sides have left the door open to further negotiations. While the E3 says Iran's clerical rulers have so far failed to meet the conditions it set, Tehran says it will not offer concessions.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on key state matters such as foreign policy and Iran's nuclear programme, has ruled out negotiations with the United States under threat.If Tehran and the E3 fail to reach a deal on an extension by the end of September 27, then all UN sanctions will be reimposed on Iran, where the economy already struggles with crippling sanctions reimposed since 2018 after President Donald Trump ditched the pact during his first term.The so-called "snapback" process would reimpose an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a global asset freeze and travel bans on Iranian individuals and entities.Soon after the US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites in June, Iran's parliament passed a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.However, the IAEA and Tehran reached a deal on September 9 to resume inspections at nuclear sites and UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday a team of inspectors was on its way to Iran should Tehran and the E3 strike a deal this week to avert revival of sanctions.

Russia and Belarus are rehearsing the launch of Russian tactical nuclear weapons as part of joint war games, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday.State media quoted the Belarusian chief of staff as saying that the exercises also featured Russia's Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which it test-fired last year in the war with Ukraine.Russia and Belarus are ending five days of war games codenamed Zapad (West) in a show of force they say is to test combat readiness but which has unnerved some surrounding countries.Dressed in military attire, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with top military officials Tuesday in Russia's Nizhny Novogorod region, where some of the drills took place.Some 100,000 military personnel participated in the exercises, which involved roughly 10,000 pieces of military equipment, the Kremlin chief said in comments broadcast on state television.The drills were to ensure the "unconditional protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Union State," Putin said, referring to the alliance of Russia and Belarus.The war games, which Western military analysts say are designed to intimidate Europe, come just days after Polish and Nato forces say they shot down Russian drones that entered Polish airspace.Belarus, a close Russian ally which borders Ukraine and Russia, as well as Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, hosts Russian tactical nuclear weapons which Moscow retains command and control of.Lukashenko was cited by the Belarusian state news agency Belta as saying that it was only natural that the Russian tactical nuclear weapons were part of the Zapad drills."We are practising everything there. They (the West) know this too, we are not hiding it. From firing conventional small arms to nuclear warheads. Again, we must be able to do all this. Otherwise, why would they be on Belarusian territory?" he was quoted as saying."But we are absolutely not planning to threaten anyone with this."The Belarusian Defence Ministry confirmed in a statement that the use of tactical nuclear weapons had been rehearsed along with the deployment of Russia's intermediate-range Oreshnik ballistic missile that Moscow fired at Ukraine for the first time on November 21 last year.Putin said late last year that Russia could deploy Oreshniks, which he has claimed are impossible to intercept, on the territory of Belarus in the second half of 2025.Lukashenko, who holds regular talks with Putin, allowed Moscow to use his territory to enter Ukraine in February 2022, but has not committed his own troops to the fighting.US President Donald Trump has begun cultivating closer ties with Lukashenko, long treated as a pariah by the West, and relaxed some sanctions on Belarus last week in return for the release of 52 prisoners including political opponents.US military officers observed part of the Zapad exercise in Belarus on Monday.Russia's Defence Ministry said Tuesday that nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers had rehearsed launching cruise missiles over the Barents Sea north of the Nordic countries.The bombers had flown over the Barents Sea's neutral waters for about four hours, escorted by MiG-31 fighter jets, it said.Separately, it said Marines belonging to Russia's Northern Fleet practised repelling an amphibious landing by an enemy force on a peninsula in Russia's Murmansk region.Video showed troops — backed by attack helicopters and fighter jets — using armoured personnel carriers, drones, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and automatic weapons — seeing off an imaginary enemy.Ships from Russia's Baltic Fleet — backed by fighter jets — test-fired cruise missiles at notional enemy ships, as did the fleet's land-based mobile missile launchers.In Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, troops practised using a Torn-MDM radio reconnaissance complex to detect the location of enemy forces so that their coordinates could be passed on to drone and artillery units.