Trump Puts North Korea Arsenal at 57 Warheads as He Eyes Kim Meeting
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Trump Puts North Korea Arsenal at 57 Warheads as He Eyes Kim Meeting
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Summary
Trump said North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons and predicted he would meet Kim Jong Un later this year, offering the most precise public U.S. estimate yet of Pyongyang’s arsenal.
That figure broadly matches outside estimates of 50 to 60 assembled warheads, though analysts and past public assessments have stressed that North Korea’s secrecy makes any exact count uncertain.
Trump paired the disclosure with a defense of his personal rapport with Kim and a decision to scale back the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills; U.S. and South Korean forces said the exercises would be shortened and end Friday.
Pyongyang has not embraced the overture: Kim Yo Jong called the drill reduction insufficient, and Kim Jong Un this week ordered more production of weapon-grade nuclear materials.
The push revives diplomacy that collapsed after Trump and Kim’s 2019 breakdown, with no new summit date announced despite Trump’s suggestion one could come during a November Asia trip.
With North Korea rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, will scaling back US-South Korea military drills spark a diplomatic breakthrough or endanger regional security?
How will South Korea secure its borders if the US continues to alter joint defense strategies without prior consultation?