MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons establishes that “for the purposes of this Treaty, a nuclear-weapon State is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to January 1, 1967.”
The “nuclear club” includes Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China.
India and Pakistan are de facto, rather than de jure, nuclear-weapon states.
India tested its first nuclear device on May 18, 1974. On May 11 and 13, 1998, five nuclear devices, including one thermonuclear device, were detonated, according to an Indian statement. A consistent critic of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, India has declined to sign it to date.
Pakistan tested its first nuclear devices on May 28 and May 30, 1998. In all, six high-enriched uranium nuclear devices were detonated in two days during two underground nuclear explosions. For many years, Pakistan has declined to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear state.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK – North Korea) joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in December 1985 but withdrew from it in January 2003. Currently, international law experts disagree on the legal status of North Korea regarding its membership in the Treaty. Some experts believe that North Korea formally remains a member country because no mechanism for withdrawing from the Treaty is stipulated.
In February 2005, North Korea openly announced the creation of its own nuclear weapons for the first time. On October 9, 2006, North Korea conducted its first underground nuclear test. The second and third nuclear devices were detonated on May 25, 2009, and February 12, 2013, respectively.
In May 2012, the country officially proclaimed itself a nuclear-weapon state and amended the national constitution accordingly.
On April 9, 2006, Iran joined the nuclear club. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made this statement and announced that the country had completely perfected the process for manufacturing nuclear fuel under laboratory conditions.
The United States and several other Western countries suspect Iran of developing its own nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program. Tehran denies all accusations and says its nuclear program is solely to meet national electricity demand.
Iran has been a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since 1970.
South Africa has completed the full cycle needed for producing a nuclear explosive device. In August 1988, the South African Republic officially admitted the existence of its military nuclear program.
In 1988, activities reminiscent of preparations for the testing of a nuclear device were recorded in the Kalahari Desert. The activities could be related to a test of a nuclear explosive device that could have been made by South Africa or another country.
In 1991, South Africa joined The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear state. Currently the South African Republic does not possess nuclear weapons. However, it does have the technological and industrial wherewithal to manufacture them.
Israel’s leadership for many years has been pursuing a policy known as “nuclear uncertainty” whereby they neither deny nor admit the possession of a nuclear arsenal. Nevertheless, most experts do not doubt the existence of Israeli nuclear forces based on the classic “nuclear triad.” For many years, Israel has been resisting joining the NPT as a non-nuclear state and extending IAEA guarantees to all of its nuclear facilities.
”Latent” or “threshold” nuclear countries make up a separate group. Experts consider a nation a “threshold” country, if it has research and technological potential in the nuclear area which would allow that country to rapidly make a nuclear weapon following a political decision by its leadership.
Experts refer to such countries as Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and others as threshold countries.
Three countries (Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan) which used to have nuclear weapons following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, signed the Lisbon Protocol in 1992 to the Treaty between the USSR and the US on the reduction and limitation of strategic nuclear weapons. By signing the Lisbon Protocol, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty and were listed as countries that do not have nuclear weapons.
The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been, at present, ratified by 36 countries, including three countries with nuclear weapons – Russia, Britain and France. India, the DPRK and Pakistan have not signed the Treaty, while the US, China, Egypt, Israel and Iran have signed but have not ratified it.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the total number of nuclear warheads in the world is 16,300 as of January 2014.
Russia and the United States combined possess 93 percent of the world’s nuclear arsenal.
The US has 1,920 deployed nuclear warheads (of 7,300), whereas Russia has deployed about 1,600 (of 8,000 total).
The UK and France have 225 and 300 warheads, respectively.
According to SIPRI data, at the beginning of the year China had 250; India, 90 to 100; Pakistan, 100 to 120; and Israel 80 nuclear warheads. North Korea is estimated to have six to eight nuclear weapon units.
The countries in possession of nuclear weapons that are available for immediate use include Russia (1,600), the US (1,920), the UK (160) and France (290). SIPRI data indicate that these warheads are already installed on missiles or are kept at military bases where they can be launched.
