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ABC News
ABC News
World
Catherine Hanrahan

Chart of the day: Eight countries have more nuclear weapons than North Korea

Kim Jong-un may have committed to denuclearisation in North Korea in his historic summit with Donald Trump, but the world has a long way to go to full nuclear disarmament.

There are nine countries with nuclear weapons, but the exact number of nuclear weapons possessed by each country is a closely guarded national secret, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

But publicly available information, analysis of historical records and leaks make it possible to estimate the size of each nuclear state's arsenal.

Despite extensive denuclearisation since the Cold War, FAS estimates 1,800 US, Russian, British and French warheads are on high alert, ready to be used at short notice.

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