How Many Nuke Tests Until North Korea Matches the US?

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Talk abounds of North Korea’s decision to conduct a second nuclear test over the weekend. The old thinking on Pyongyang was that it was just a problem child that used nukes to get attention. But as Glenn Kessler points out in the Washington Post, in the form of the Obama administration Kim Jong Il has found a negotiating partner whose stated goal is to “demonstrate that engagement with hostile nations is more effective than antagonism.”  That, apparently, is not enough to keep him from rattling his saber, and has intelligence analysts all over Washington working to attribute new motivations to North Korea’s antagonistic behavior. For their part, the North Koreans issued an official statement, saying “the nuclear test will contribute to protecting the sovereignty of the country and the nation and socialism, and ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula and neighboring region.” We’ll see about that. South Korea and Japan certainly didn’t view the test as a peaceful gesture. 

Beneath all the hub-bub, though, is an interesting statistic. The AP reports that nuclear weapons have been detonated 2,054 times since 1945. How many will it take for North Korea to catch up with the the world’s most prolific tester of doomsday weapons, the United States? Answer: 1,030. Consider the AP’s numbers:

UNITED STATES – 1,032

RUSSIA (SOVIET UNION) – 715

FRANCE – 210

CHINA – 45

BRITAIN – 45

INDIA – 3

PAKISTAN – 2

NORTH KOREA – 2

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate