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All nuclear weapon-possessing states develop new systems — report

At the start of 2015 nine states possessed approximately 15 850 nuclear weapons, of which 4300 were deployed with operational forces

STOCKHOLM, June 15. /TASS/. All the nuclear weapon-possessing states are working to develop new nuclear weapon systems and/or upgrade their existing ones, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) wrote in its Yearbook 2015, which is launched on Monday.

‘Despite renewed international interest in prioritizing nuclear disarmament, the modernization programs under way in the nuclear weapon-possessing states suggests that none of them will give up their nuclear arsenals in the foreseeable future’, says SIPRI Senior Researcher Shannon Kile.

At the start of 2015, nine states - the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) - possessed approximately 15 850 nuclear weapons, of which 4300 were deployed with operational forces. Roughly 1800 of these weapons were kept in a state of high operational alert.

The report gives approximate estimates, reading the US has 7,260 warheads (2,080 deployed and 5,720 other warheads), Russia - 7,500 (1,780 and 5,718), the United Kingdom - 215 (150 and 65), France - 300 (290 and 10), China - 260 (none deployed), India - 90-110 (none deployed), Pakistan - 100-120 (none deployed), Israel - 80 (none deployed). The Institute does not have data on the warheads in North Korea, but the estimate for early 2015 was about 6-8. "Deployed" means warheads placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces.