Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back answers questions from lawmakers at a plenary session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back answers questions from lawmakers at a plenary session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee on Thursday. [Yonhap]

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back publicly disclosed Thursday for the first time that South Korea estimates North Korea possesses between 80 and 120 nuclear weapons, while reaffirming that Seoul cannot officially recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear state.

Ahn made the remarks at a plenary session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, responding to questions from People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong about Donald Trump's statement Wednesday that Kim Jong-un possesses 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.

When Seong asked whether Ahn had been aware of Trump's figure of 57 warheads, the minister said the numbers "appear to differ somewhat."

Pressed further on how many weapons South Korea estimates North Korea holds, Ahn said the government "generally puts the figure at 80 to 120, though the precise number is limited." The assessment is significantly higher than both Trump's figure of 57 and the approximately 60 estimated by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in June.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday that Kim "has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons" and said he planned to meet the North Korean leader before the end of the year. It was the first time a sitting US president had cited a specific number for North Korea's nuclear stockpile.

Seong pressed Ahn on whether the United States had in effect recognized North Korea as a nuclear state, but the minister drew a line, saying Seoul "cannot officially recognize" that status.

When asked again whether North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons was already an accepted assessment, Ahn stopped short of a direct answer, saying the stance should be seen "not as recognition, but as a strategic posture of being fully prepared."

Ahn said there was "no change" in the government's denuclearization policy and assessed that Kim appeared to be "employing a dual-track strategy of dialogue and pressure."

When Seong argued that maintaining a denuclearization policy while North Korea already holds nuclear weapons created an imbalance and asked whether South Korea should pursue its own nuclear armament, Ahn said clearly: "We cannot develop nuclear weapons."

On the redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, Ahn said that was "not something we should accept," adding that South Korea was pursuing a policy of "firmly securing the US extended deterrence — the nuclear umbrella."


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