The DIA says North Korea might have as many as 15 nukes, according to Long Island’s No. 1 paper:
Defense Intelligence Agency analysts believe North Korea may already have produced as many as 15 nuclear weapons, according to a DIA official.
“A dozen to 15, tops,” said the official, who asked to not be further identified.
Another intelligence official who works for a separate agency said the DIA’s estimate is at the high end of a recent intelligence community-wide assessment of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The CIA, he said, lowballed the estimate at two to three bombs while the Department of Energy’s analysis put it somewhere in between.
Before the recent assessment, the upper number from the intelligence community had been eight to nine.
According to the Center for Defense Information, North Korea may soon catch up with India and Pakistan, which are believed to have between 24 and 60 weapons of the nuclear variety.
Of course, this is all very exciting. We got the CIA at 2~3, DIA at 12~15, NIS at 1~2, IAEA at 6~8 and I’m sure there are other estimates floating around.
Found the story via the Segye Ilbo, which gave Newsday (best sports page in NY) the first shoutout I’ve personally seen in the Korean press. My father worked for Newsday for over 25 years, so it was kinda cool.
