N.Korea owns up to 60 Nuclear Bombs, 5000 Tons Chemical Agents: US Army

North Korea is believed to have between 20-60 nuclear bombs besides maintaining a 2-500- 5,000 ton stockpile of 20 chemical weapons, making it the world’s third-largest holder of chemical agents.

The country also has the capacity to produce six new nuclear bombs every year. These details on Pyongyang’s weapons arsenal were revealed by the U.S. Department of the Army headquarters in its report titled “North Korean Tactics.”

"North Korea sought nuclear weapons because its leaders thought the threat of a nuclear attack would prevent other countries from contemplating a regime change….. External powers intervened in Libya when the domestic revolts began in 2011. The Kim family does not want something similar to happen in North Korea,” the U.S. Army report stated.

“North Korea possibly has weaponized anthrax or smallpox that could be mounted on missiles for use,” the report said, adding that 1kg of anthrax could kill up to 50,000 people in the 10-million-strong South Korean capital, Seoul.

The North allegedly also continues to oversee electronic warfare operations, with over 6,000 computer hackers working overseas to gather intelligence, disable enemy networks and commit financial crimes. The Army report said military networks might be susceptible to a breach by Pyongyang.

Those hackers belong to Pyongyang’s Cyber Warfare Guidance Unit or Bureau 121.They carry out their missions in countries such as China, Russia, Malaysia, India and Belarus. The bureau includes the infamous Lazarus Group, which infiltrated South Korean financial and media networks in March 2013 and a year later hacked into Sony Pictures, according to South Korean media.

Bruce Bennett, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corp., told Radio Free Asia that the North could penetrate into South Korea’s military radar in the event of a conflict, rendering any immediate counterattack ineffective.