South Korea estimates North Korea holds up to 120 nuclear warheads

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers on Thursday that North Korea is generally believed to have around 80 to 120 nuclear warheads, days after Trump said Pyongyang possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.

"We usually see it as around 80 to 120, but it is considerably limited to state an exact number," Ahn said during a session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee.

Responding to a question from opposition lawmaker Sung Il-jong, Ahn said the estimate was based on the amount of plutonium North Korea is believed to have produced. He later clarified that the figures came from private research organizations and could not be officially confirmed by South Korea's military.

Asked about the discrepancy with Trump's number, Ahn said the estimates "appear to be slightly different." He declined to comment further, saying it would be inappropriate for a South Korean DM to assess remarks made by the US president.

It marked the first time Trump has cited a specific figure for North Korea's nuclear arsenal.

Ahn reiterated that Seoul does not recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear-armed state. "We cannot officially acknowledge that," he said, when pressed on whether the government accepted North Korea's nuclear status.

He added that South Korea would not pursue its own nuclear weapons and would continue to rely on the US nuclear umbrella. "We cannot develop nuclear weapons. Nor should we accept the deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons," Ahn said.

The remarks came as Trump seeks to revive engagement with Kim after scaling back joint US-South Korea military drills, a move North Korea has dismissed as insufficient. Trump said Wednesday he expects to meet Kim later this year, potentially restarting diplomacy that stalled after summits in 2018 and 2019 collapsed over sanctions relief and denuclearization terms.