North Korea has reportedly passed an important milestone on its way toward becoming a full-fledged nuclear power: Pyongyang succeeded in developing a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit on a ballistic missile.
“The IC [intelligence community] assesses North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, to include delivery by ICBM-class missiles,” The Washington Post reported, citing a confidential assessment by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
According to previous U.S. intelligence assessments, Pyongyang now has up to 60 nuclear weapons. However, it is still not clear whether North Korea was successful in testing the new weapon design, the media report said.
The revelation comes just two days after 15 members of the UN Security Council unanimously voted to impose tight economic sanctions on North Korea, that aim to cut the country’s $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged the international community to be tough on Pyongyang.
“After many years of failure, countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!” he said in a tweet on Tuesday morning.