In fact, not all countries have nuclear weapons in their arsenal. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the NPT established that only those states that tested nuclear bombs before January 1, 1967 are recognized as members of the "nuclear club". Thus, from a legal point of view, Russia, the USA, China, France and Great Britain can be called nuclear powers. These are precisely the countries that are members of the UN Security Council, the victorious countries in World War II.
Instruction manual
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True, this is by no means a complete list of states that have nuclear weapons in their arsenal. Countries that are part of the NATO military bloc also have this deadly weapon on their territory. Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada have nuclear weapons on their territory, as these are allies of the United States by NATO. The presence of US nuclear weapons in Japan and South Korea is officially denied, but some experts still believe that it is there.
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In fact, India and Pakistan also have nuclear weapons, but de jure these states are not nuclear powers, since they conducted their tests later than January 1, 1967. India tested a nuclear charger on May 18, 1974, and Pakistan on May 28, 1998.
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The DPRK signed an agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but in 2003 it unilaterally terminated this agreement. In 2005, the DPRK openly announced the creation of nuclear weapons in the country. On October 9, 2006, the first underground test of a nuclear device was carried out in that country.
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Iran also became a member of the Nuclear Power Club in 2006. Iranian President said the country has completed the development of nuclear fuel production technology. True, official Tehran says that its nuclear program is aimed only at meeting Iran's electricity needs.
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South Africa is not a nuclear power, but has a complete industrial base for the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
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Israel does not officially recognize its nuclear weapons. This state pursues a policy of "nuclear uncertainty", in which the presence of a nuclear arsenal is not confirmed, but also not refuted. However, the vast majority of experts believe that there are nuclear weapons in Israel.
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Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine until 1992 had nuclear weapons in their territories, which remained there after the collapse of the USSR. However, these states have signed the NPT and have been included in the list of states that do not have nuclear weapons. All of their weapons were eliminated in accordance with the Lisbon Protocol to the Treaty between the USSR and the USA on the reduction and limitation of strategic and offensive weapons.
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Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, Romania, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia and some other countries do not have the status of a nuclear state. However, according to experts, these countries are capable of creating nuclear weapons. The possibility of creating nuclear weapons is being restrained by the international community, right down to direct threats and the imposition of sanctions by the UN and leading world powers.
