The nine countries that have nuclear weapons or are believed to have them

Nine countries currently either say they have nuclear weapons or are believed to possess them. The first to have nuclear arms were the five original nuclear weapons states — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. All five are signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which commits countries that don’t have nuclear arms not to build or obtain them, and those that do to “pursue negotiations in good faith” aimed at nuclear disarmament. Rivals India and Pakistan, which haven’t signed the NPT, have built up their nuclear arsenals over the years.

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