China expands nuclear arsenal as geopolitical tensions rise

WORLD, June 12 (YPA) – The nuclear arsenals of several countries, especially China, grew last year and other atomic powers continued to modernize theirs as geopolitical tensions rise, researchers said Monday.

Dan Smith, the Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said: “We are approaching, or maybe have already reached, the end of a long period of the number of nuclear weapons worldwide declining.”

“The reserve is made up of usable nuclear warheads, and those numbers are starting to increase” said Dan Smith, while noting that the numbers are still far from the more than 70,000 seen in the 1980s.

Most of the increase comes from China, which increased its stockpile from 350 to 410 nuclear warheads. It invested heavily in its military as its economy and influence grew, according to Smith.

E.M