World Peace

Are there 5 nuclear-armed UNSC members with a total of 9 UN members with WMDs?

GoogleAI Overview: “Yes, there are 5 nuclear-armed UN Security Council members, and there are a total of 9 UN members with weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which include nuclear weapons. 

Nuclear-armed UN Security Council members: The five permanent members of the UN Security Council—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—are also the five states recognized as nuclear-weapons states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Total UN members with WMDs: In addition to the five permanent Security Council members, four other UN member states possess nuclear weapons: India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan.”

Which countries possess WMDs other than nuclear weapons?

GoogleAI Mode: “Based on arms control compliance reports and international agreements, certain nations are suspected of possessing or actively pursuing chemical and/or biological weapons, while other nations have already eliminated previously declared stockpiles. 

Nations with chemical weapons

North Korea: It is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons and has not signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

Syria: Declared stockpiles were eliminated, but undeclared chemicals are believed to still exist. Syria has also been accused of using chemical weapons since its 2013 accession to the CWC.

China: Has been alleged to maintain an offensive chemical weapons program. In its declaration to the CWC, it claimed to have destroyed its past stockpiles.

Egypt: Is not a signatory to the CWC and is thought to have chemical weapons facilities and stockpiles.

Iran: Was suspected of using chemical weapons during the Iran–Iraq War and has been accused of having a clandestine program, which it denies. It ratified the CWC in 1997.

Israel: Has signed but not ratified the CWC. It is widely believed to possess chemical weapons.

Russia: Declared its complete destruction of chemical weapons in 2017 but has been accused of using chemical agents since invading Ukraine in 2022. 

Nations with biological weapons

North Korea: The US assessed in 2024 that North Korea maintains an offensive biological weapons (BW) program.

Russia: Former Soviet offensive BW programs were vast, and since then Russia has repeatedly been accused of maintaining clandestine programs.

China: A 2020 American assessment suggests China has an advanced bioweapons program.

Iran: Has been cited by US government sources as having possible active BW programs.

Israel: The US Congress Office of Technology Assessment has recorded Israel as having an offensive BW program. Israel is not a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). 

CWC and BWC status of nations suspected of WMDs Nations not party to the CWC: 

Egypt
North Korea
South Sudan
Israel (Signed but not ratified) 

Nations not party to the BWC: 

Chad
Comoros
Djibouti
Eritrea
Israel
Kiribati
Egypt
 (Signed but not ratified)
Haiti (Signed but not ratified)
Somalia (Signed but not ratified)
Syria
 (Signed but not ratified) 

Disclaimer on verifying WMDs

Due to the secretive nature of these programs and the “dual-use” potential of many technologies (meaning they can be used for both civilian and military purposes), concrete and verifiable information is scarce. Compliance with international agreements like the CWC and BWC is difficult to monitor, and assessments are often based on intelligence rather than official declarations.”