Blix Says Nuclear-Free Mideast Is Possible

DECLARED NUCLEAR-WEAPONS COUNTRIES:

country                  warheads (est.)         date of first test

United States         10,500                           1945

Russia                      18,000                          1949

United Kingdom      200                              1952

France                       350                              1960

China                          400                             1964

India                           60-90                          1974

Pakistan                     28-48                          1998

North Korea               0-18                            2006

Notes:

Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, but it has not declared itself a nuclear-armed country.

South Africa constructed six uranium bombs but voluntarily dismantled them.

Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine all gave up the nuclear weapons that were on their territory when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.