Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of progress internationally on the non-proliferation and reduction of nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement.

The UK has a strong record on reduction of nuclear weapons – since 2010 we have reduced the number of operationally available warheads to no more than 120, and remain committed to reducing our stockpile of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 by the mid-2020s. However, we note with concern that a number of states continue to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons outside the Non Proliferation Treaty. In particular, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear and ballistic missile programmes pose an unacceptable threat to the international community and we are working closely with our international partners to exert maximum political and economic pressure on the DPRK to change its direction. The UK remains committed to the Iran nuclear deal, which marks a major step forward in preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.