Ever since nuclear weapons were manufactured in 1945, the countries possessing them have their own motivation to retain them despite their pledges to get rid of them as part of their obligations as required by the 1968 Treaty on the Non-proliferation of the Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The number of countries having nuclear weapons has now reached nine. The international community recognises only five nations – the US, Russia, the UK, France and China – as the sole possessors of nuclear weapons. Nuclear powers value them for deterrence.
Deterrence has been a controversial principle