Russia is planning to expand its nuclear arsenal to 8,000 warheads

Russia is reportedly planning on expanding its nuclear arsenal to 8,000 warheads by 2026.

According to US reports, President Vladimir Putin is ‘aggressively’ developing Russia’s nuclear arsenal and also plans to build underground bunkers.

The development is believed to be a violation of the current New START treaty existing between the U.S. and Russia which limits the number of nuclear warheads to just 1,550 each.

Although the nuclear development remains unconfirmed, the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was signed by the U.S. and Russia as part of plans to dramatically cut the risk of nuclear war.

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But while it limits the number of warheads from each country, it says nothing about the ‘delivery’ methods – meaning that both countries are free to upgrade the effectiveness of how the weapons are deployed, without a risk of increasing the number of warheads.

The development also comes as tensions between the US and North Korea continue to simmer, with US officials revealing that they are ready to talk to North Korea “without preconditions”.

The positive step was taken by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who stressed the importance of a negotiated end to the standoff, despite North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un vowed to make his nation ‘the strongest nuclear power and military power in the world.’