Safeguards are effective, and the nuclear power industry does not increase the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.

North Korea has developed nuclear weapons but has never had nuclear electricity. Over 30 countries have power reactors but only eight are known to have nuclear weapons. Weapons programs were developed first in most of those countries.

While certain facilities (enrichment and reprocessing) can be used in the production of weapons, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards are effective at policing these.

Nuclear plants can help in eliminating warheads. Under the now-completed 'Megatons to Megawatts' program that ran from 1999 to 2013, material from Russian and US stockpiles equivalent to 20,000 bombs was converted to nuclear fuel amounting to 13-19% of global uranium requirements.