UN General Assembly
1962

138. In this connexion, attention must be drawn to the truly enormous possibilities which would be opened up for the under-developed countries if the problem of general and complete disarmament were successfully solved. The arms race swallows up incalculable resources. It has been estimated that the total sum spent on military expenditure by all countries is roughly equal to the annual income of all the underdeveloped countries, with a total population of 1,300 million people. The freeing of resources by disarmament would allow the rate of development to be increased to such an extent that within the next two or three decades it would be possible, basically, to close the present gap between the level of development of the economically advanced and that of the economically backward countries.