North Korea may have DOUBLE the number of nuclear weapons previously believed, say Chinese military experts
- Stockpile of weapons could grow to 50 or even 100 within next five years
- US military believes secretive country has ability to miniaturise warhead and mount it on ballistic missile, though there have been no such tests yet
North Korea may already have 20 nuclear warheads – double as many as previously thought, Chinese nuclear experts have warned.
The
pariah state may also have the capability to produce enough
weapons-grade uranium to double its arsenal by next year, The Wall
Street Journal has reported.
Chinese
estimates of Pyongyang’s nuclear production, relayed to US nuclear
specialists, exceed most previous US forecasts of between 10 to 16
bombs, said the report, which cited people briefed on the matter.
Experts
at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of
Advanced International Studies earlier this year presented three
scenarios for North Korea’s nuclear capability, predicting its stockpile
of weapons could grow to 50 or even 100 within five years.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear detonations, the most recent in February 2013.
Asked
about the report at a regular press briefing yesterday, China’s Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said he ‘did not have knowledge of the
specific situation’.
‘We
must persevere with denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula, persevere
in safeguarding peace and stability, and persevere in resolving the
relevant issue through dialogue,’ Hong said.
Earlier
this month, US Admiral William Gortney, commander of the US Northern
Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the US
military believes North Korea has the ability to miniaturise a warhead and mount it on a ballistic missile, although there had been no tests.
One such rocket is an intercontinental missile with could theoretically hit California as it is designed to carry a payload of more than 5,000 miles.
Stanford
University professor Sigfried Hecker was allowed to visit Pyongyang in
2010 and reported seeing a large uranium-enrichment facility.
The Journal quoted him as saying: ‘Some eight, nine, or 10 years ago, they had the bomb but not much of a nuclear arsenal.
‘I had hoped they wouldn’t go in this direction, but that’s what happened in the past five years.
‘The
more they believe they have a fully functional nuclear arsenal and
deterrent, the more difficult it’s going to be to walk them back from
that.’
North
Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and has an
extremely active ballistic missile development programme, although
expert opinion is split on how much progress it has made, reports Agence
France Presse.
The
Chinese estimate reflects growing concern in Beijing about the nuclear
ambitions of its errant ally, and is the latest in a series of expert
assessments that suggest Pyongyang is moving faster down the nuclear
path than previously thought.
Pyongyang
demonstrated its rocket capabilities by sending a satellite into orbit,
but it has yet to conduct a test that would show it had mastered the
re-entry technology required for an inter-continental ballistic missile.
The
other key question is how close the North is to being able to
miniaturise a nuclear device that could be fitted on the tip of a
missile.
In
a white paper published in January, the South Korean defence ministry
said the North had already taken its miniaturisation technology to a
‘significant’ level.
Under
the Kim dynasty, represented by current leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea
has long used nuclear weapons as a bargaining chip in international
relations.
Last month the country’s ambassador to the UK issued a chilling warning that North Korea would be prepared to use nuclear weapons.
In a rare interview, Hyun Hak-bong claimed the secretive state could launch a deadly warhead ‘anytime’.
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