NK upgrading nuclear technology
음성듣기
By Jun Ji-hye
Usually, it takes 6 kilograms of plutonium to produce a nuclear weapon, according to defense officials and experts.
However, they have revised their earlier estimate down, implying that the North is capable of producing such a weapon with about 5 kilograms of plutonium.
“Considering its steady nuclear activity and its progress towards development of nuclear weapons since its first nuclear test in 2006, the North is believed to have reached the stage of producing a nuclear weapon with a smaller quantity of nuclear material,” said a government source on the condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of National Defense estimates that the North currently has around 40 kilograms of plutonium.
Based on the existing estimate that it takes 6 kilograms of plutonium to produce a nuclear weapon, the North is believed to be capable of producing six to seven nuclear weapons.
However, based on the latest estimate that the isolated state could build a nuclear weapon with a smaller quantity of plutonium, it is now believed that Pyongyang has the ability to produce at least eight weapons.
Sources said that the government has yet to change its official data that the North holds around 40 kilograms of plutonium, but the repressive state may have increased its plutonium stockpile over the past months.
On Oct. 7, the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based institution providing knowledge of nuclear proliferation, estimated that the North may hold enough nuclear material to produce about 15 to 20 nuclear weapons. The institute added that Pyongyang is believed to possess 10 to 16 nuclear weapons as of the end of last year.
The Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based public policy think tank, also said on Oct. 28 that the North is believed to have produced and possesses eight nuclear weapons.
The South’s defense ministry also assessed that the North is believed to be developing its ability to build a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on its new KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the U.S. mainland through its three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
In its recent report, the Preventive Priorities Survey of 2016, the Center for Preventive Action at the Council of Foreign Relations cited “a severe crisis with or in North Korea” as one of the 11 security threats facing the U.S. next year.
The report said, “North Korea is a nuclear power with a complex relationship with China, and preventing both an interstate Korean war and an internal collapse of North Korea and this is critical to U.S. national security. Small-scale military and cyber provocations by North Korea pose significant risks as each incident carries with it the potential for widespread escalation.”
For its part, the communist state is ratcheting up its claim of its nuclear technology. On Dec. 9, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the regime has developed not only nuclear weapons but also hydrogen bombs “to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation.”
NK upgrading nuclear technology음성듣기
By Jun Ji-hye
Usually, it takes 6 kilograms of plutonium to produce a nuclear weapon, according to defense officials and experts.
However, they have revised their earlier estimate down, implying that the North is capable of producing such a weapon with about 5 kilograms of plutonium.
“Considering its steady nuclear activity and its progress towards development of nuclear weapons since its first nuclear test in 2006, the North is believed to have reached the stage of producing a nuclear weapon with a smaller quantity of nuclear material,” said a government source on the condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of National Defense estimates that the North currently has around 40 kilograms of plutonium.
Based on the existing estimate that it takes 6 kilograms of plutonium to produce a nuclear weapon, the North is believed to be capable of producing six to seven nuclear weapons.
However, based on the latest estimate that the isolated state could build a nuclear weapon with a smaller quantity of plutonium, it is now believed that Pyongyang has the ability to produce at least eight weapons.
Sources said that the government has yet to change its official data that the North holds around 40 kilograms of plutonium, but the repressive state may have increased its plutonium stockpile over the past months.
On Oct. 7, the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based institution providing knowledge of nuclear proliferation, estimated that the North may hold enough nuclear material to produce about 15 to 20 nuclear weapons. The institute added that Pyongyang is believed to possess 10 to 16 nuclear weapons as of the end of last year.
The Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based public policy think tank, also said on Oct. 28 that the North is believed to have produced and possesses eight nuclear weapons.
The South’s defense ministry also assessed that the North is believed to be developing its ability to build a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on its new KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the U.S. mainland through its three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
In its recent report, the Preventive Priorities Survey of 2016, the Center for Preventive Action at the Council of Foreign Relations cited “a severe crisis with or in North Korea” as one of the 11 security threats facing the U.S. next year.
The report said, “North Korea is a nuclear power with a complex relationship with China, and preventing both an interstate Korean war and an internal collapse of North Korea and this is critical to U.S. national security. Small-scale military and cyber provocations by North Korea pose significant risks as each incident carries with it the potential for widespread escalation.”
For its part, the communist state is ratcheting up its claim of its nuclear technology. On Dec. 9, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the regime has developed not only nuclear weapons but also hydrogen bombs “to reliably defend its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation.”
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