North Korea Acknowledges Having Nukes

[Pathfinder-X]

By SANG-HUN CHOE, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea publicly acknowledged Thursday for the first time that it has nuclear weapons and said it won't return to six-nation talks aimed at getting it to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

The statement from the reclusive, Stalinist state dramatically raised the stakes in the two-year-old nuclear confrontation and posed a grave challenge to President Bush, who started his second term with a vow to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs through multilateral talks.

"We ... have manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's ever more undisguised policy to isolate and stifle the (North)," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea had reportedly told American negotiators during private talks that it possessed nuclear weapons and might test one of them. North Korea's U.N. envoy told The Associated Press last year the country had "weaponized" plutonium extracted from its pool of 8,000 nuclear spent fuel rods.

But Thursday's statement marked North Korea's first public admission that it has nuclear weapons through its usual means of making official declarations — statements carried on KCNA, its main news outlet to world.

North Korea's "nuclear weapons will remain (a) nuclear deterrent for self-defense under any circumstances," the ministry said. "The present reality proves that only powerful strength can protect justice and truth."

Since 2003, the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia have held three rounds of talks in Beijing aimed at persuading the North to abandon nuclear weapons development in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. But no significant progress has been made.

Link: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050210/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_nuclear

The growing political unrest in the region just gotten more complicated with this anouncement from North Korea. Neighboring countries like Japan, S.Korea and China would jump at this for sure. Prepare for another round of useless talk trying to convince N.Korea to give up the weapons.

 

[kashifshahzad]

:coffee As far as I know in that it involves 13 different process to make nukes so it hink North Korea know about only abt one process that is Uranium enrichment.So man it involves a lot of effort and requires a lot of time.Do you still think that Nortk Korea has nukes.:coffee

 

[redsoulja]

Well they acknowledged their possession of nuclear weapons and a large amount of evidence exists that suggests Nork possesses nuclear weapons. Some even think that other countries have helped them in developing the nukes. Ask any person on this site whos in the defence-oriented field and they will tell you that Nork has nukes for sure, No question about it.

 

[highsea]

There is no evidence that North Korea actually has a working weapon, and no one can state for sure that this is true. It is certain that they have not tested one, and there is no evidence that they have miniaturized a design to the point of making it missile deliverable. For one thing, they do not have the ability to manufacture Tritium, and no confirmed outside source. Tritium has a short half-life, so any boosted weapons need continuous servicing, or they will dud.

The CIA and IAEA estimated in 2002 that NorK had reprocessed enough Pu from the 5MW(e) reactor to build 1-2 plutonium weapons. This was based on 3 known shutdowns of the reactor prior to 1994, when it was frozen under the Agreed Framework. In 2003, when North Korea announced they were withdrawing from the NPT, they had about 8,000 spent fuel rods, and they claim to have reprocessed these. This would provide enough Pu for 4-5 weapons. There is no evidence that they ever acquired a design for a plutonium nuke.

What is known is that starting in 1995, they were in contact with Pakistan about uranium enrichment technologies, and in 2000 they began construction of an enrichment facility. This suggests that they abandoned Pu and switched to HEU, probably based on a design from Pakistan. The enrichment facility was expected to reach full capacity this year, and provide enough HEU for about 4 bombs/year, according to the IAEA, and based on a first generation uranium design (25kg. HEU/bomb). The advantage to this is that they are not dependant on reprocessing Pu, and if they are using a Pakistani design it has already been tested in Pakistan, which saves them the problem and potential embarrasment of a test failure.

The recent statement by NorK just echoes one they made last year, it's not really anything new. Just more bluster from Krazy Kim.

 

[P.A.F]

well if Nk didn't have nukes then america wouldn't be chasing them like they are at the moment. i think that north korea has the legimate right to possess nukes untill other nuke states agree to disarm as well.

 

[highsea]

There's no question he is pursuing them, and if he doesn't have them, he is close.

You want him to have them, okay, let's let every 2-bit dictator in the world have them. 2 million starved North Koreans, no problem, nukes are more important.

 

[P.A.F]

even if pyonyang is a 2-bit dictator, he's still got the right to protect his country from any aggression. if the americans are so desperate to get ride of WMD's then why don't they look at there stockpile. thats the problem with the american government. they like disarming others while there weapons grow and people like you need to see that. north korea doesn't want to end up like iraq and nor does iran. the bottom line is that if america, isreal, russia, pakistan, india, china and the other bnuke states begin to disarm then iran and north korea would see less of a threat. but that just isn't happening. the opposite is happening so in my point of view north korea and iran have the right to have nukes until others stop stockpiling.

 

[SABRE]

What is known is that starting in 1995, they were in contact with Pakistan about uranium enrichment technologies, and in 2000 they began construction of an enrichment facility. This suggests that they abandoned Pu and switched to HEU, probably based on a design from Pakistan. The enrichment facility was expected to reach full capacity this year, and provide enough HEU for about 4 bombs/year, according to the IAEA, and based on a first generation uranium design (25kg. HEU/bomb). The advantage to this is that they are not dependant on reprocessing Pu, and if they are using a Pakistani design it has already been tested in Pakistan, which saves them the problem and potential embarrasment of a test failure.

The recent statement by NorK just echoes one they made last year, it's not really anything new. Just more bluster from Krazy Kim.

Highsea the NK-Pak meetings in the mid 1990's were never a secret. Its just that there was no Televised Media to cover the what was going on (Jang & DAWN news papers did cover it). Pak openly wanted military ties with NK when we went into ignorance by USA during Clinton era. The biggest potential deal that was published was a coporation in ICBM technology which offcourse Pakistan had to refuse in public. What went behind the scene is as always a secret.

NK it self sayed that the nuke & ICBM tech is not from Pak but who will believe them, even i dnt.

Even if NK went on to test the bomb, it will take more than comparing the empact of test to prove that both bombs r similar or same.

If u dnt knw, whn our burocrates & army officer retire & r at the age of death they write books in which they open up the national secrets to public. Many of them have pointed out that Nixon & Regon did give a go ahead to Pakistan to test the Nukes. Weather they provided some help has not been made public except by one army officer but some how it has gotten suppressed. India tested it in 1960s, Russia had it & Pakistan was threatened, so USA gave Pak the no d + the USSR invaded Afghanistan so it became even more importent to Pak.
Hence if Pak has USA Nuke tech & it gave to NK than its a big blow to USA.

 

[P.A.F]

hey highseas check this out!!!!
http://www.dawn.com/2005/02/16/int9.htm
World has 12,000 N-arms, says study

By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Feb 15: There are more than 12,000 nuclear weapons in the world and all but 300 in the hands of the five recognized nuclear powers, says a recent estimate published by a US weapons research organization.

The Washington-based Arms Control Association estimates that the United States possesses about 6,000 nuclear weapons, Russia 5,000, France 350, China 300 and Britain less than 200.

These five nations are recognized as nuclear powers under the 1968 nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT0. The United States was the first to acquire nuclear capability in 1945, followed by Russia in 1949, Britain in 1952, France in 1960 and China in 1964.

The US is also said to have some 3,000 warheads in reserve, while Russia has about 11,000 in non-operational stockpiles. Commenting on America's nuclear program at a recent seminar at the ACA, David Hobson, a Republican Congressman from Ohio, said: "When we want countries such as Iran and North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons development, it is hypocritical for the United States to embark on new weapons and testing initiatives."

The Arms Control Association estimates India to have between 45 and 95 nuclear warheads, Pakistan, 30 and 50, and Israel, 75 and 200. The Central Intelligence Agency says that North Korea, which this week announced it was pulling out of multilateral talks on its nuclear activities, has one or two nuclear weapons.

The ACA says Pyongyang also has sufficient spent nuclear fuel that could be reprocessed into fissile material for as many as six nuclear bombs.
________________________________________________________________

now u tell me. what is six nukes compared to americas 6000 or Russias 5,000, Frances 350, Chinas 300 and Britains less than 200, Indias 45+ Pakistans, 30+ and Israels 75+????? these are the countries that need to be disarmed first then the US should think of disarming north korea.:coffee

 

[Die]

Link: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050210/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_nuclear

The growing political unrest in the region just gotten more complicated with this anouncement from North Korea. Neighboring countries like Japan, S.Korea and China would jump at this for sure. Prepare for another round of useless talk trying to convince N.Korea to give up the weapons.

what for? everybody has the right to own whatever they want

 

[Deltared075]

If NK have nuke, US will hard to control NK.

But i don't think NK was US problem, US should worry about Japan, who know they pay back US with 2 nuke?

Why? The japanese never forgot about the war criminal and pray them like their god, so how people like this can forgot the 2 nuke droped by US?

 

[gf0012-aust]

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