N.Korea in Dash for A-bombs Pyongyang - Has Enough Plutonium to Build a Dozen Nukes

July 14, 2003
By Stephen Lunn, John Kerin and Linyan Wang

NORTH Korea has enough plutonium to build up to a dozen atomic bombs, some within months, after it finished reprocessing 8000 spent nuclear fuel rods at its Yongbyon nuclear plant late last month, a key South Korean intelligence figure warned yesterday.

The fresh evidence of North Korea's rapid progress towards greater atomic capability came as John Howard left yesterday on a diplomatic mission taking in The Philippines, South Korea and Japan, where he will urge regional powers to play a greater part in lobbying China to take an active role in resolving the crisis.

It follows Beijing's rejection of a new US-led global crackdown on the trade of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, which effectively commits countries such as Australia and Japan to intercepting suspect shipments from North Korea.

The Prime Minister plans to visit China later this year to reinforce his message.

UN-based North Korean diplomats last week notified US officials that the North Korean reprocessing operation had just ended, former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung's top intelligence aide, Chang Sung-min, told South Korea's Yonhap news agency yesterday. "North Korean delegates told US officials in an unofficial meeting in New York on July 8 that the reprocessing of spent fuel rods was completed on June 30," Mr Chang said.

North Korea's claim was given additional credence by a US intelligence official, who told a Japanese news agency at the weekend that atmospheric testing near Yongbyon had revealed the presence of Krypton-85, a by-product of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing.

The Krypton-85 find is the first physical proof that the rogue communist state has carried out its threat to restart its nuclear weapons development program.

The US has considered reprocessing a "red line" issue. By crossing it, Pyongyang is forcing Washington to reconsider its policy to date - to encourage diplomatic pressure from North Korea's neighbours, including China.

"China more than any other country exerts influence over North Korea and this will be a view I'll be putting to the Prime Minister of Japan (Junichiro Koizumi), and the President of The Philippines (Gloria Arroyo) and the President of South Korea (Roh Moo-hyun)," Mr Howard said.

South Korean intelligence officials told parliament last week Pyongyang had completed a series of tests of high explosives used to trigger a nuclear blast.

US intelligence agencies believe North Korea already possesses one or two atomic bombs.

The Australian

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