Is Do Sang Rok The Father Of North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon Program?

Do Sang Rok – The Father Of North Korea’s Nuclear Weapon Program? -- NK News

Accounts suggest that Pyongyang acquired scientists for developing nuclear program decades before publicly acknowledging it.

“If North Korea’s claim of having conducted a nuclear test on October 9 is proven true, two questions stand out: What level of nuclear technology does the North possess, and how did North Korea, with only a per-capita gross domestic product of less than US$2,000, nurture the human capital necessary to go nuclear?”
The Hankyoreh, October 14, 2006

Like much of Kim Jong Un’s regime, the genesis of Pyongyang’s nuclear program is shrouded in secrecy, but accounts suggest that a former South Korean scientist named Do Sang-rok was instrumental in its beginnings.

Though nuclear activities in North Korea are widely assumed to have begun in the 1950s, certain programs – like the World War II-era hunt for nuclear materials by Korea’s then-colonial overlords Japan, and later by the Soviet Union during their occupation of northern Korea – began at least a decade earlier.

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My Comment: A look at the history of North Korea's nuclear program. A must read for all North Korean watchers.

Pentagon: North Korea Could Reach U.S. With Nuclear Arms

Pentagon North Korea Report

North Korea Could Reach U.S. With Nuclear Arms: Pentagon -- Reuters

(Reuters) - North Korea's continuing development of nuclear technology and long-range ballistic missiles will move it closer to its stated goal of being able to hit the United States with an atomic weapon, a new Pentagon report to Congress said on Thursday.

The report, the first version of an annual Pentagon assessment required by law, said Pyongyang's Taepodong-2 missile, with continued development, might ultimately be able to reach parts of the United States carrying a nuclear payload if configured as an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea launched a multi-stage rocket that delivered a satellite into orbit in December, an advance that "contributes heavily" to the country's development of a long-range ballistic missile capability, the report said.

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More News On The Pentagon Report That North Korea Will Soon Have A Nuclear Missile That Can The U.S. Mainland

North Korea missile threat? North Korea 'closer' to nuclear threat, says Pentagon -- Christian Science Monitor
DOD Report: North Korea Still Critical U.S. Security Threat -- US Department of Defense
Pentagon: N.Korea Still Working on Nuke to Reach US -- Newsmax
Pentagon report: NKorea moving toward nuke missile -- AP

U.S. Nuclear Expert: North Korea Only One Nuclear Test Away From Developing A Nuclear Capable Missile

This still from a CNN broadcast shows North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, as the country officials prepared for an attempted satellite launch in April 2012.

North Korea Needs More Tests For Nuclear Missile: U.S. Expert -- Reuters

(Reuters) - North Korea would need to carry out at least one more atomic test in order to develop a nuclear missile, a prominent U.S. scientist who has often visited the isolated Asian state said on Thursday.

Stanford University's Siegfried Hecker, who in 2010 was shown a previously undetected uranium enrichment facility in North Korea, said he believed it might be able to conduct its fourth such explosion soon, in weeks or months.

The North has threatened nuclear attacks on the United States, South Korea and Japan after new U.N. sanctions were imposed in response to its latest nuclear arms test in February.

"My view is that they need at least one more nuclear test and most likely several more nuclear tests," said Hecker, who is believed to have been the last Westerner to visit North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex.

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My Comment: Only one more test!!!! I call this a clear indication on how much North Korea has advanced in their nuclear program. The Economist has a good analysis on why North Korea's nuclear program is "scary. The best part of that report is the last sentence ....

.... The scariest thing about North Korea's nukes is that it no longer considers them as bargaining chips, but as weapons.

Here Is The Reason Why The Pentagon Believes That North Korea Has The Capability To Launch A Nuclear Missile

Exclusive: How North Korea Tipped Its Hand -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

The U.S. recovered the front section of the rocket used in North Korea’s satellite launch in December, which gave away the status of the regime's nuclear arms program.

When North Korean engineers launched a satellite into space on December 12, it seemed like business as usual, with the familiar cycle of condemnations from the west and statements of defiance from the Hermit Kingdom. But that launch also led many U.S. intelligence analysts to assess that Pyongyang possessed the ability to miniaturize the components necessary to yield a nuclear explosion for a crude warhead that would sit atop a ballistic missile.

After the North Korean launch, U.S. Navy ships managed to recover the front section of the rocket used in it, according to three U.S. officials who work closely on North Korean proliferation. That part of the rocket in turn provided useful clues about North Korean warhead design, should the next payload be a warhead rather than a satellite.

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Previous Post: U.S. Intelligence: North Korea May Have A Nuclear Missile

My Comment: Kudos to Eli Lake for posting this story. If true .... and I suspect that it is .... North Korea has made great strides in the past few years to become a serious nuclear state on the global stage.

Why The Pentagon's Intel Report On North Korea Being Able To Launch Nuclear Missiles Is A Bombshell

From Battleland/Time: 

“The Defense Intelligence Agency did a study that was finished last month. Now, while the contents of the study are classified, the conclusions and certain statements are not classified. And quoting from the unclassified portion, which I believe has not yet been made public, they say, quote, `DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles. However, the reliability will be low.'”

— Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday.

My Comment: Apparently the Pentagon report that Rep. Doug Lamborn quoted from was mistakenly de-classified. Yup .... you are reading it right .... this report was not suppose to be made public.

This explains why the White House and the Pentagon were surprised yesterday .... they do not want the public to know that North Korea probably now has some crude capability to launch nuclear missiles. This also puts the White House on the spot .... after saying that they will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea with such a missile capability .... the North Koreans have apparently already accomplished this, and are now rushing to develop this capability even further.

This revelation is a bombshell .... because this was not suppose to happen, backed up by President Obama assuring our allies and the American public that the U.S. would never accept such a situation.

What will now be the fallout? I expect both South Korea and Japan will revisit the possibility of developing their own nuclear capability .... raising nuclear proliferation worries in north-east Asia. But it is how countries like Iran and Israel are going to react that concerns me the most. What they are seeing is a U.S. that is all talk and no action .... a dangerous perception because this will only embolden the Iranians in their nuclear program, as well as pressuring the Israelis that they must respond unilaterally since the U.S. has proven to be unreliable and not faithful to their word on this issue.

White House Downplays Pentagon Intel Report On North Korean Nuclear Missile Development

Analysts Downplay US Report on N. Korean Missiles -- Voice of America

Analysts and officials are cautioning against drawing too many conclusions from the partial disclosure of a U.S. intelligence report that suggests North Korea has succeeded in being able to place a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon's spy wing, has "moderate confidence" that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by a ballistic missile, according to an unclassified portion of the report disclosed Thursday.

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More News On The U.S. Government Downplaying The Pentagon Report On north Korea's Nuclear Missile Capability

Seoul, Kerry warns North Korea against possible missile test; rejects intel report on nukes -- Washington Post/AP
U.S.: ‘Inaccurate’ To Say N. Korea Has Nuclear Missiles - Defense News/AFP
'Speculative' Pentagon report sets off N. Korea nuclear worries -- Reuters
"Inaccurate" to say DPRK has nuclear-armed missiles: Pentagon -- Xinhuanet (China)
North Korean Breakthrough? Or U.S. Intelligence Snafu? (Or Both?) -- Mark Thompson, Time

My Comment: This Pentagon intelligence report on North Korea's nuclear missile capability is a bombshell for the White House. After proclaiming for the past year that the U.S. will never accept a North Korea with nuclear missiles .... we now have a situation where this apparently has become the case. As a result, the international focus is now on the White House and on what will they do .... naturally .... the White House does not want to do anything .... hence the downplaying of this report.

U.S. Intelligence: North Korea May Have A Nuclear Missile

Pentagon Says Nuclear Missile Is in Grasp For North Korea -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — A new assessment of North Korea’s nuclear capability conducted by the Pentagon’s intelligence arm has concluded for the first time, with “moderate confidence,” that the country has learned how to make a nuclear weapon small enough to be delivered by a ballistic missile.

The assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has been distributed to senior administration officials and members of Congress, cautions that the weapon’s “reliability will be low,” apparently a reference to the North’s difficulty in developing accurate missiles or, perhaps, to the huge technical challenges of designing a warhead that can survive the rigors of flight and detonate on a specific target.

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More News On U.S. Intelligence Believing That North Korea Will Be Able To Produce A Nuclear Missile

Pentagon: North Korea has capacity to make nuclear warhead for ballistic missile -- Washington Post
U.S. Says North Korea May Have Nuclear Missile -- Wall Street Journal
Pentagon spy agency says North Korea can launch nuclear missile: officials -- Reuters
Pentagon report says NKorea probably has nukes it could launch on ballistic missiles -- AP
N. Korea likely capable of firing nuclear-armed missiles: US -- AFP
Report: North Korea may have missile-capable nuclear weapons -- Politico
North Korea May Be Able to Deliver Nuclear Warhead, U.S. Finds -- Bloomberg
North Korea Could Possibly Deliver Nuclear Warhead: Reports -- Epoch Times
Pentagon says North Korea is capable of delivering nuclear missiles -- CNN
Congressman: N. Korea may be able to deliver nuke warhead -- CNN
Classified Pentagon report says North Korea legitimate threat -- Salon
Pentagon: North Korea Could Make, But Not Aim, A Nuclear Missile -- Slate

My Comment: This is surprising news .... is anyone saying .... intelligence failure?

Update 19:45 EST: According to CNN .... the White House Has Just denied this Pentagon story. (More details to follow).

North Korea's Nukes 'Could Be Hidden Anywhere...'

My Comment: This former commander of U.S. troops in Korea is correct when he says North Korea's nuclear weapons "could be hidden anywhere in that country." Our intelligence .... even South Korean intelligence .... are (unfortunately) severely limited.

Can North Korea Fit A Nuclear Weapon On A Ballistic Missile?

Are North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Small Enough To Fit A Ballistic Missile? -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

North Korea claims to have made progress on miniaturized nuclear devices. Some experts credit that claim, but much of what North Korea can or can't do remains unknown.

Can North Korea make a nuclear warhead small enough to fit atop a ballistic missile? That’s a key question facing the US and its allies in East Asia as tensions continue to roil the Korean Peninsula.

Following its Feb. 12 nuclear test, Pyongyang boasted that it had detonated a “miniaturized and lighter nuclear device." Some US experts interpreted this to mean that North Korea is claiming to have developed a weapon that would fit on a Nodong medium-range rocket or, perhaps, even the untested, longer-range KN-08. This would threaten South Korea and perhaps Japan, but not the US mainland itself.

“The question is, do we believe them?” writes nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Foreign Policy magazine.

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My Comment: No one really knows what is the state of North Korea's nuclear program. Bottom Line .... our intelligence is lacking and those who may know (North Korean allies like China and Russia) are not talking publicly on what North Korea's nuclear/missile program is capable of.

Does North Korea Have The Capability To Launch Nuclear Missiles?

Growing Fears That North Korea Actually Has The Technology To Launch Nuclear Missiles -- Herald Sun

THE United States has delayed testing one of its own intercontinental ballistic missiles as some analysts say they believe North Korea can launch nuclear warheads.

A senior defence official has said the Pentagon delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test in order not to inflame already flash-point tensions with the rogue state.

Scheduled to be launched this week from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided to put off the long-planned Minuteman 3 test until sometime next month.

The test was not connected to the ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises that have been going on in that region and have stoked North Korean anger and fueled an escalation in threatening actions and rhetoric.

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My Comment: Most experts do not believe that North Korea has the capability of launching a nuclear strike against the U.S.. See here and here. Some have even ridiculed the possibility. As to what's my take .... I am not a missile or nuclear weapons expert, but I learned a long time ago to never underestimate what North Korea is capable of.

North Korea Announces That it Will Restart It's Nuclear Facilities

A DigitalGlobe Satellite image shows construction at the North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear complex on Nov. 2010. Reuters file

North Korea Says It Plans To Restart Shuttered Nuclear Reactor -- CNN

(CNN) -- After weeks of hurling threats at the United States and its allies, North Korea announced plans on Tuesday to restart a reactor at its main nuclear complex that it had agreed to shut down more than five years ago.

The declaration demonstrates Kim Jong Un's regime's commitment to its nuclear weapons program that the international community has persistently but unsuccessfully tried to get it to abandon.

The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the reclusive state's atomic energy department intends to "readjust and restart all the nuclear facilities" at the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

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More News On North Korea's Announcement That It Will Restart It's Nuclear Reactor

North Korea Threatens to Restart Nuclear Reactor -- New York Times
North Korea says to restart nuclear reactor -- Reuters
North Korea vows to restart nuclear facilities -- CBC/AP
China says regrets North Korea reactor announcement -- Inquirer/AFP
North Korea to restart nuclear facilities -- Al Jazeera
North Korea Plans to Restart Shuttered Nuclear Reactor -- Bloomberg Businessweek
North Korea to restart shuttered nuclear reactor -- Washington Post
North Korea Says it Will Restart Nuclear Facilities -- ABC News
North Korea to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor -- NBC

North Korea Vows To Strengthen It's Nuclear Arsenal

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

North Korea Vows to Strengthen Nuclear Arsenal -- Voice of America

North Korea has vowed to develop and launch more advanced satellites and says the country's nuclear weapons are non-negotiable and will not be traded even for "billions of dollars" in economic assistance.

The official KCNA news agency reported Sunday that a plenary meeting of the North Korean Workers' Party Central Committee, chaired by leader Kim Jong Un, called for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal.

It said the North's nuclear armed forces are not a political bargaining chip, and that they should be "expanded and beefed up...until the denuclearization of the world is realized."

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More News On North Korea Vowing To Strengthen It's Nuclear Arsenal

North Korea says its nuclear weapons won't be traded -- FOX News/AP
North Korea: Nuclear weapons are "the nation's life" -- CBS/AP
North Korea: Nukes are our country's 'life' -- NBC
N. Korea vows to strengthen nukes amid tensions -- France24/AFP
North Korea pledges to expand nuclear program -- ABC News (Australia)

The Places That North Korea Can Theoretically Nuke

Here Are The Places That North Korea Can Theoretically Nuke -- Business Insider

With North Korea on the supposed verge of kind of maybe possibly doing something militarily, it would be prudent to give this infographic a gander.

The only thing missing is their most recent rocket, the Unha-2, which was regarded as somewhat of a success, but still falls well short of delivering a payload to the U.S.

The U.S. State Department recently responded with summary dismissal of North Korea's threats to nuke the "American homeland" — a move which prompted concern among America's ally South Korea, who is easily within range of such an attack.

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WNU Editor: Click on the above image to enlarge it.

Getting Ready For The Day When North Korea Has A Nuclear Ballistic Missile Capability

Experts: U.S. Must Prepare For Day North Korea Can Put A Nuclear Warhead On A Rocket -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — Scientists and security experts studying North Korea’s nuclear test on Tuesday believe the rogue nation is closing in on being able to place a nuclear weapon atop a missile and loft it at another country.

That, all believe, immediately raised the stakes of the dangerous game the North Koreans have been playing for the past decade. The problem for the United States is that with each North Korean advance, the possible U.S. responses decrease and get more aggressive. In fact, some experts believe the options now are just two: a pre-emptive strike on North Korea’s nuclear facilities or targeting any rocket or missile not long after it leaves the launch pad.

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My Comment: They are probably a long way from accomplishing the necessary R&D to put a nuclear warhead on a rocket .... but it is clear that they are working on it.

Iran And North Korea Are Upping Their Nuclear Games

Don't Look Now, But Iran And North Korea Are Upping Their Nuclear Games -- Alexander Abad-Santos, The Atlantic

There are two countries in this world that we'd rather not see tinker with nuclear energy: Iran and North Korea. And it just so happens one of those is now prepping for a nuclear test, while the other is bragging about how it's putting its program into overdrive.

Let's start in Iran. "Iran is poised for a major technological update of its uranium enrichment program, allowing it to vastly increase production of the material that can be used for both reactor fuel and nuclear warheads," diplomats told the AP on Thursday. According to sources at the International Atomic Energy Agency, officials in Iran are mounting 3,132 "new-generation centrifuges" which likely means they're done with research and now moving on to enrichment, which in the big picture, "will reduce the timeline for Iran being able to produce a weapon's worth of fissile material," an expert told the AP.

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Update #1: Why Iran's nuclear enrichment upgrade may be a 'game changer' -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor
Update #2: Analysis: What is driving North Korea's nuclear test plan -- BBC

My Comment: Who is going to stop them .... at the moment nobody .... and the North Koreans/Iranians know that.

North Korea Issues New Nuclear And Rocket Threats At The US (Update)

North Korea Issues Blunt New Threat To United States -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — A blunt and explicit threat from North Korea on Thursday that its missile and nuclear programs would “target” the United States poses a stark challenge to the Obama administration even as it hoped it could focus its major diplomatic effort on restraining Iran’s less-advanced nuclear program.

The statement from the North Korean National Defense Commission, the country’s highest military body, was considerably more specific than past warnings from the country, and explicitly ruled out any talks over “denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, which has been the objective of on-again, off-again talks with Pyongyang for two decades.

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More News On North Korea's Nuclear - Rocket Threats Against The U.S.

US denounces N. Korea in early row for Obama team -- AFP
White House says NKorea nuclear test plan ‘needlessly provocative’ -- Washington Post/AP
North Korea says new nuclear test will be part of fight against U.S. -- CNN
North Korea directs nuclear threat at US -- Hindustan Times/AP
North Korea to target US in nuclear test -- The Australian/AFP
'Provocative' test threat in North's US tirade -- The Australian
North Korea threatens nuclear test and further rocket launches -- The Guardian
North Korea Vows New Nuclear Test 'Aimed' at US -- Voice of America
North Korea 'plans to conduct nuclear test' -- Al Jazeera
North Korea threatens new nuclear test 'aimed' at US (+video) -- Christian Science Monitor
North Korea 'plans to conduct nuclear test' -- Christian Science Monitor
North Korea Threatens U.S. in Nuclear Warning -- Wall Street Journal
U.S. "very concerned" about North Korea's nuclear statements: Panetta -- Reuters
U.S. Says North Korea Needlessly Provocative With Threats -- Bloomberg
Panetta: US ‘very concerned’ over Korea nuclear test, sees no outward sign it will be soon -- Washington Post/AP
US, Germany condemn North Korea over nuclear test threat -- Deutsche Welle

What Is North Korea's Nuclear Strategy?

North Korea’s Nuclear War Plan: “Go Nuts” and ‘Dig in” -- James R. Holmes, The Diplomat

Because no survey of newcomers to the second nuclear age would be complete without North Korea, it seems fitting to close out this series with a glance at Pyongyang’s emerging nuclear strategy and doctrine. Professor Terry Roehrig, grand wizard of the Naval War College’s Asia-Pacific Study Group, authors a chapter on the subject in Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age. He splashes cold water on the idea that the six-party talks or other negotiations will bring about disarmament on the Korean Peninsula. So, let’s zero in on the operational dimension of North Korean strategy.

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More News On North Korea's Nuclear Program

N.Korea prepares for third nuclear test: S.Korea -- AFP
Exclusive: North Korea's nuclear test ready "soon" -- Reuters
North Korea May Be Expanding Their Nuclear Arsenal More Than Anyone Imagined -- Business Insider
Imagery shows damage, repairs at North Korean nuclear test site -- Janes
Images Reveal North Korea Repairing Atomic Test Site Tunnel -- Global Security Newswire
Denuclearizing NK 'perhaps impossible': ex-US envoy -- Korea Times

My Comment: The Chinese are skeptical that North Korea will conduct a third nuclear test.

Report: North Korth Korea Will Have Enough Nuclear Material For 48 Nuclear Weapons By 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles in a wooden boat on Friday on his way to the military unit that shelled Yeonpyeong Island in November 2010. /[North] Korean Central News Agency

North Korea Could Have Fuel For 48 Nuclear Weapons By 2015 -- The Telegraph

North Korea will have been able to build as many as 48 nuclear weapons by 2015 unless the international community is able to make sanctions already imposed on the regime work.

The stark warning about Pyongyang's nuclear stockpile was issued by The Institute for Science and International Security, which projected three scenarios for North Korea's atomic weapons programme.

In the best-case scenario for the next four years outlined by the researchers, North Korea will have been able to use the centrifuges at its Yongbyon nuclear plant to produce sufficient low enriched uranium for a maximum of 25 nuclear weapons.

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Update #1: South Korea, US launch annual military drills condemned by North Korea -- Washington Post/AP
Update #2: Kim warns troops to prepare for 'sacred war' during US-South Korea exercises -- CNN

My Comment: It only takes one nuclear weapon exploding somewhere to ruin everyone's day.

N.Korea To ‘Reexamine' Nuclear Issue

N.Korea Threatens to ‘Reexamine Nuclear Issue’. © RIA Novosti. Marc Bennetts

N.Korea Says U.S. Hostility Forcing It To "Reexamine" Nuclear Program -- Reuters

North Korea said on Friday it was being forced to "reexamine" its nuclear programme because of fresh signs the United States remains hostile towards the country, indicating it will step up defiant efforts to boost its nuclear arsenal.

The new leadership of North Korea, headed by the third generation of the Kim family, reinforced its control on the reclusive state this week by further promoting its young leader Jong-un and purging a top general who was seen as opposing his reforms.

The North has denied in recent months that it was preparing to conduct a third nuclear test, after a failed rocket launch widely seen as a long-range missile test in disguise, which effectively scrapped a deal on moratorium on such tests reached with Washington in February.

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More News On North Korea To 'Reexamine" It's Nuclear Program

North Korea vows to revisit 'nuclear issue' after alleged plot -- L.A. Times
N. Korea to 'completely review' nuclear issue -- AFP
North Korea Reviewing ‘Nuclear Issue’ to Counter U.S. -- Bloomberg Businessweek
N.Korea Threatens to ‘Reexamine Nuclear Issue’ -- RIA Novosti
N.Korea Accuses South of Plot to Blow Up Statues -- Chosun Ilbo
N. Korea says will 'fully reconsider nuclear issue' -- Korea Herald
Seoul brushes off latest N. Korean claims -- UPI
DPRK vows to reexamine nuclear issue due to U.S. hostile act -- Xinhuanet

North Korea's Nuclear Program Is Ratching Up

Satellite Imagery Shows Ramped-Up Work At North Korea Reactor -- CNN

New satellite imagery obtained by CNN's Security Clearance shows increased activity at a North Korean nuclear facility.

The imagery, provided to Security Clearance by GeoEye with analysis by Allision Pucionni at IHS Jane's, shows the extent of construction at the Yongbyon light water reactor since construction resumed this spring on the facility.

The satellite snapshot from June 24 shows components have been added to the reactor building, including across the open roof, according to Puccioni, a senior imagery analyst at IHS Jane's. A "traveling crane" can be seen and is believed to have been added in April.

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My Comment: South Korean and U.S. negotiators are of the opinion that North Korea needs to be "less aggressive" in order for nuclear talks to proceed. North Korea responds by saying that ..... they need nuclear weapons to counter U.S. threats.

Something tells me that there are going to be no talks on North Korea's nuclear program this year.