Late North Korean Leader Wanted A Huge Nuclear Arsenal

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is pictured in this undated photo released by the North's KCNA, December 28, 2011. Reuters

North Korean Leader Ordered Uranium Bomb Work -- The Telegraph

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il ordered his scientists to produce "a massive amount" of uranium bombs, according to internal regime documents, reports in Japan said Monday.

The instruction was revealed in papers believed to have been compiled in February this year for senior officials of the ruling Workers' Party, the Mainichi Shimbun and Tokyo Shimbun said.

Pyongyang has long maintained that it was enriching uranium solely for the purpose of power generation, despite widespread suspicion in the outside world.

But the document, detailing domestic and foreign policies, said Kim Jong-Il - who died in December - ordered the production of nuclear weapons using both uranium and plutonium.

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More News On North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Program

Report Sheds Light on North Korean Nuclear Program -- Voice of America
Kim Jong-il sought huge nuclear arsenal: reports -- ABC News (Australia)
Documents highlight N. Korea nuke efforts -- UPI
North Korea: Kim Jong Il wanted 'massive amount' of nuclear bombs, Japan reports say -- Global Post
Kim Jong-Il ordered uranium bombs -- The Australian
Kim Jong-il ordered mass production of uranium bombs: papers -- Yonhap News
Kim ordered production of nukes -- Korea Times
Kim Jong-il Ordered Production Of Nuclear Weapons: Report -- IBTimes
Kim Jong Il ordered development of uranium nuclear weapons -- The Mainichi

Another North Korean Nuclear Test?

South Korea Warns Of Another Nuclear Test By North -- Global Security Newswire

A senior South Korean official on Friday warned that North Korea could conduct another nuclear trial blast or fire off another long-range missile if there is no progress in restarting the long-stalled six-nation negotiations on Pyongyang's atomic activities, the Yonhap News Agency reported (see GSN, Oct. 6).

"I think that North Korea could test-launch a long-range missile or conduct a third nuclear test if denuclearization talks with South Korea and the U.S. fail," deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo said during a security event in Seoul.

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More News On Rumors Of Another North Korean Nuclear Test Being Planned

N.Korea could conduct third nuclear test: Seoul -- AFP
US Mulls Additional Pyongyang Nuclear Talks -- Voice of America
S Korea's new chief nuclear envoy leaves for Washington for talks -- Xinhuanet
N. Korea could conduct 3rd nuke test if talks fail: presidential aide -- Yonhap News
'3rd nuke test looms if talks fail' -- Korea Times
N.Korea could conduct third nuclear test: Seoul -- Straits Times/AFP
WikiLeaks: N. Korea will use nuclear weapons in exchange for normalization with US -- Global Post
North Korea Planned to Trade Nukes For Full Ties With U.S.: WikiLeaks -- Global Security Newswire

Another North Korean Nuclear Test In 2012?

North Korea Could Conduct Nuclear Test in 2012: U.S. Sources -- Global Security Newswire

High-level U.S. insiders believe North Korea could conduct its third nuclear test within the next year, the Australian reported (see GSN, Aug. 12).



"2012 is an auspicious year from the North Korean point of view," said one of the unidentified sources, who are authorized to view U.S. intelligence analyses. "It's an election year in the U.S. and an election year in in South Korea. And the North Koreans have publicly declared their desire to be a fully functional nuclear weapons state by 2012."



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Update: North Korea poised for nuclear weapon test next year -- The Australian



My Comment: North Korea has made no secret of its desire to have nuclear weapons .... if history is any indication of future behavior, I would expect a nuclear test some time in the future.

Is North Korea Getting Ready For A Nuclear Test?

What's North Korea's Next Move? Perhaps A Nuclear Weapons Test. -- Christian Science Monitor

North Korea appears poised to display its nuclear weapons capability with an underground test, say experts, in a bid to keep military tensions high and force a return to talks.

North Korea appears more likely now to stage another long-range missile test or underground nuclear explosion rather than attacking South Korean targets, according to security experts in South Korea.

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More News On North Korea's Nuclear Program

North Korea nuclear test "possible" in new year -- Yahoo News/AP
North Korea nuclear test "possible" in new year -- Yahoo News/Reuters
North Korea could stage another nuclear test as it bids to strengthen credentials of heir Kim Jong-Un -- The Daily Mail
N. Korea likely to conduct 3rd nuclear test in 2011 -- Korea Times
N.Korea Threatens Nuclear Attack -- Chosun Ilbo
'North Korea capable of hitting Seoul with nukes' -- Korea Times
Report: N. Korea set for 3rd nuke test by March -- MSNBC
Q+A: Who wins from a third North Korea nuclear test? -- Reuters

North Korea's Top Nuclear/Missile Scientists Have Been Arrested For Spying

North Korean Nuclear Scientist, Kim So-in, Sent To Labour Camp For 'Spying' -- The Australian/Sunday Times

A top North Korean nuclear weapons scientist has been arrested for spying and sent to a concentration camp with his family.

Details of the arrests of Kim So-in and his family, including his father, Kim Song-il, who is also a nuclear expert, came from a high-level North Korean source, according to intelligence leaks in Seoul.

The espionage charges may be linked to a UN report on the spread of Pyongyang's weapons technology, which was published last week.

Mr Kim and his family were taken to the notorious Yodok concentration camp, in a remote corner of the country. Former inmates have described a brutal regimen of hard labour, starvation, regular beatings and executions. It is reserved for "traitors" to the regime.

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Previous Post: Has A Nuclear Spy Ring Been Broken Up In North Korea?

My Comment: The news outlets and officials are not saying it, but it appears that someone in the UN who had access to the intelligence that made up their report on North Korean nuclear proliferation decided to betray this family to the North Korean authorities.

North Korea Nuclear Program -- News Updates February 2, 2010

Hints From Pyongyang: No 3rd Nuclear Test -- Arms Control Wonk

Funny thing about the Bomb: you can’t eat it.

Going by what the North Korean government has said of late, they’re not exactly beating their swords into ploughshares or their spears into pruning hooks. But, we are told, national security goals have made way for economic goals, and a third nuclear test should not be expected.

Dismissive remarks about further nuclear testing have now appeared at least twice in reports about a major industrial achievement. On December 19, 2009, KCNA, the official news service, reported a visit by Kim Jong Il to the Songjin Steel Complex, a.k.a. Songgang, home to a new “Juche-based” method of iron and steel production. After inspecting the facilities, KJI was pleased:

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More News On North Korea

South Korea says North is stalling on nuclear talks -- AFP
'NK Nukes Should Be Dealt With in Summit' -- Korea Times
South Korea rules out "payoff" for summit with North -- Reuters
North Korea Could Have Nuclear Missiles in 10 Years, U.S. Says -- Global Security Newswire
North Korea Hints at Missile Tests -- Global Security Newswire
S.Korea watches for possible N.Korea missile tests -- AFP
Two Koreas fail to agree amid military tensions -- AFP
Violence in N.Korea as hunger woes mount: reports -- AFP
Is North Korea Ready to Do (Another) Nuke Deal? -- Time Magazine
Security in Northeast Asia -- Council On Foreign Relations

A Break In The North Korean Nuclear Talks?

North Korean Lader Kim Jong Il

Visit by Kim to China Could Bode Well for Nuclear Talks -- Global Security Neswire

A rumored trip to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il could bode well for the long-stalled negotiations aimed at shuttering his nation's nuclear program, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 6).

Earlier visits by the reclusive dictator to Beijing have been followed by resumption of disarmament negotiations. Nuclear sanctions have made Pyongyang's economic situation even more precarious, and Kim might seek to collect financial and food support by pledging to rejoin the six-party process, according to the Times.

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My Comment: I have been reading this same story for almost 10 years. North Korea and its leaders will always prioritize what they want .... and not want foreigners like China, the U.S. or anyone else may want.

North Korea Admits That It Has Been Processing Enriched Uranium For Nuclear Weapons

North Korea Seeks International Attention With Uranium Claim -- Christian Science Monitor

The North, which wants one-on-one talks with the US, said it's open to dialogue and had entered the "completion phase" of developing highly enriched uranium.

North Korea's notice to the United Nations Security Council that it's on the verge of developing nuclear warheads with highly enriched uranium appears as a grab for the attention of the US and other major powers. The North's expertise in uranium would mark a significant escalation of its potential as a nascent nuclear power.

North Korea's UN mission confirmed that the North's UN ambassador, Sin Son-ho, had sent the letter in response to sanctions imposed by the Security Council on June 12, 18 days after the North conducted its second underground test of a plutonium bomb on May 25.

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More News On North Korea

N. Korea says it's close to enriching uranium. What is that? -- Christian Science Monitor
Pyongyang's Claim Enrages Neighbors -- Wall Street Journal
US 'concern' over N Korea uranium -- BBC
North Korea: Uranium Program Near Completion -- Washington Post
North Korea drops a uranium bombshell -- Asia Times
North Korea in 'final phase' of uranium enrichment -- The Telegraph
UN inspectors never visited NKorea uranium sites: IAEA -- Times Of India
FACTBOX: North Korea's uranium enrichment program -- Reuters
US vows strong implementation of NKorea sanctions -- AFP
Russia says N.Korea enrichment claim "alarming"-Ifax -- Reuters

North Korea Restarts Its Nuclear Program

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (centre) shakes hands with NKorean vice Foreign Minister Kung Sok Ung. Photo AFP

NKorea Says It Has Restarted Nuclear Facilities -- AP

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has restarted its nuclear facilities to harvest weapons-grade plutonium, an official said Saturday, just hours after the U.N. imposed new sanctions on the communist state for its recent rocket launch.

The move is a key step away from a 2007 disarmament deal — signed after a 2006 nuclear test — that called for North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities in exchange for much-needed energy aid and other concessions.

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More News On North Korea Restarting Its Nuclear Facilities

North Korea begins extracting plutonium -- Washington Post
North Korea restarts plutonium extraction -- Press TV
North Korea restarts extracting plutonium -- UPI
Russia: North Korea Not to Return to Talks -- Voice Of America
Nuke talks useless, NKorea tells Russia: report -- AFP
Russia, S. Korea pledge new steps to revive six-nation talks -- RIA Novosti
Timeline of North Korea's Nuclear, Missile Programs -- FOX News