The United States has picked up signs of a radioactive gas emitted during the extraction of plutonium from spent fuel rods in atmospheric samples collected near North Korean airspace, a Japanese newspaper reported on March 3. Posted on 03/11/2005 3:23:49 AM PST by M. Espinola
The United States has picked up signs of a radioactive gas emitted during the extraction of plutonium from spent fuel rods in atmospheric samples collected near North Korean airspace, a Japanese newspaper reported on March 3.
Traces of Krypton 85 gas, a byproduct of reprocessed nuclear fuel rods, were found in December, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing sources in Washington. Krypton 85 gas, an isotope that does not exist naturally, is emitted into the atmosphere when spent fuel rods are cut and plutonium extracted.
The United States has been monitoring North Korea's nuclear activities by extracting air samples using a WC-135W reconnaissance plane flying over the Korean peninsula.
The United States also uses satellites to monitor the graphite nuclear reactor at the North's main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. Judging by the temperatures of structures at the facility and the steam emitted by its boilers U.S. officials believe that activity at the Yongbyon facility has been on hold since Sept. 2003, two months after Pyongyang's announcement that it completed reprocessing, Asahi quoted the sources as saying.
The radioactive gas was detected in July 2003 when the North Koreans declared they had completed reprocessing, but had not been detected since.
The re-emergence of the Krypton gas after a year and a half raised concerns in Washington that North Korea may have resumed operations at its nuclear facility.
"Analysis is still underway to determine the time and place of emission," the report stated. If North Korea were to reprocess all 8,000 of its spent fuel rods, it could extract enough weapons-grade plutonium for six to eight nuclear warheads.
The Asahi Shimbun also reported that the United States has transferred test results to Japan "proving" that North Korea exported processed uranium to Libya.
Quoting Japanese government officials, the newspaper said the U.S. National Security Council's Asia director, Michael Green, told Japanese Cabinet secretary Hosoda Hiroyuki that North Korea exported uranium to Libya in a "nuclear black market" set up by the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan.
The United States has reportedly designated the overseas transfer of nuclear materials by North Korea as a "red line" that could warrant the use of force.
The current crisis emerged in 2002 when North Korea admitted to having a clandestine uranium-based arms program in addition to its known plutonium-based one, in violation of a 1994 nuclear freeze accord.
Ominous news. Hold on to your seats.
Ping
A few months ago some wiseguy on here sneered at me when I said that drones & UAVs do have a crucial advantage over satellites WRT to picking up trace elements of NBC activity!!
B-2's to Guam last week.
It could be that those who invested heavily in JDAMS will be seeing a new demand as the current inventory shrinks.
ping
Nuke option is the last resort. There hasn't been a war detonation in 60 years.
Once one country starts using them to enforce policy others will follow which isn't in our best interest.
North Korea today annouced that its citizens have a developed a taste for kimchee flavored with radioactive plutonium, and that the government is doing all it can to meet the demand. "Everyone knows that kimchee is "hot" and North Koreans like it really hot," a government spokeman said..
Yep - nothing like kimchee and tree bark, kimchee and dog hide, kimchee and gravel soup...heck, it goes good with just about anything.
how will an up or down vote on federal judges stop nkorea?
This news is so old it has whiskers on it !
I'm a little surprised the NKs haven't had an "accident" at their plant.
You noticed that too.
It wouldn't surprise me to see China go the same way as the USSR.
A faculty member in the Polisci dept of my alma mater predicted that very thing, that the country would "fly apart".
'Cept that was nearly 10 years ago...
I remember reading predictions that the USSR would "fly apart" because of ethnic divisions many years before it happened. I don't think this was the primary reason, but it was a contributing factor. The same will happen in China. An economic downturn, a war, or a yearning for freedom will be the catalyst.
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