Uranium gives NKorea second way to make bombs

AP via Breitbart ^ | June 28, 2009 | KWANG-TAE KIM

[Jet Jaguar]

After repudiating negotiations on dismantling its plutonium-based nuclear program, North Korea admitted this month to having an even more worrying way to make bombs.

Following nearly seven years of adamant denials, North Korea announced it can enrich uranium—a simpler method of building nuclear weapons than reprocessing plutonium. Uranium can be enriched in relatively inconspicuous factories that can better evade spy-satellite detection, and uranium bombs may work without test explosions.

The admission—made in a threatening response to a June 12 U.N. Security Council resolution punishing Pyongyang for an underground plutonium bomb test last month—poses a new challenge to the U.S., China, South Korea, Russia and Japan as they seek to stem the reclusive country's atomic ambitions.

Since 2003, they have focused on persuading the North to disable a nuclear reactor north of Pyongyang, where the communist regime had been laboriously extracting plutonium, not a naturally occurring material, from spent fuel rods.

Natural uranium, on the other hand, is readily available. North Korea has said it has an estimated 26 million tons of natural uranium deposits, of which about four million tons can be economically extracted. The Washington-based Federation of American Scientists also said an estimated 4 million tons is high-quality uranium ore.

That doesn't mean North Korea can make a uranium bomb overnight. The uranium must be highly enriched first, and making enough for a bomb requires operating 1,000 to 3,000 centrifuges for a year, said Lee Choon-geun, an expert at South Korea's state-funded Science and Technology Policy Institute.

[EricT.]

They’ve stopped screwing around with the complicated bombs made out of “nuclear trash” and going for the simpler design made out of uranium.

For good reason, we tested the plutonium implosion “Fat Man” design but didn’t test the uranium gun “Little Boy” bomb prior to dropping them on Japan in WW2.

[gandalftb]

Well, it's like saying because we make gas driven cars, we can make electric driven cars. Remember, they gutted their plutonium processing plant and tore down the cooling tower and all the steam lines and have not started any reconstruction.

NK is talking the talk because at this point it would almost be as easy to refine uranium. However, they lack the money and expertise and centrifuges and we are definately putting the screws to any effort to get them centrifuges.

Typical NK loose talk.

[gandalftb]

We tested the plutonium bomb only for a couple of reasons, we had more refined plutonium, and the gun-type uranium bomb had a much higher degree of confidence as it was so simple and stable. Agreed, the complexity of detonating an implosion type bomb has really stymied all who have tried.

[sionnsar]

The uranium must be highly enriched first, and making enough for a bomb requires operating 1,000 to 3,000 centrifuges for a year,

Ummm... hasn't Iran been running more centrifuges than that for longer than that?

[Costumed Vigilante]

I sure am glad we have a strong, decisive president to face up to the Stalinist nuclear warlord of North Korea.

[Oztrich Boy]

Agreed, the complexity of detonating an implosion type bomb has really stymied all who have tried.

Strange thing to say. Noone who has attempted to build an implosion bomb seems to have failed. And only the US and South Africa have even bothered with the gun-type.

[Cindy]

Previously...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2280022/posts

“S. Korea Revises Defense Law To Authorize *PRE-EMPTIVE ATTACK* on N. Korea (Video) Breaking”
NNN TV News in Japan (link to video) ^ | 26 June 2009 | AmericanInTokyo
Posted on June 26, 2009 8:36:07 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo

Go to the page HERE

[Cindy]

A small sampler - A Snapshot in Time:

FreeRepublic.com -Discussion Forum (AP via BREITBART): "URANIUM GIVES NKOREA SECOND WAY TO MAKE BOMBS" (June 28, 2009) (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (SANKEI SHUMBUN, June 20, 2009) - Summary posted by TigerLikesRooster: "PREPARATION UNDER WAY FOR N. KOREAN TECHNICIANS TO EVACUATE FROM IRAN" (SUMMARY SNIPPET: "N. Korean technicians are at multiple sites in Iran, cooperating with Iran the development of missiles and other projects. In addition to securing personal belongings, the preparation includes equipments and documents which should be kept in secret, such as computers. This is to prevent the evidence of the close collaboration on missile and nukes from being discovered.") (Posted June 25, 2009) (Read More...)

English.CHOSUN.com: "N. KOREA 'HELPING BURMA WITH WMD'" (SNIPPET: ""North Korea has used [Burmese] ports and airstrips to transfer arms and contraband to third countries, including Iran," the daily claimed. It said several Burmese citizens, some of them expatriates, "have claimed direct knowledge of a nuclear weapons program, including a reactor under construction near Maymyo."") (June 25, 2009) (Read More...)

TRUTHUSA.com: A Look at Iran (Read More...)

FreeRepublic.com (IBD EDITORIALS.com): "NORTH KOREA RATCHETS UP ITS THREATS" (June 24, 2009) (Read More...)

[gandalftb]

By stymied, I meant that it was a very difficult process, but not impossible. Delivery of such a very heavy weapon is also a major challenge.

I have always believed that those who pursue plutonium based weapons were doing so for show and only good at blowing themselves up.

Big yields and portability take very advanced refining, beyond third world capabilities.

[Cindy]

Thanks to son of strange love for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281511/posts

South Korea getting U.S. missiles to boost defences
Reuters ^ | 6/28/2009 | Seoul-Reuters
Posted on June 28, 2009 11:02:13 PM PDT by sonofstrangelove

South Korea is acquiring 40 U.S.-made missiles for an Aegis destroyer this month to boost its defences amid reports North Korea may soon test-fire missiles, Yonhap news agency on Sunday quoted a military source as saying. North Korea, which rattled regional security with a May 25 nuclear test, is preparing to test a long-range missile that could hit U.S. territory and mid-range missiles that could hit all of South Korea, a South Korean presidential Blue House official said last week.

The surface-to-air missiles for the Aegis destroyer, designed to track and shoot down objects including missiles, can hit targets up to 160 km away, Yonhap quoted the source as saying.

North Korea has also warned ships to stay away from waters off its east coast city of Wonsan, Japan’s Coast Guard said last week, in a possible indication of a missile test.

North Korea launched in April a rocket it said was carrying a satellite. The move was widely seen as a disguised test of its long-range Taepodong-2 missile and a violation of U.N. resolutions barring the reclusive state from ballistic missile testing.

The U.N. Security Council punished it for the missile launch by tightening existing sanctions and imposing new ones after the nuclear test to halt its arms trading, one of the few items the cash-short state with a broken down economy can export.

(Excerpt) Read more at in.reuters.com ...

[Freedom2specul8]

Thnks for the link/quote. I’m sure nk is shaking in their combat boots at the un’s punishment.

[Cindy]

UPDATED:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/29/aloha-star-wars/

“EDITORIAL: Aloha, ‘star wars’
Obama bluffs on defending Hawaii”

Monday, June 29, 2009

SNIPPET: “Missile-defense expert Taylor Dinerman told us that the sea-based SM-3 missiles now deployed to “protect” Hawaii are not equipped with adequate software and communications to intercept a missile traveling from North Korea to Hawaii, which would reach a terminal velocity of Mach 23 to 25. The SM-3s are effective only against targets traveling at up to half that speed. It would take about $50 million to upgrade the software to enable a Mach 25 intercept. The Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile, which also has been activated after successful tests at Barking Sands on Kauai, “doesn’t come close” to being effective against this type of threat, Mr. Dinerman said.”

[Cindy]

ping.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2281233/posts?page=13#13

[Cindy]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2009/06/29/73/0301000000AEN20090629002100315F.html

Politics/Diplomacy
2009/06/29 11:43 KST
“Peace, stability only possible after N. Korea denuclearizes: S. Korea”
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap)

[Cindy]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/06/29/2009062900332.html

“U.S. Sets Up N.Korea Sanctions Taskforce”

SNIPPET: “The U.S. is stepping up pressure on North Korea by launching a taskforce to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1874. The interagency taskforce to enforce sanctions against North Korea was launched Friday to coordinate actions with other nations in implementing the UN resolution, including searches of outbound North Korean ships and aircraft and international financial sanctions.

U.S. President Barack Obama appointed former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg to lead the team, sending him to China in the near future to discuss sanctions on the North. “

Jun. 29, 2009 09:28 KST

#

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/06/26/2009062600731.html

“U.S. Biding Its Time Over Suspicious N.Korean Ship”

SNIPPET: “The United States is apparently watching several North Korean ships apart from the Kangnam now being tracked for suspected violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874. When questioned on the matter Wednesday, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said, “As far as I know, it’s the only ship that we have tracked like this. There are other — there are — we have had interest in many ships over the years coming out of North Korea.”

“The U.S. Navy has been instructed to monitor all ships that leave North Korea for foreign countries,” a senior U.S. diplomatic source said.”

Jun. 26, 2009 11:55 KST

[Cindy]

stepping back in time to June 3, 2009:

Note: Photo included.

Quote:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/html/tongchang-ni_launchpad_dg_090603.htm

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Pong-Dong-Ni Missile and Space Launch Facility
Tongchang-Ni
Tongchang-ni Launchpad Overview

New imagery as of 3 June 2009 of the launch site at Tongchang-ni shows that the umbilical tower and movable launch pad appear to be operational.
Image Credit: DigitalGlobe.

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282204/posts

“N. Korea enriching uranium as leader’s health may be relapsing: S. Korea”
Yonhap News ^ | 06/30/09
Posted on June 29, 2009 10:09:24 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

[Cindy]

Thanks to sonofstrangelove for the ping to this thread.

Note: The following post is a quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283890/posts

NKorea likely to fire short-range missiles: report
Associated Press ^ | 7/1/2009 | AP
Posted on July 1, 2009 11:15:40 PM PDT by sonofstrangelove

North Korea is “highly likely” to fire short-range missiles off its east coast after issuing a fresh warning to shipping to stay clear of some areas, according to a South Korean newspaper.

“It is highly likely that the North will launch missiles” from bases in the eastern provinces of Kangwon and South Hamkyong, the JoongAng Ilbo quoted an intelligence source as saying.

The communist state has responded defiantly to UN condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April and of its May nuclear test, vowing to bolster its defences.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283109/posts

“N. Korean rocket could potentially hit half the U.S.: American scientists”
Yonhap ^
Posted on July 1, 2009 2:59:40 AM PDT by maquiladora

SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) — The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile capable of striking half of the continental U.S., two American physicists have concluded in a joint study.