North Korean Uranium Enrichment Progresses, Analysts Say

Friday, Oct. 8, 2010

South Korean activists demonstrate at a rally in Seoul last week against plans for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to pass power to his youngest son. Pyongyang appears to be acquiring new uranium enrichment capabilities, says an independent analysis released today (Jung Yeon-je/Getty Images).

North Korea seems to be making progress in its military uranium enrichment program, which would give the nation another pathway to building nuclear weapons and a valuable technology to sell on the black market, a U.S. think tank said in a report today (see GSN, Oct. 7).
The Institute for Science and International Security report, "Taking Stock: North Korea's Uranium Enrichment Program," asserts that the North "has moved beyond laboratory-scale work" and is equipped to erect a centrifuge "pilot plant" for uranium enrichment. The report relies on information from news reports, the intelligence community and government officials, according to the Washington Post.
Drawing on information about North Korean equipment acquisitions abroad, report co-author and ISIS President David Albright said the Stalinist state might have between 500 and 1,000 centrifuges. Most specialists think the North would require 3,000 centrifuges to enrich enough uranium for one weapon (see GSN, Jan. 6).

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