![]() To date, North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests, the latest of which was on September 3, 2017, as shown in the North Korea Nuclear Tests’ Yield Graphic below. Estimates of nuclear test energy yields, however, can be made through detection of seismographic activity, as each blast sends a series of shockwaves through the Earth. To test nuclear weapons, the country has constructed underground tunnels so that activity is not easily observable through satellite imagery. To produce a single nuclear weapon, a critical mass of 15 kg of highly enriched uranium is needed. Furthermore, uranium is mined from within the country. The extent of the country’s uranium enrichment program is largely a mystery since the centrifuges are underground and more easily hidden from satellite photographs than reactors. The second type of fission material that could be employed in North Korea nuclear missiles is enriched uranium. By the time the country exited the NPT in 2003, and began to restart its nuclear program, the sites had deteriorated to such an extent that they were no longer usable. As a signatory of the treaty, North Korea agreed to the the three NPT “pillars”: nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and solely civilian use of nuclear energy. However, the country halted the construction of these reactors after North Korea agreed to be a member of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1985. Over the years North Korea also attempted to construct two additional Magnox-type nuclear reactors, the first of which could have produced an additional 60 kg of plutonium annually, and the second which could have produced 220 kg of plutonium annually. The critical mass of plutonium-239 is 5 kg. To date, experts estimate that North Korea possesses approximately 50 kg of plutonium. For comparison, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s definition of possessing a Significant Quantity of plutonium is 8 kg. The reactor produced approximately 6 kg of plutonium a year. The reactor was, however, turned on again in 2003, a year after North Korea exited the deal. The reactor operated until 1994, following the 1994 Agreed Framework, a deal between the United States and North Korea that stalled North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. At that time, both the Soviet Union and the United States used the partially enriched uranium, which has a higher percentage of Uranium-235. ![]() This type of reactor uniquely uses the more easily accessible mined uranium, which consists of 99.28% Uranium-238 and 0.7% Uranium-235, as fuel. By 1986, a 5 megawatt-electric Magnox gas-cooled reactor was built at Yongbyon, modeled after a British design with a dual purpose of producing electrical power and plutonium-239 for use in nuclear weapons. With the assistance of the Soviet Union, North Korea began constructing a nuclear research center in Yongbyon, initially claimed to be intended for peaceful production of nuclear power, but shortly after its construction, North Korea began using the center for military purposes. This agreement signified the official start of North Korea’s nuclear program. In 1959, during the height of the Cold War, North Korea and the Soviet Union signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, which informs most of North Korea’s nuclear knowledge and technology to this day. The second is the development of a missile, which is a carrier for the nuclear weapon that allows the weapon to reach a target. The first is the nuclear weapon itself - the ability to generate an explosion using fission or fusion power. North Korea’s nuclear history is a nearly sixty-year journey punctuated by technological advances and accompanying complex interactions with foreign powers.įor any country to develop a nuclear weapon capable of threatening any other country, it would need two pieces of technology. Kim’s spot at a negotiating table dominated by discussions about nuclear weapons, begging the question of how North Korea became nuclearly relevant. These recent summits seemingly legitimize and solidify Mr. In June, the United States President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un met in Singapore. In April, nearly five months after the missile test, North and South Korea met for an inter-Korean summit, followed by an additional one in May. This news was quickly followed by condemnations and additional sanctions against the country. On November 29th, 2017, North Korea claimed that it had successfully tested a missile capable of reaching the mainland of the United States. During this time, North Korea has significantly shifted its stance on its relations with South Korea and the United States. Nuclear weapons related developments from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea, have dominated the news cycle.
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