Nuclear program of North Korea
Encyclopedia
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea
) has been attempting to develop nuclear technology
since the 1950s. Although the country currently has no known operational nuclear reactors, efforts at developing its nuclear power
sector continue. Moreover, North Korea is widely believed to have developed nuclear weapons; it conducted what are widely accepted to have been nuclear tests in 2006
and 2009
.
in the mid-1950s, when North Korean scientists started practical training courses at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
in Dubna
in the Soviet Union
. There, they studied electronic physics radiochemistry
, high-energy physics and other subjects. These efforts were initially focused on the peaceful use of atomic energy; Soviet-North Korean agreements of the time specifically emphasized the peaceful nature of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear sphere. An intergovermental agreement on cooperation in the field of atomic energy, signed in 1959, laid the foundation for joint nuclear activities between the Soviet Union and North Korea. On the basis of this agreement, the two countries signed the so-called "Series 9559" contracts, concerning matters such as the conduct of geological studies, the construction of a nuclear research center (called a "Furniture Factory" by the North Koreans), and the training of North Korean labor. Other North Korean scientists received their education in East Germany and China
. In 1961, North Korea launched a major nuclear development program at Yongbyon, some 60 miles north of Pyongyang. In 1965, the Soviet Union provided North Korea with a 2 MW IRT-2000 research reactor for the Yongbyon nuclear facility, and supplied fuel over the years of the reactor's operation.
North Korea's nuclear scientific and experimental infrastructure was built with Soviet technical assistance. Soviet specialists took part in the construction of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center
, about 90 km north of Pyongyang
. An IRT-2000 pool-type research reactor
was supplied by the Soviet Union for the center in 1963, and began operation in 1965. After upgrades to the research reactor, the fuels now used are IRT-2M-type assemblies of 36% and 80% highly enriched uranium. As the center has not received fresh fuel since Soviet times, this reactor is now only run occasionally to produce iodine-131
for thyroid cancer
radiation therapy
.
In the late 1960s, the North Korean government decided to accelerate the development of nuclear science and technology: new research institutes, laboratories and chairs were established nationwide. The initial goal of this decision was to create the basis for the development of a nuclear energy
sector. At the fifth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea
in 1970, and subsequently at the sixth congress in October 1980, delegates stressed the necessity of constructing "nuclear power plants on a large scale in order to sharply increase the generation of electrical power". At the same time, the country's leadership took into account such factors as the absence of explored oil
deposits in North Korea, and the impossibility of compensating for electric power shortages by means of hydroelectric and thermal energy
power plants. Thus, plans were made for the development of a nuclear energy sector on the basis of gas-graphite reactors (which can be run on unenriched uranium
), because the country possessed sufficient deposits of natural uranium
, as well as substantial graphite
deposits.
During the 1980s, the North Korean government realized that light-water reactors (LWRs) were better suited to producing large amounts of electricity, for which there was a growing requirement. During the Kim Il Sung-Chernenko Moscow summit in 1984, the construction of nuclear power plants in North Korea with Soviet aid was first broached. The Soviet Union promised to assist North Korea with nuclear technology and materials on the condition that North Korea would sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In December 1985, North Korea signed the NPT, and in the same month North Korea and the Soviet Union signed in Moscow two inter-governmental agreements on technical-economic cooperation and on building atomic power plants in North Korea. In 1987 the Soviet Union began to conduct several feasibility studies to build three LWRs at Sinpo
on North Korea's east coast.
Simultaneously, efforts were made to accelerate North Korea's general scientific and technological development, particularly in the nuclear field. The March 1988 Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK
made a decision to elaborate a Three-Year Plan (valid from 1988 to 1990) for the increased financing of science and technology, identifying four main directions: electronics
, thermo-technology, chemistry
and metallurgy
. This plan paid special attention to the developments of electronics, particularly integrated circuits, computer science
, robotics
, new materials and digital
program control. In 1990, allocations for science constituted 3.8% of national income, according to official figures. Before the plan was adopted, these allocations did not exceed 2%.
After the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continued site selection
fieldwork for the Sinpo LWR project. However, the North Koreans refused to pay for the work, and the project was effectively discontinued.
signed the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework with the United States
. North Korea thereby agreed to end its graphite-moderated nuclear reactor program, including the construction of an unidentified underground reactor with an estimated power rating of 200 MWe at Taechon
, in exchange for the construction of two 1000-MWe light-water reactors at Kumho
. Construction of these was started in 1997 but suspended in November 2003. Under the Six-Party Talks
held on 19 September 2005, North Korea pledged to end all its nuclear programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
, submitting to international inspections in return for benefits including energy aid and normalization of relations with Japan
and the United States.
On 25 June 2008, it was announced that North Korea was to end its nuclear program; its nuclear declaration was to be handed over to China in Beijing
on Thursday, 26 June 2008. The nuclear devices that North Korea already had, however, were to be handed over at a later date. North Korea stated that it had begun to dismantle its nuclear program http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfyJtAItTAJNCmYsuRnEhUs0_vjQ and declared that it would turn over all of its plans. It destroyed the cooling tower for the 5 MWe reactor at Yongbyon on 27 June 2008.http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa5.cfm
Siegfried Hecker, the co-director of the Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation
, said that "prior to its April rocket launch
, North Korea had discharged approximately 6,100 of the 8,000 fuel rods from its 5-megawatt reactor to the cooling pool, but disablement slowed to a crawl of 15 fuel rods/week, dragging out the projected completion of fuel unloading well into 2011."
Despite these apparent shutdown efforts, North Korea's nuclear tests in 2006
and 2009
have called into question its denuclearization commitment.
, announced in an article that North Korea had successfully carried out a nuclear fusion
reaction. The aforementioned article, referring to the alleged test as "a great event that demonstrated the rapidly developing cutting-edge science and technology of the DPRK", also made mention of efforts by North Korean scientists to develop "safe and environment-friendly new energy", and made no mention of plans to use fusion technology in its nuclear weapons program
. The claim was greeted with skepticism, as fusion power has yet to be achieved by any other country, despite ongoing efforts such as the international ITER
project.
, where they were shown an experimental 25-to-30 MWe light water reactor
in the early stages of construction, and a 2,000-gas centrifuge
uranium enrichment plant, which was said to be producing low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for the reactor. Construction of the uranium enrichment plant reportedly began in April 2009, and the target date for operational commencement for the reactor is 2012. In November 2011, commercial satellite imagery indicated that construction of the reactor was progressing rapidly.
decided to begin work on the development of a nuclear weapons capability. He concluded that the development of a nuclear deterrent was the only means of ensuring the North Korean regime's survival. The North Korean government consequently adopted a number of practical steps aimed at expanding the network of research institutions dealing with fields such as nuclear physics, energy, and radiochemistry. The nuclear center in Yongbyon
, the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, and the Radiological Institute were some of the organizations established during this period. In addition, a department of Nuclear Physics was opened at Pyongyang State University, and a nuclear reactor technology chair was opened at the Kimchaek Polytechnic University. A Soviet-made research cyclotron
was installed at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang
, and an industrial cyclotron was installed at a facility in one of Pyongyang's suburbs.
As of 2009, it is estimated that North Korea has up to ten functional nuclear warheads.
A reorganization of scientific research activities was carried out in the 1970s. The majority of the nuclear research institutes were transferred from Pyongyang
to the city of Pyonsong, 50 km from the capital, and combined into a single scientific center.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
) has been attempting to develop nuclear technology
Nuclear technology
Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear power, nuclear medicine, and nuclear weapons...
since the 1950s. Although the country currently has no known operational nuclear reactors, efforts at developing its nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
sector continue. Moreover, North Korea is widely believed to have developed nuclear weapons; it conducted what are widely accepted to have been nuclear tests in 2006
2006 North Korean nuclear test
The 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by North Korea.North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on October 3, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test...
and 2009
2009 North Korean nuclear test
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on 25 May 2009 by North Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests.The test was...
.
First steps
North Korea's nuclear program began under Kim il-SungKim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
in the mid-1950s, when North Korean scientists started practical training courses at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow Oblast , Russia, is an international research centre for nuclear sciences, with 5500 staff members, 1200 researchers including 1000 Ph.D.s from eighteen member states The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, JINR , in Dubna, Moscow...
in Dubna
Dubna
Dubna is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of naukograd , being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research centre and one of the largest scientific foundations in the country. It is also home to MKB Raduga, a defence aerospace company...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. There, they studied electronic physics radiochemistry
Radiochemistry
Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes...
, high-energy physics and other subjects. These efforts were initially focused on the peaceful use of atomic energy; Soviet-North Korean agreements of the time specifically emphasized the peaceful nature of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear sphere. An intergovermental agreement on cooperation in the field of atomic energy, signed in 1959, laid the foundation for joint nuclear activities between the Soviet Union and North Korea. On the basis of this agreement, the two countries signed the so-called "Series 9559" contracts, concerning matters such as the conduct of geological studies, the construction of a nuclear research center (called a "Furniture Factory" by the North Koreans), and the training of North Korean labor. Other North Korean scientists received their education in East Germany and China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In 1961, North Korea launched a major nuclear development program at Yongbyon, some 60 miles north of Pyongyang. In 1965, the Soviet Union provided North Korea with a 2 MW IRT-2000 research reactor for the Yongbyon nuclear facility, and supplied fuel over the years of the reactor's operation.
North Korea's nuclear scientific and experimental infrastructure was built with Soviet technical assistance. Soviet specialists took part in the construction of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center
Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center
The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in the county of Nyŏngbyŏn in North Pyongan province, about 90 km north of Pyongyang...
, about 90 km north of Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
. An IRT-2000 pool-type research reactor
Research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritime propulsion.-Purpose:...
was supplied by the Soviet Union for the center in 1963, and began operation in 1965. After upgrades to the research reactor, the fuels now used are IRT-2M-type assemblies of 36% and 80% highly enriched uranium. As the center has not received fresh fuel since Soviet times, this reactor is now only run occasionally to produce iodine-131
Iodine-131
Iodine-131 , also called radioiodine , is an important radioisotope of iodine. It has a radioactive decay half-life of about eight days. Its uses are mostly medical and pharmaceutical...
for thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer
Thyroid neoplasm is a neoplasm or tumor of the thyroid. It can be a benign tumor such as thyroid adenoma, or it can be a malignant neoplasm , such as papillary, follicular, medullary or anaplastic thyroid cancer. Most patients are 25 to 65 years of age when first diagnosed; women are more affected...
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
.
Expansion of the program
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
sector. At the fifth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling Communist party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...
in 1970, and subsequently at the sixth congress in October 1980, delegates stressed the necessity of constructing "nuclear power plants on a large scale in order to sharply increase the generation of electrical power". At the same time, the country's leadership took into account such factors as the absence of explored oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
deposits in North Korea, and the impossibility of compensating for electric power shortages by means of hydroelectric and thermal energy
Thermal energy
Thermal energy is the part of the total internal energy of a thermodynamic system or sample of matter that results in the system's temperature....
power plants. Thus, plans were made for the development of a nuclear energy sector on the basis of gas-graphite reactors (which can be run on unenriched uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
), because the country possessed sufficient deposits of natural uranium
Natural uranium
Natural uranium refers to refined uranium with the same isotopic ratio as found in nature. It contains 0.7 % uranium-235, 99.3 % uranium-238, and a trace of uranium-234 by weight. In terms of the amount of radioactivity, approximately 2.2 % comes from uranium-235, 48.6 % uranium-238, and 49.2 %...
, as well as substantial graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
deposits.
During the 1980s, the North Korean government realized that light-water reactors (LWRs) were better suited to producing large amounts of electricity, for which there was a growing requirement. During the Kim Il Sung-Chernenko Moscow summit in 1984, the construction of nuclear power plants in North Korea with Soviet aid was first broached. The Soviet Union promised to assist North Korea with nuclear technology and materials on the condition that North Korea would sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In December 1985, North Korea signed the NPT, and in the same month North Korea and the Soviet Union signed in Moscow two inter-governmental agreements on technical-economic cooperation and on building atomic power plants in North Korea. In 1987 the Soviet Union began to conduct several feasibility studies to build three LWRs at Sinpo
Sinpo
Sinpo is a port city on the coast of the Sea of Japan in central South Hamgyong province, North Korea. According to the last available census, approximately 158,000 people reside here.-Weather:...
on North Korea's east coast.
Simultaneously, efforts were made to accelerate North Korea's general scientific and technological development, particularly in the nuclear field. The March 1988 Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK
Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling Communist party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...
made a decision to elaborate a Three-Year Plan (valid from 1988 to 1990) for the increased financing of science and technology, identifying four main directions: electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, thermo-technology, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
. This plan paid special attention to the developments of electronics, particularly integrated circuits, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, new materials and digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
program control. In 1990, allocations for science constituted 3.8% of national income, according to official figures. Before the plan was adopted, these allocations did not exceed 2%.
After the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continued site selection
Site selection
Site Selection indicates the practice of new facility location, both for business and government. Site selection involves measuring the needs of a new project against the merits of potential locations...
fieldwork for the Sinpo LWR project. However, the North Koreans refused to pay for the work, and the project was effectively discontinued.
Denuclearization pledges
In 1994, Kim il-Sung's successor Kim Jong-ilKim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
signed the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. North Korea thereby agreed to end its graphite-moderated nuclear reactor program, including the construction of an unidentified underground reactor with an estimated power rating of 200 MWe at Taechon
Taechon
Taechon, also spelled Thaechon, is a kun, or county, in central North Pyongan province, North Korea. It borders Taegwan and Tongchang to the north, Unsan and Nyongbyon to the east, Pakchon and Unjon to the south, and Kusong to the west....
, in exchange for the construction of two 1000-MWe light-water reactors at Kumho
Kumho
Kumho Tire Co, Ltd. , formerly known as Samyang Tire, is a South Korean industrial conglomerate headquartered in Gwangju, South Korea. Kumho means "bright lake" in Korean. It is a subsidiary of the Kumho Asiana Group, as is Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second largest airline...
. Construction of these was started in 1997 but suspended in November 2003. Under the Six-Party Talks
Six-party talks
The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.There has been a series of meetings with six participating states:* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ;...
held on 19 September 2005, North Korea pledged to end all its nuclear programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
, submitting to international inspections in return for benefits including energy aid and normalization of relations with Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the United States.
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on Thursday, 26 June 2008. The nuclear devices that North Korea already had, however, were to be handed over at a later date. North Korea stated that it had begun to dismantle its nuclear program http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfyJtAItTAJNCmYsuRnEhUs0_vjQ and declared that it would turn over all of its plans. It destroyed the cooling tower for the 5 MWe reactor at Yongbyon on 27 June 2008.http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa5.cfm
Siegfried Hecker, the co-director of the Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation
Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation
Formerly the Center for International Security and Arms Control, co-founded by physicist Sidney Drell and political scientist John Lewis, CISAC now stands for the Center for International Security and Cooperation...
, said that "prior to its April rocket launch
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2
In this regard, a delegation of fifteen strong Iranian rocket scientists, including senior officials with Iranian rocket and satellite producer Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, has been in the DPRK since the beginning of March, to help prepare for the launch...
, North Korea had discharged approximately 6,100 of the 8,000 fuel rods from its 5-megawatt reactor to the cooling pool, but disablement slowed to a crawl of 15 fuel rods/week, dragging out the projected completion of fuel unloading well into 2011."
Despite these apparent shutdown efforts, North Korea's nuclear tests in 2006
2006 North Korean nuclear test
The 2006 North Korean nuclear test was the detonation of a nuclear device conducted on October 9, 2006 by North Korea.North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on October 3, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test...
and 2009
2009 North Korean nuclear test
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on 25 May 2009 by North Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests.The test was...
have called into question its denuclearization commitment.
Nuclear fusion claims
In May 2010, North Korea's state newspaper, Rodong SinmunRodong Sinmun
Rodong Sinmun is a North Korean newspaper and the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, published by the Rodong News Agency. It is the most widely read newspaper in the country...
, announced in an article that North Korea had successfully carried out a nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
reaction. The aforementioned article, referring to the alleged test as "a great event that demonstrated the rapidly developing cutting-edge science and technology of the DPRK", also made mention of efforts by North Korean scientists to develop "safe and environment-friendly new energy", and made no mention of plans to use fusion technology in its nuclear weapons program
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
North Korea has declared that it has nuclear weapons and is believed by many to have nuclear weapons. The CIA assesses that North Korea also has a substantial arsenal of chemical weapons...
. The claim was greeted with skepticism, as fusion power has yet to be achieved by any other country, despite ongoing efforts such as the international ITER
ITER
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project, which is currently building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in the south of France...
project.
Indigenous light water reactor development
In November 2010, a group of non-governmental U.S. experts reported that they had visited North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research CenterYongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center
The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in the county of Nyŏngbyŏn in North Pyongan province, about 90 km north of Pyongyang...
, where they were shown an experimental 25-to-30 MWe light water reactor
Light water reactor
The light water reactor is a type of thermal reactor that uses normal water as its coolant and neutron moderator. Thermal reactors are the most common type of nuclear reactor, and light water reactors are the most common type of thermal reactor...
in the early stages of construction, and a 2,000-gas centrifuge
Gas centrifuge
A gas centrifuge is a device that performs isotope separation of gases. A centrifuge relies on the principles of centripetal force accelerating molecules so that particles of different masses are physically separated in a gradient along the radius of a rotating container.A prominent use of gas...
uranium enrichment plant, which was said to be producing low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for the reactor. Construction of the uranium enrichment plant reportedly began in April 2009, and the target date for operational commencement for the reactor is 2012. In November 2011, commercial satellite imagery indicated that construction of the reactor was progressing rapidly.
Nuclear weapons program
In the 1970s, Kim Il-sungKim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
decided to begin work on the development of a nuclear weapons capability. He concluded that the development of a nuclear deterrent was the only means of ensuring the North Korean regime's survival. The North Korean government consequently adopted a number of practical steps aimed at expanding the network of research institutions dealing with fields such as nuclear physics, energy, and radiochemistry. The nuclear center in Yongbyon
Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center
The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in the county of Nyŏngbyŏn in North Pyongan province, about 90 km north of Pyongyang...
, the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, and the Radiological Institute were some of the organizations established during this period. In addition, a department of Nuclear Physics was opened at Pyongyang State University, and a nuclear reactor technology chair was opened at the Kimchaek Polytechnic University. A Soviet-made research cyclotron
Cyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
was installed at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
, and an industrial cyclotron was installed at a facility in one of Pyongyang's suburbs.
As of 2009, it is estimated that North Korea has up to ten functional nuclear warheads.
Administration
Control over the development of the nuclear energy sector is exercised by the Ministry of Atomic Energy. The alleged military nuclear program is exercised by the Ministry of Armed Forces. Nuclear research institutes are supervised by the State Committee on Science and Technology.Key nuclear organizations
The North Korean Institute of Physics was founded in 1952. The various departments originally created within the Institute of Physics have served as the basis for the creation of several independent research centers including the Institute of Atomic Physics, Institute of Semiconductors and Institute of Mathematics.A reorganization of scientific research activities was carried out in the 1970s. The majority of the nuclear research institutes were transferred from Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
to the city of Pyonsong, 50 km from the capital, and combined into a single scientific center.