Washington, Seoul Believe Pyongyang May Have 60 Nuke Warheads, Secret Facilities
SputnikNews.com
09.02.2017
South Korean and US intelligence agencies are reporting that North Korea has the ability to build up to 60 nuclear warheads, as the country has been secretly producing highly-enriched uranium (HEU) at higher levels than previously thought.
Figures for 2016 show that the DPRK has an estimated 54 kilograms of plutonium and 758 kilograms (.83 tons) of highly-enriched uranium, according to South Korean news outlet JoongAng Ilbo.
Previously, defense experts estimated that Pyongyang possessed around 40-50 kilograms of plutonium, and 300-400 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium.
Producing a nuclear warhead requires 16-20 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium, and between four to six kilograms of plutonium, according to estimations from US and South Korean military experts. Around six kilograms of plutonium were used to make the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki during World War II.
Last year, Seoul and Washington shared intelligence indicating that the DPRK was expanding its uranium enrichment facility in the North Pyongan Province at Yongbyon, and calculated the amount of nuclear material Pyongyang was using.
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