Seoul: North Korea is trying to develop small nuclear weapons that can be delivered by missiles or aircraft, South Korea’s defence minister said Tuesday. Kim Tae-Young told lawmakers the North is “constantly seeking to make its nuclear weapons smaller” for possible future delivery by ballistic missiles or bombers. Kim said the North is also believed to have 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of bomb-making plutonium, slightly less than previous estimates by the United States. He said it is “quite possible” that Pyongyang is also building nuclear weapons through uranium enrichment in addition to its plutonium operation.
“The more you test the weapons, the more likely you will deploy them to the field,” the Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying. The North quit multinational nuclear disarmament talks in April 2009 and conducted its second nuclear test a month later. But Kim said he sees “no clear signs” so far that the communist country is preparing for another test. Kim said last month that Pyongyang is restoring facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, its source of weapons-grade plutonium in the past. Kim Tae-Hyo, the president’s deputy national security adviser, also said last month that the nuclear programme could cause immense damage in South Korea if Pyongyang develops smaller mobile weapons.
The North’s current plutonium stockpile is estimated to be enough for six to eight bombs. Its Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil-Yon told the United Nations in September that his country must strengthen its nuclear deterrent in the face of what he called threats from the United States. The North has indicated willingness in principle to return to the six-party forum chaired by its ally China and also involving South Korea, Japan, China, the United States and Russia. But the United States says the North must mend relations with the South and show sincerity about nuclear disarmament before any resumption of the negotiations.
