Israel Matzav

Nuclear proliferation feels good

Satellite images suggest #NorthKorea expanding uranium capacity. Guess what for? http://t.co/oMtF9tscKe #IranDeal pic.twitter.com/QgEu675Y4m

— Anne Bayefsky (@AnneBayefsky) August 13, 2015

In a report on the North Korea monitoring website, 38 North, Jeffrey Lewis said recent satellite imagery showed that in the past year North Korea had begun to refurbish a major uranium mill in Pyongsan, a county in the southern part of the country.

"The renovation suggests that North Korea is preparing to expand the production of uranium from a nearby mine," Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, said in the report.

"One possibility is that North Korea will enrich the uranium to expand its stockpile of nuclear weapons," Lewis said.

Another possibility was that the uranium would be used for production of fuel for an Experimental Light Water Reactor under construction at its Yongbon nuclear research facility and future light-water reactors based on that model, Lewis added.

Lewis said Pyongsan was believed to be the most important uranium mine in North Korea and recent satellite imagery indicated that the Uranium Concentration Plant there was undergoing significant refurbishment.

"Since 2013, most of the buildings have received new roofs," he said. "Other buildings appear to have been gutted and are now in the process of being rebuilt with new roofing."

"The significant investment in refurbishing the mill suggests that North Korea is expecting to process significant amounts of uranium, either from the Pyongsan mine or other uranium mines."
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests, the last in February 2013, and now calls itself a nuclear weapons state.

It has said it is not interested in a dialogue with the United States like that which led to a deal over Iran's nuclear program and says its nuclear capabilities are an "essential deterrence" against hostile U.S. policy.

Labels: Iranian nuclear threat, North Korea, nuclear weapons, uranium enrichment

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:02 PM