SEOUL: North Korea will have enough material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of this year, with ramped-up uranium enrichment facilities and an existing stockpile of plutonium, according to new assessments by weapons experts. The North has evaded a decade of UN sanctions to develop the uranium enrichment process, enabling it to run an effectively self-sufficient nuclear programme that is capable of producing around six nuclear bombs a year, they said. A uranium enrichment programme greatly boosts production of material for weapons. Khan, the father of that country’s nuclear programme, transferred two dozen centrifuges to the North and some technical expertise around 1999. Despite sanctions, by now North Korea is probably largely self-sufficient in operating its nuclear programme, although it may still struggle to produce some material and items, Lewis said.

Source: New Strait Times September 14, 2016 02:48 UTC