North Korea’s nuclear program – RIA Novosti

© AFP 2016 / PEDRO UGARTE

North Korea insists it is engaged in the creation and launch their own rockets for launching satellites, and its program is intended only for scientific purposes, but in relation to the country’s economic sanctions, since the same rocket can be fitted with nuclear warheads.

North Korea’s nuclear program was launched in the early 1950s, when laying the basic research in nuclear field, create the appropriate infrastructure, began the preparation of scientific and technical personnel.

in the years 1947-1950 the Soviet Union held a series of geological survey work on uranium ores in North Korea. Reserves of uranium deposits in the country is estimated at 26 million tonnes of ore (more than 15 thousand tons of uranium)

In 1956, an agreement was signed with the Soviet Union on the participation of the DPRK in the international research center in Dubna (current JINR -. Joint Institute for nuclear research). In 1957 an agreement was signed between the two governments on the terms of secondment of Soviet specialists in the DPRK and the Korean specialists in the Soviet Union to provide technical assistance and other services. In 1959, between the USSR and North Korea were to conclude an agreement on the provision of Soviet technical assistance to the DPRK in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and the agreement on the provision of assistance to the DPRK of the USSR in the development of scientific research in the field of nuclear physics and in the application of nuclear energy in the national economy .

in 1964, with the help of the Soviet Union it was founded a research center in Yongbyon, where, along with the works in the field of nuclear power soon began to be held and the military-applied research. In 1965, at Yongbyon was commissioned Soviet research reactor IRT-2000 with capacity of 2 MW. Since 1985, at Yongbyon was started the construction of another nuclear reactor, which should make capacity was 50 MW. It has also been deployed to the construction of the reactor capacity of 200 megawatts in Thonchhona area. All of these reactors, according to experts, have a dual purpose: to generate electricity and produce weapons-grade plutonium. For its North Korea’s nuclear program chosen as the base of fissile material plutonium.

In December 1985 the DPRK acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

In 1986, the United States in the region Yongbyon is another nuclear reactor and plant for the production of fuel have been found for him, which were not under the control of the IAEA. North Korea claimed that it is not new, and the former Soviet reactor whose power is supposedly increased to 5 MW. From that time began the bitter political struggle on the nuclear issue between the DPRK, on ​​the one hand, and the international community – with the other. The IAEA, the UN demanded compliance with North Korea of ​​its obligations under the NPT, to enter into a control agreement with the international agency.

North Korea in such a situation, elected tactics “multilayered dialogue”: North Korea – US, North Korea – South Korea, North Korea – IAEA hoping to find a way out of the urgency of the situation was gaining. In November 1989, the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it was proposed to hold talks with North Korea, the United States and South Korea of ​​the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as Pyongyang-Seoul negotiations with the aim of developing and signing the Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

In January 1992, North Korea concluded a safeguards agreement with the IAEA, under which the international agency has begun an inspection of North Korean nuclear facilities. Carried out in 1992-1993 by the inspectors of the IAEA inspection of nuclear facilities revealed large discrepancies between data provided by the DPRK, and the results obtained by the Agency’s experts. According to the calculations of the IAEA inspectors to North Korea reprocessed more of irradiated uranium and concealed significant amount of separated plutonium.

March 12, 1993 North Korea announced its intention to withdraw from the NPT, referring to the presence of the US “nuclear threat” and “unjust demands of the IAEA certain circles”.

June 11, 1993 North Korea in exchange for a US pledge not to interfere in its internal affairs or threaten to use force announced “suspension” of entry into force of the decision to withdraw from the NPT.

October 21, 1994 was published the Framework Agreement the DPRK and the US to address the nuclear issue and the settlement of bilateral relations. The document, in particular, the US obliged to take measures for the construction of the DPRK nuclear power plants at two light-water nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 2 million kilowatts, and – even before the completion of the first reactor by 2003 – to ensure the supply to the DPRK of the liquid fuel in the amount of 500 thousand tons year to cover the resulting energy deficit. From North Korea’s commitment has been obtained freezing and dismantling of the existing gazografitnogo reactor. In addition, the document guaranteed the preservation of the DPRK as a member of the NPT.

December 12, 2002 was made public a statement of the North Korean side of the resumption of its nuclear program, which has been frozen at the 1994 Agreed Framework between the DPRK and the United States.

January 10, 2003 North Korea officially informed the UN Security Council and the Chairman of the NPT to waive the decision to suspend the release procedure of the Treaty, it had made June 11, 1993. Motivation – the need to protect the higher national interests in a “hostile policy and increasing pressure” from the United States. North Korea announced that from January 11, 2003, she formally free from the obligations under the NPT, as well as an agreement with the IAEA safeguards.

Six-Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula began in August 2003. They were attended by high-ranking Russian, North Korean diplomats, South Korea, USA, China and Japan. As a result of the talks the DPRK not only to “freeze” its nuclear program, but also started to dismantle the reactor in a pilot center in Yongbyon. However, dialogue in 2008 actually came to a standstill after the United States and North Korea have agreed on how to check represented Pyongyang’s list of its nuclear programs, while Japan and South Korea have refused to fulfill their obligations to supply the North Koreans fuel for conventional power plants in exchange for giving up nuclear program.

February 10, 2005 North Korea for the first time acknowledged the existence of its own nuclear weapons. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, the country’s nuclear weapons are “wholly defensive” and will remain “nuclear deterrent force”.

The first underground test North Korea conducted a nuclear device October 9, 2006. According to the information at the time Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov, Russia, the power of a nuclear device, tested the DPRK, was 5 to 15 kilotons.

October 14, 2006 the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1718 demanding halt missile program and restore the moratorium on launches of ballistic missiles and limiting the supply of Pyongyang products and technologies that can be used for military purposes, in particular for uranium enrichment. North Korea, for its part promised to abandon its nuclear weapons as soon cease to feel threatened by the United States.

April 14, 2009 North Korea announced the resumption of its nuclear program and withdrawal from the six-party talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang Declaration was made in response to a UN Security Council decision, condemned produced April 5 launch of a North Korean rocket with the satellite. Pyongyang also promised to test nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile “in self defense”.

In April 2009, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) left North Korea at the request of the authorities.

May 25, 2009 North Korea conducted a second underground nuclear tests and, according to some reports, test-fired anti-aircraft missiles “ground-to-air” with a range of about 80 kilometers. According to the Defense Ministry, the power of the nuclear charge was between 10 and 20 kilotons.

In May 2010, North Korea announced the success in nuclear fusion, which could hundreds of times to increase the capacity of its nuclear weapons.

November 13, 2010 agency Kyodo, citing the honorary director of the American National laboratory Los Alomos Siegfried Hecker said the start of construction of the experimental reactor at Yongbyon. Hecker, who visited North Korea, told reporters in Beijing that the construction of 25-30 megawatt reactor started only recently. To complete the project the North Korean engineers to take a few years.

In the middle of November in the media were made from satellite photos, the analysis which confirmed earlier voiced the information about the construction of an experimental light-water reactor.

At the end of November 2010 North Korea officially confirmed information about the expansion of its nuclear program by announcing several thousands of centrifuges at a uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon.

in February 2011, the agency Yonhap citing government and military sources in South Korea reported North Korea is working on digging special tunnels at the site Phungeri in the province of Hamgyong-do in the north of the country, which may indicate preparations for the new nuclear tests (which is in the province of Hamgyong-do in 2006 and 2009 were carried out nuclear tests).

August 24, 2011 during his visit to Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the military town of Sosnovy Bor in Buryatia said North Korea ready to resume the six-party talks on the nuclear issue without any preconditions .

in July and October 2011 in New York and Geneva, met representatives of the US and North Korea on the issue of the resumption of six-party talks on the nuclear program of North Korea.

in September 2011 in Beijing, the heads of delegations of the DPRK and South Korea held a bilateral meeting and discussed the prospects for the resumption of negotiations.

February 24, 2012 in Beijing, started two days of consultations the Special Representative of the United States for North Korea Glyn Davies and the Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. The parties discussed the possibility of recovering interrupted in 2008, the six-party talks. The talks in Beijing were the first after the transition of power in North Korea to the youngest son, Kim Jong-il Kim Jong Ynu.

February 29 it was reported that North Korea has agreed to limit its activity in the military and nuclear fields, and in particular, to abandon on the testing of nuclear weapons in exchange for food aid from the United States.

in May, US intelligence reported that construction activity resumption on the North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon.

on the basis of satellite imagery experts have expressed the assumption of the completion of the outer part of the light-water reactors, the power of which is, according to various estimates, from 25 to 30 megawatts. Information about how the construction of the inside of the object has been received.

At the end of 2012, South Korea’s Defense Ministry issued a “White Paper”, which is the opinion of experts from the US and South Korea to expand the North Korea nuclear program . After analyzing satellite images, the experts of the two countries announced the availability of other enterprises in the DPRK’s uranium enrichment, except for the famous enterprise in Yongbyon. As reported, in turn, Yonhap news agency, also with reference to the “White Paper”, North Korea has about 40 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium obtained by reprocessing spent fuel quad cores.

February 12, 2013 North Korea announced the successful nuclear test. South Korea has officially confirmed this information. The intelligence agencies Russian power nuclear device was tested in five kilotons.

Earlier, North Korea itself confirmed that it is preparing for a nuclear explosion after the enlargement of the UN Security Council sanctions in response to the launch of Pyongyang December 12, 2012 rocket that orbited artificial satellite, but could potentially be used for military purposes to nuclear warhead.

7 March 2013 the UN Security Council approved new sanctions against North Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear tests. The resolution with new sanctions against Pyongyang allows you to block bank transactions, to freeze North Korean accounts, inspect air and sea vessels, as well as diplomats in search of large sums of cash if you suspect that they are aimed at the development of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. UN Security Council also banned the supply to North Korea of ​​luxury goods, including yachts and sports cars.

In November 2014 North Korea launched a new uranium enrichment plant as part of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear center. According to the intelligence of South Korea and the United States, there were about two thousand centrifuges for uranium enrichment. Also, the media reported that Pyongyang launched the submarine capable of launching rockets.

In December 2014 in his report to experts the US Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said that the DPRK government could expand its nuclear a program that will allow Pyongyang in 2020 to create 79 nuclear warheads.

a similar information was confirmed by the independent expert report of the Washington Center for strategic and international studies (CSIS).

In late November threatened North Korea new nuclear test in response to the received November 17 the UN resolution on human rights violations in the country. The message about the threat of a nuclear test coincided with new information from the satellites that on an alleged nuclear facility DPRK seen activity.

January 31, 2015 the first chairman of the National Defence Commission Kim Jong-un during the regular military exercises rejected the possibility of any dialogue with the current US government, and announced its readiness to anyone, even a nuclear war

April 30, experts from the Institute of science and the US international security concluded that the analysis of satellite images taken in late 2014. – early 2015, suggesting that a nuclear reactor in North Korea, which is considered the main source of weapons-grade plutonium country resumed periodic operations or work in small facilities.

7 September the IAEA Yukiya Amano, director general in his report to the Governing Council session the agency said that with the help of shots construction activity on the DPRK nuclear facility was revealed by satellite in Yongbyon.

September 15 Korean Central News agency reported that the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon are running at full capacity.

on September 25, the report of the analytical portal 38 North reported that at a nuclear test site DPRK Phungeri (province of Hamgyong-do) new activity was recorded, which can speak about preparing for a nuclear test.

October 30 South Korean media reported that North Korea started to build a new tunnel at the site Phungeri in the north of the country where the nuclear tests.

December 10 the leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un had been conducted in 2006 and 2009, said the presence of the country of the hydrogen bomb, she is ready to put in place to protect sovereignty.

6 January 2016 the media of South Korea provided information that the nuclear test site Phungeri area was artificially caused by the earthquake, which was magnitude 4.2. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake magnitude was

Later, North Korea announced a successful test of a hydrogen bomb by passing a special statement on the air of the central TV. In the same statement, North Korea said it would not use nuclear weapons, if not broken its sovereignty.

The US response was transferred to South Korea strategic bomber B-52 carrying nuclear weapons on board.

January 12 North Korean media announced that the DPRK nuclear physics entered a new phase. The statement of the Central Telegraph DPRK agency reported that now the country “has a small-sized and standardized warheads with a hydrogen bomb ballistic missiles,” and also has “ultra-strike weapons capable of delivering nuclear weapons in different parts of the world without all the restrictions on the earth, in the sea and in the sky. “

The UN security Council on the results of an emergency meeting decided to start work on a new resolution against North Korea after the country tested a nuclear bomb.