by Marcus Papadopoulos
NORTH KOREA may have succeeded in developing nuclear weapons, according to an American expert. Selig Harrison, director of the Asia Program at the Center for International Policy in Washington, said last week after a visit to Pyongyang that officials there had told him North Korean scientists have “weaponised” stocks of plutonium and that international arms inspectors would not be permitted access to the country’s nuclear sites.
He said: “All of those I met said that North Korea has already weaponised 30.8kg of plutonium. That means North Korea has four or five nuclear weapons, depending on the grade of plutonium, the specific weapons design and desired explosive yield.”
Mr Harrison said he was unable to verify the claim and conceded that Pyongyang could be bluffing in order to maintain its official “nuclear deterrence force” and to use this as a negotiating tool when discussing the North Korean nuclear weapons programme at the Six Party Talks composed of the two Koreas, the United States, the Russian Federation, China and Japan.
While in the North Korean capital Mr Harrison also noted that officials informed him of their desire for “friendly relations with the United States” and that both countries could become “intimate friends” providing President Barack Obama signals his intention for an improvement in relations between the two.
Since the election of Lee Myung-Bak as South Korean president last year, relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have become tense. Mr Myung-Bak has vowed to “get tough” with his northern Communist neighbour.
Such talk has inevitably brought fierce responses from the North Korean authorities, including threats to set South Korea “on fire”.
Pyongyang’s recent statement concerning its nuclear capacity may be the result, according to Mr Harrison, of a change in power following the stroke suffered by leader Kim Jong-il last year, which has resulted in “hardliners” taking “control” of the country’s nuclear disarmament talks.
