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1 (January 24, 2006)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabbmn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21391 Updated January 24, 2006 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: How Soon an Arsenal? Sharon A. Squassoni Specialist in National Defense Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division Summary North Korea ended the eight-year freeze on its nuclear program in late 2002, expelling international inspectors and restarting plutonium production facilities. Before 2002, the CIA estimated that North Korea might have enough plutonium (Pu) for 1 or 2 weapons. Since then, North Korea may have reprocessed the 8,000 spent fuel rods previously under seal at Yongbyon, yielding enough Pu for 6 or 8 weapons. In 2005, North Korea announced it had nuclear weapons and was building more. North Korea reportedly shut down the small reactor in April to extract plutonium. If so, it could have two more weapons by April 2006. In July 2005, North Korea rejoined the Six-Party Talks after a 13-month hiatus and agreed in September to abandon its nuclear weapons program and return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while resuming construction of its two larger reactors. North Korea may continue to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons as long as Six-Party Talks do not bring a resolution. This report will be updated as needed. Background In the early1980s, U.S. satellites tracked a growing indigenous nuclear program in North Korea. A small nuclear reactor at Yongbyon (5MWe), capable of producing about 6kg of plutonium per year, began operating in 1986.1 Later that year, U.S. satellites detected high explosives testing and a new plant to separate plutonium. In addition, construction of two larger reactors (50MWe at Yongbyon and 200MWe at Taechon) added to the mounting evidence of a serious clandestine effort. Although North Korea had joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1985, the safeguards inspections that began only in 1992 raised questions about how much plutonium North Korea had produced covertly that still have not been resolved. In 1994, North Korea pledged, under the Agreed Framework with the United States, to freeze its plutonium programs and Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress 1 5MWe is a power rating for the reactor, indicating that it produces 5 million watts of electricity per day (very small). Reactors are also described in terms of million watts of heat (MW thermal).

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