Posted on 08/22/2012 12:49:57 PM PDT by moonshot925
North Korea will have been able to build as many as 48 nuclear weapons by 2015 unless the international community is able to make sanctions already imposed on the regime work.
The stark warning about Pyongyang's nuclear stockpile was issued by The Institute for Science and International Security, which projected three scenarios for North Korea's atomic weapons programme.
In the best-case scenario for the next four years outlined by the researchers, North Korea will have been able to use the centrifuges at its Yongbyon nuclear plant to produce sufficient low enriched uranium for a maximum of 25 nuclear weapons.
That figure is an increase of only two warheads from its estimated nuclear arsenal at present.
The 40-page report, jointly authored by David Albright, head of the Washington-based institute, and Christina Walrond, a research institute, is based on scientific and statistical data for its conclusions and offers a more worrying worst-case scenario.
"If North Korea has two centrifuge plants, however, it could produce a much larger quantity of WGU (weapons-grade uranium)," the analysts concluded. "It could have 37-48 nuclear weapons, or an increase of 25 weapons, most of which would be produced in 2015 and 2016."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That’s going to leave a mark.
If that is true, then it is not unreasonable to assume the Irani program has already produced enough material for two or three bombs. This may explain their recent strangely confident nihilistic rhetoric.
Jimmy Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize legacy... A North Korea with 48 Nuclear warheads. Awesome! Thanks Jimmy.
I still think there’s a much higher chance of a DPRK nuke going off in Beijing than in Los Angeles.
From January 1958 to December 1991 we had nuclear weapons deployed in South Korea to deter agression from North Korea.
11 different systems.
Honest John, Matador, Lacrosse, Sergeant, Nike-Hercules, Davy Crockett, Atomic-Demolition Munition, 280mm howitzer, 203mm howitzer, 155mm howitzer and bombs.
It might be necessary for us to redeploy some weapons to South Korea, or for South Korea to pursue its own nuclear weapons program.
Folks and I lived in Japan 1951-1961.
A friend of the family was a U-2 pilot.
We knew there was a lot going on without him saying much about it.
SK and Japan could easily cover this on their own.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.