Uranium Enrichment In North Korea Troubles UN

By BOB Goswami

NORTH KOREA NEWS - Building pressure on North Korea, UN’s nuclear watchdog has expressed “concern” over North’s uranium enrichment facility.

Yukio Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that it was a “great concern” of recent reports of nuclear enrichment in the troubled North Korea. Recently, a US nuclear scientist said that he was shown a new uranium light water reactor plant with at least 1,000 centrifuges in North Korea. North Korea also in this week admitted that thousands of centrifuges were operating at the plant.

Mr. Amano urged North to allow IAEA inspectors to enter the country to see nuclear progress but they were not allowed in the country.

It is said that the IAEA is the only multilateral organization for nuclear verification and claimed to play significant role in verifying the DPRK's nuclear programme.

It is reported that earlier North Korea tested nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009 and said to enter the final phase of uranium enrichment.

It is reported that the country has enough plutonium to build six atomic bombs but still not prepared any ballistic missile capable to carrying a nuclear warhead.

Earlier November the American nuclear scientist, Siegfried Hecker was shown nuclear plant at Yongbyon and expressed his surprise by the modern equipment North Korea was using to enrich uranium.

Nuke Plant In North Korea, US Scientist Reveals

By ETHAN Markoff

NORTH KOREA NEWS – The North Korea “stunned” an American nuclear scientist, showing him vast, new plant for enriching uranium with hundreds of centrifuges already installed and running.

The US nuclear scientist Dr. Seigfried Hecker said he had been shown a nuclear plant where North Korea started building a light water nuclear reactor. He was shocked by the hundreds of centrifuges of enriching uranium, which could be handy in making nuclear warheads.

Former director of the United States' Los Alamos National Laboratory said to a private news daily that he saw modern new plant light-water reactor (in Yongbyon), eventually of the size of about 25 to 30 megawatts. He also informed his findings to White House a few days ago.

The North Korea had said before that they were operating a nuclear power plant with some 2,000 centrifuges. Mr. Hecker is a private visitor to North Korea and the nation allows him to visit the nuclear site.

North Korea and the US have been struggling to reach a peaceful consensus for long, however, in 1994 the United States agreed with North Korea by which several countries were to build two light-water reactors for the nation in return. North Korea also agreed to close down its plutonium producing reactor in Yongbyon.

Nevertheless, the agreement shattered in the year 2002, the US promised to light-water reactors had not materialized, and the North restarted its plutonium project.