'N Korea has 50kg of plutonium'

2006-10-26 12:32

Seoul - North Korea is believed to have secured up to 50kg of plutonium, enough to make six or seven nuclear weapons, according to a defence ministry report leaked to the media on Thursday.

After its first nuclear test on October 9, the communist state is now believed to be researching how to miniaturise warheads to fit them on missiles, according to the report.

"North Korea is believed to have extracted up to 50kg of plutonium," the defence ministry was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying in the report.

The North has extracted plutonium from spent fuel rods in nuclear reactors at its Yongbyon site.

The report was submitted to a meeting of top military commanders on October 10, a day after North Korea conducted its first nuclear test which sparked international condemnation and United Nations sanctions.

A defence ministry spokesperson said he was checking the existence of such a report.

Jet bombers can carry nukes

Defence ministry authorities also told the October 10 meeting that nuclear bombs could be carried by North Korea's Ilyushin 28 jet bombers, according to Yonhap.

North Korea deploys a total of 82 of the Soviet-designed aircraft at Uiju, 125km northwest of Pyongyang and at Jangjin, 130km northeast of the capital, the ministry said.

The aim of the North's nuclear test was to compensate for its failure in test-firing a long-range missile in July and to press the United States to enter into negotiations, the ministry said.

According to Yonhap, Seoul defence officials fear the test could spark a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia, disturb the balance of power on the Korean peninsula and intensify international sanctions against the North.

Defence minister Yoon Kwang-Ung said on October 13 that North Korea was believed to be developing nuclear warheads for its missiles but needs "a few more years" before it can produce them.

- AFP