irishspirit
21st November 2010, 13:50
An American nuclear scientist says he was shown a vast new nuclear facility when he visited North Korea last week.
Dr Siegfried Hecker said he had been shown "more than 1,000 centrifuges" for enriching uranium, which can be used for making nuclear weapons.
The Stanford University scientist was stunned at how sophisticated the plant was, according to reported remarks.
When international weapons inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009, the plant did not exist, officials say.
Dr Hecker's discovery was first reported in the New York Times, where he spoke of being taken to see an "ultra-modern control room".
In subsequent remarks obtained by AP news agency, he said that unlike other North Korean facilities it "would fit into any modern American processing facility", and spoke of more than 1,000 centrifuges "all neatly aligned and plumbed below us".
He said the facilities appeared to be primarily for civilian nuclear power - and he saw no evidence of plutonium production.
But Dr Hecker said the new facilities he viewed "could be readily converted to produce highly enriched uranium bomb fuel", AP reported.
The North is believed to have weaponised enough plutonium for at least six atomic bombs but is not known to have a uranium-based weapons programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11805111
Dr Siegfried Hecker said he had been shown "more than 1,000 centrifuges" for enriching uranium, which can be used for making nuclear weapons.
The Stanford University scientist was stunned at how sophisticated the plant was, according to reported remarks.
When international weapons inspectors were expelled from North Korea in 2009, the plant did not exist, officials say.
Dr Hecker's discovery was first reported in the New York Times, where he spoke of being taken to see an "ultra-modern control room".
In subsequent remarks obtained by AP news agency, he said that unlike other North Korean facilities it "would fit into any modern American processing facility", and spoke of more than 1,000 centrifuges "all neatly aligned and plumbed below us".
He said the facilities appeared to be primarily for civilian nuclear power - and he saw no evidence of plutonium production.
But Dr Hecker said the new facilities he viewed "could be readily converted to produce highly enriched uranium bomb fuel", AP reported.
The North is believed to have weaponised enough plutonium for at least six atomic bombs but is not known to have a uranium-based weapons programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11805111