Former IAEA Deputy Director General: "North Korea Will Conduct Nuclear Test Developing Tactical Nuclear Warheads"

Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site Tunnel No. 3 Repaired... Ready for 7th Nuclear Test
Hainonen: "North Korea Lacks Fissile Material Needed for Nuclear Warhead Production"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Concerns are growing that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un will proceed with the 7th nuclear test, following his guidance of tactical nuclear operation unit training for fifteen days starting from the 25th of last month.

Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Hans Blix predicted in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 10th that North Korea will push for a nuclear test to miniaturize warheads for tactical nuclear development.

Former Director Blix explained, "To miniaturize nuclear weapons for use as tactical nuclear arms, additional nuclear tests are necessary," adding, "Nuclear tests for tactical nuclear weapons typically involve explosions on the scale of 20kt (kilotons; 1kt equals the explosive power of 1,000 tons of TNT), and in some cases, tests may be conducted at the 1kt scale."

North Korea is currently restoring Tunnel No. 3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and has completed preparations for the 7th nuclear test. It is observed that only political decisions remain regarding whether to proceed. Considering the scale of Tunnel No. 3, experts expect that if North Korea conducts a nuclear test there, it will be an experiment to advance miniaturized tactical nuclear weapons.

Furthermore, former Director Blix anticipated that North Korea will start new production of fissile material for manufacturing tactical nuclear warheads due to insufficient existing stockpiles. The 5MW reactor at Yongbyon has been operating for a long time, and the plutonium reprocessed so far is over a year old, making it unsuitable for warhead miniaturization.

In this regard, Senior Research Fellow Lee Chun-geun of the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI) stated, "Plutonium is advantageous for nuclear weapon miniaturization, but the facilities at Yongbyon are aging, reducing plutonium production efficiency," and added, "They may use various methods, such as producing both plutonium and highly enriched uranium together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.