North Korea Claims to Have Enriched Enough Plutonium for Another 1-2 Nuclear Bombs
Six months after it was widely condemned for conducting a nuclear test North Korea has announced via the official news agency that it is now in possession of more weapons-grade plutonium after reprocessing some 8,000 nuclear fuel rods.
This new material could allow the communist state to add 1-2 weapons to its arsenal. The country's leadership has on several occasions indicated that if they are provoked they will use nuclear weapons.
The Stalinist state has, however, indicated a willingness to talk directly to Washington.
for the talks. This is probably another bargaining chip that N Korea is tossing out there to put pressure on the US. Let´s not forget that the leaders of N Korea are pretty crazy.
One-two weapons! WTF does North Korea think they will deter with that? They may keep Fiji from attacking or something.... The US should give them a few more to show how little we care.
Yes, but North Korea surely realizes that if they even attempted to launch such a weapon in anger that their little country would be dust before it got five feet off the ground.
Well put. North Korea has a history of brinksmanship - coming to talks, making excessive demands, breaking off talks, doing what they said they weren´t going to do, acting provocatively, offering to only negotiate with the US...
Plutonium North Korea? How back-assed are you with your nuclear program that you are using Plutonium? Then again the dumb asses you have working for you probably don´t know the first thing of enriching U-235 or have any idea on the workings of centrifuges.
Have fun with your little Plutonium bombs, this isn´t 1950.
where the hell do you think the first nuclear powers WHEN THEY HAD TO DEVELOPE THEM WITHOUT HELP... and well before it refined into what it would become during and since the cold war.
you make it sound as if they had foreign help developing their bomb, LIKE THE US DID; via operation paperclip.
no north korea unlike almost every other nuclear capable country had to actually do it themselves, rather than standing on the shoulders of giantas like virtually every other nuclear capable country...
please tell me somehow you didn´t know about north korea being isolated from the rest of the world... otherwise that was just a flat-out stupid comment.
I am honestly tired of all these nuclear bombs everyone has or is making. Who really cares anymore. Everyone has a nuclear bomb these days. It´s all about who has the best military might or the most nuclear bombs. Every country is trying to have the next best thing. It´s honestly how older adults act with their neighbors. If the neighbor next door gets the newest model lawn mower. Then you have to get the newest model lawn mower too. I´m in Florida; I see it everywhere lol.
Now with this said. Once someone uses one nuke. It´s over for whatever country initiated the attack. If terrorists are reading what I am saying now: If you use a nuclear device you are condemning your country, your people and your family to death. Do you want this on your conscious? Sin is eternal. And I´m not trying to be religious. Just a reference.
To be honest, the future of mankind is in space. The rest of the World needs to wake up and realize this. We need a better tomorrow. And I hate to say it but we are not going to reach this better tomorrow focusing on Earth and our petty differences.
They did have help. They recieved their first power reactor from the Soviet Union, and their first three indigenous reactors were based off British design. Without these they would not have had bomb-making capability.
If it was a "complete annihilation" scenerio, probably.
If it was a country launching a couple nukes at the US, retaliation would probably be done in the form of strategic bombing and done through military superiority until they submitted.
Currently there is little need for the US to utilize nukes in a war.
Most of the countries silly enough to use nukes this day in age, don´t pose much of a threat other than the few nukes they may have.
Ambiguity is at the heart of a nuclear deterrent. As long as someone with bad intentions thinks that the other holder of a nuke will send one or more back, they think that the destruction isn´t worth the strike they would make. It´s when these nuts know there isn´t a risk of retaliation that the risk of attack increases.
Obviously my comment went over your head as it was based more at the fact of using Plutonium as a base for their weapons rather than U-235. There is a reason Plutonium is not used for nuclear weapons unless U-235 can not be obtained.
My comment was also based at the fact that obviously North Korea lacks the expertise at even creating the facilities required to make U-235 and hence have resorted to using Plutonium; which they most likely just siphoned off some of their reactors. There is nothing spectacular about a Plutonium bomb and why North Korea thinks anyone really cares is beyond me. If they really think two bombs holds any weight against the 1000s of tons of U-235 both the US and Russia have stock piled they really are idiots. Not to mention Russia has biological weapons far more deadly than any nuclear bomb.
"They did have help. They recieved their first power reactor from the Soviet Union, and their first three indigenous reactors were based off British design. Without these they would not have had bomb-making capability."
no they had a DESIGN... not help... the US and many other countries ACTUALLY had help; actual people helping them; like robert oppenheimer.
its like when the american pabg about americas´s jet fighters, comepletely ignorant of te fact that they wouldn´t have had them if not for the nazi´s (much like the nuclear bomb, long-range missles/ICBM´s, and stealthbombers) all nazi´s invention the the US stole and acquired foreign scientists to create; BECAUSE at the time they were subjects/concepts way over the head of the US´s own scientists, hence they needed help, otherwise they would have developed as slowly as N.Korea´s nuclear program, WHY, because at that point they would have the same "help" that N.Korea has...
and even that has a sidenote as its that much harder for N.Korea, as the western world and most of their allies have isolated N.Korea with sanctions/embargos and fearmonger.
"I have often wondered, if the United States were the recipient of a nuclear attack, if they would respond in kind. Thoughts?"
they probably would (AND HAVE) for less, case in point pearl harbor leading to the nuking of hiroshima and nagasaki, despite that pearl harbor was technically justified, as the US´s oil embargo of japan was already an act of war.
and of course everyone either forgets or simply doesn´t care that the ONLY country to ever abuse nuclear power was the US, and ironically the US is the most vocal about keeping nukes out of the hand of other nations (other than israel of course), while makeing sure they still have the most... an oxymoronic paradox to say the least.
(this part is an add-on to pyronius´s point) though after hiroshima and nagasaki america DID learn a lesson about nuclear weapons... and of that lesson has developed two other bombs both which are more likely to be used than tradition nuclear weapons, one of which allegedly doesn´t offically exist, despite the fact that if that was true than they have been working on it for 60 years, this is of course the the gamma-bomb, also called the cobalt-bomb; though i´m sure other elements could be used (this nuclear bomb is actually MORE likely to be used because it more destructive to life, yet leaves infrastructure intact) the other of course in the EMP bomb (or "pinch"); one pinch at an altitude of 300 miles and take out the whole of the US and most of the rest of north america, just for an idea of its potential.
@cranky paranoid
"It´s when these nuts know there isn´t a risk of retaliation that the risk of attack increases."
you mean like when japan got nuked, which ONLY happened because they originally wouldn´t agree to unconditional surrender, which would, did and to this day has lead to military occupation, to this day they still have 33,500 troop in japan (and 56,200 still in germany)... incase anyone hasn´t figured it out yet the US goaded japan into attacking them via non-violent acts of war.
@ronny cordova
"Obviously my comment went over your head as it was based more at the fact of using Plutonium as a base for their weapons rather than U-235."
not at all... like i said THEY DON´T HAVE HELP, they have to actually make their advances on their own, rather than standing on the shoulders of giants which is how virtually every other country acquired nuclear technolgy (aside from germany who came up with the concept) "Fat Man" was a plutonium bomb... THIS IS N.Korea manhattan project their nuclear technolgoy isn´t in the same league, not because they aren´t smart enough, but because THEY have to do ALL the work ON THEIR OWN, not recruiting foreign scientists who were already working on this line of work for other country.
"and why North Korea thinks anyone really cares is beyond me."
thats yet another stupid comment... OBVIOUSLY people care; and too bloody much too... several countries have had their panties in a bunch about N.Korea´s nuclear program, but then they´ve had their panties in a bunch about N.Korea, since the leader of S.Korea revolted against his government and formed S.Korea.
"If they really think two bombs holds any weight against the 1000s of tons of U-235 both the US and Russia have stock piled they really are idiots."
i´m sure they don´t they are far from stupid... or even crazy for that matter, if they were either stupid or crazy they would already have been attacking every nearby country at any cost... and since when have they ever done that? better yet, when have they ever attacked unprovoked, or even gone out of their way to deliberately provoke other nations; other than stating that if they are attacked they will attack back... which should go without saying.
"Not to mention Russia has biological weapons far more deadly than any nuclear bomb."
so does the US (did you know that)... technically not for the last 17 years they´re bioweapons programs... same with chemical weapons.
though they are probably doing it the same why the US does it to this day and instead of calling it bioweapon they call it biodefense... its the exact same program, just under a different name... no doubt russia and other countries have done the same.
anyone that think the US stopped making chemical weapons obviously either doesn´t know what chemical weapons are or doesn´t keep up on the iraq war.
though here´s the kicker because the programs wer offically ended so long ago most of what they are destroying is practically usless anyways bio/chemical weapons (as with nuclear weapons) do have a shelf life... remember when the US claimed to have found sarin gas (WMD) in iraq and then it finally came out that it was actually inert (uselss).
The US officially stopped Bio-weapon research in the 70s and converted it´s facilities into civilian research centers for bio-defense. Bio-Weapons were not deemed to be a feasible form weaponry and focus went elsewhere. All of which have been opened for inspection for two decades.
As far as Russia goes the strains created in conjunction with Biopreparat out weight anything the US ever created. You have to question why you would need a Small Pox Ebola hybrid or a variant of plague resistant to multiple types of antibiotics. The US didn´t even believe they had created such concoctions for several years since they just seemed so outrageous for someone to develop.
