Nuclear power in North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea) has been attempting to develop nuclear technology since the 1950s. Although the country currently has no known operational nuclear reactors, efforts at developing its nuclear power sector continue. Moreover, North Korea is widely believed to have developed nuclear weapons; it conducted what are widely accepted to have been nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

History

First steps

North Korea's nuclear program began under Kim il-Sung in the mid-1950s, when North Korean scientists started practical training courses at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna in the Soviet Union. There, they studied electronic physics radiochemistry, high-energy physics and other subjects. These efforts were initially focused on the peaceful use of atomic energy; Soviet-North Korean agreements of the time specifically emphasized the peaceful nature of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear sphere. An intergovermental agreement on cooperation in the field of atomic energy, signed in 1959, laid the foundation for joint nuclear activities between the Soviet Union and North Korea. On the basis of this agreement, the two countries signed the so-called "Series 9559" contracts, concerning matters such as the conduct of geological studies, the construction of a nuclear research center (called a "Furniture Factory" by the North Koreans), and the training of North Korean labor.^[1] Other North Korean scientists received their education in East Germany and China. In 1961, North Korea launched a major nuclear development program at Yongbyon, some 60 miles north of Pyongyang. In 1965, the Soviet Union provided North Korea with a 2 MW IRT-2000 research reactor for the Yongbyon nuclear facility, and supplied fuel over the years of the reactor's operation.^[2]

North Korea's nuclear scientific and experimental infrastructure was built with Soviet technical assistance. Soviet specialists took part in the construction of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, about 90 km north of Pyongyang.^[1] An IRT-2000 pool-type research reactor was supplied by the Soviet Union for the center in 1963, and began operation in 1965.^[3] After upgrades to the research reactor, the fuels now used are IRT-2M-type assemblies of 36% and 80% highly enriched uranium.^[4][5] As the center has not received fresh fuel since Soviet times, this reactor is now only run occasionally to produce iodine-131 for thyroid cancer radiation therapy.^[6]

Expansion of the program

The 5 MWe experimental reactor built at Yongbyon between 1980 and 1985.

In the late 1960s, the North Korean government decided to accelerate the development of nuclear science and technology: new research institutes, laboratories and chairs were established nationwide. The initial goal of this decision was to create the basis for the development of a nuclear energy sector. At the fifth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in 1970, and subsequently at the sixth congress in October 1980, delegates stressed the necessity of constructing "nuclear power plants on a large scale in order to sharply increase the generation of electrical power". At the same time, the country's leadership took into account such factors as the absence of explored oil deposits in North Korea, and the impossibility of compensating for electric power shortages by means of hydroelectric and thermal energy power plants. Thus, plans were made for the development of a nuclear energy sector on the basis of gas-graphite reactors (which can be run on unenriched uranium), because the country possessed sufficient deposits of natural uranium, as well as substantial graphite deposits.^[1]

During the 1980s, the North Korean government realized that light-water reactors (LWRs) were better suited to producing large amounts of electricity, for which there was a growing requirement. During the Kim Il Sung-Chernenko Moscow summit in 1984, the construction of nuclear power plants in North Korea with Soviet aid was first broached. The Soviet Union promised to assist North Korea with nuclear technology and materials on the condition that North Korea would sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In December 1985, North Korea signed the NPT, and in the same month North Korea and the Soviet Union signed in Moscow two inter-governmental agreements on technical-economic cooperation and on building atomic power plants in North Korea. In 1987 the Soviet Union began to conduct several feasibility studies to build three LWRs at Sinpo on North Korea's east coast.^[7]

Simultaneously, efforts were made to accelerate North Korea's general scientific and technological development, particularly in the nuclear field. The March 1988 Plenum of the Central Committee of the WPK made a decision to elaborate a Three-Year Plan (valid from 1988 to 1990) for the increased financing of science and technology, identifying four main directions: electronics, thermo-technology, chemistry and metallurgy. This plan paid special attention to the developments of electronics, particularly integrated circuits, computer science, robotics, new materials and digital program control. In 1990, allocations for science constituted 3.8% of national income, according to official figures. Before the plan was adopted, these allocations did not exceed 2%.^{[citation needed]}

After the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia continued site selection fieldwork for the Sinpo LWR project. However, the North Koreans refused to pay for the work, and the project was effectively discontinued.^[8][9]

Denuclearization pledges

In 1994, Kim il-Sung's successor Kim Jong-il signed the U.S.-North Korea Agreed Framework with the United States. North Korea thereby agreed to end its graphite-moderated nuclear reactor program, including the construction of an unidentified underground reactor with an estimated power rating of 200 MWe at Taechon, in exchange for the construction of two 1000-MWe light-water reactors at Kumho. Construction of these was started in 1997 but suspended in November 2003. Under the Six-Party Talks held on 19 September 2005, North Korea pledged to end all its nuclear programs and return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, submitting to international inspections in return for benefits including energy aid and normalization of relations with Japan and the United States.

An empty machine shop in the disabled fuel fabrication facility at Yongbyon.

On 25 June 2008, it was announced that North Korea was to end its nuclear program; its nuclear declaration was to be handed over to China in Beijing on Thursday, 26 June 2008. The nuclear devices that North Korea already had, however, were to be handed over at a later date. North Korea stated that it had begun to dismantle its nuclear program [1] and declared that it would turn over all of its plans. It destroyed the cooling tower for the 5 MWe reactor at Yongbyon on 27 June 2008.[2]

Siegfried Hecker, the co-director of the Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation, said that "prior to its April rocket launch, North Korea had discharged approximately 6,100 of the 8,000 fuel rods from its 5-megawatt reactor to the cooling pool, but disablement slowed to a crawl of 15 fuel rods/week, dragging out the projected completion of fuel unloading well into 2011."^[10]

Despite these apparent shutdown efforts, North Korea's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009 have called into question its denuclearization commitment.

Nuclear fusion claims

In May 2010, North Korea's state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, announced in an article that North Korea had successfully carried out a nuclear fusion reaction. The aforementioned article, referring to the alleged test as "a great event that demonstrated the rapidly developing cutting-edge science and technology of the DPRK", also made mention of efforts by North Korean scientists to develop "safe and environment-friendly new energy", and made no mention of plans to use fusion technology in its nuclear weapons program.^[11] The claim was greeted with skepticism, as fusion power has yet to be achieved by any other country, despite ongoing efforts such as the international ITER project.

Indigenous light water reactor development

In November 2010, a group of non-governmental U.S. experts reported that they had visited North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, where they were shown an experimental 25-to-30 MWe light water reactor in the early stages of construction, and a 2,000-gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant, which was said to be producing low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for the reactor. Construction of the uranium enrichment plant reportedly began in April 2009, and the target date for operational commencement for the reactor is 2012.^[12] In November 2011, commercial satellite imagery indicated that construction of the reactor was progressing rapidly.^[13]

Nuclear weapons program

Main article: North Korea and weapons of mass destruction#Nuclear weapons

In the 1970s, Kim Il-sung decided to begin work on the development of a nuclear weapons capability. He concluded that the development of a nuclear deterrent was the only means of ensuring the North Korean regime's survival. The North Korean government consequently adopted a number of practical steps aimed at expanding the network of research institutions dealing with fields such as nuclear physics, energy, and radiochemistry. The nuclear center in Yongbyon, the Nuclear Energy Research Institute, and the Radiological Institute were some of the organizations established during this period. In addition, a department of Nuclear Physics was opened at Pyongyang State University, and a nuclear reactor technology chair was opened at the Kimchaek Polytechnic University. A Soviet-made research cyclotron was installed at Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang, and an industrial cyclotron was installed at a facility in one of Pyongyang's suburbs.

As of 2009, it is estimated that North Korea has up to ten functional nuclear warheads.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Administration

Control over the development of the nuclear energy sector is exercised by the Ministry of Atomic Energy. The alleged military nuclear program is exercised by the Ministry of Armed Forces. Nuclear research institutes are supervised by the State Committee on Science and Technology.

Key nuclear organizations

The North Korean Institute of Physics was founded in 1952. The various departments originally created within the Institute of Physics have served as the basis for the creation of several independent research centers including the Institute of Atomic Physics, Institute of Semiconductors and Institute of Mathematics.

A reorganization of scientific research activities was carried out in the 1970s. The majority of the nuclear research institutes were transferred from Pyongyang to the city of Pyonsong, 50 km from the capital, and combined into a single scientific center.

See also

• Agreed Framework (1994)
• Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization

Sources

1. ^ ^{a b c} The North Korean Nuclear Program
2. ^ Oleg V. Davidov, “Russia’s Position towards North Korea’s Nuclear Development"
3. ^ "Research Reactor Details - IRT-DPRK". International Atomic Energy Agency. 1996-07-30. http://www.iaea.org/cgi-bin/rrdb.page.pl/rrdeta.htm?country=KP&site=IRT-DPRK&facno=258. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 
4. ^ Siegfried S. Hecker (14 March 2008). Report of Visit to North Korea to Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Report). Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University. http://fsi.stanford.edu/publications/report_of_visit_to_north_korea_to_senate_foreign_relations_committee/. Retrieved 23 November 2010. 
5. ^ "DPRK - Nuclear Weapons Program". GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/nuke.htm. Retrieved 23 November 2010. 
6. ^ David Albright (19 March 2007). Phased International Cooperation with North Korea’s Civil Nuclear Programs (Report). Institute for Science and International Security. http://www.isis-online.org/publications/dprk/CivilNuclearNK.pdf. Retrieved 23 November 2010. 
7. ^ Oleg V. Davidov, “Russia’s Position towards North Korea’s Nuclear Development
8. ^ Alexander Zhebin, “A Political History of Soviet-North Korean Nuclear Cooperation,” in James Clay Moltz and Alexandre Y. Mansourov
9. ^ Siegfried S. Hecker, Sean C. Lee, Chaim Braun (Summer 2010). "North Korea's Choice: Bombs Over Electricity". The Bridge (National Academy of Engineering) 40 (2): 5-12. http://cisac.stanford.edu/publications/north_koreas_choice_bombs_over_electricity/. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
10. ^ Hecker, Siegfried (2009-05-12). "The risks of North Korea's nuclear restart". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-risks-of-north-koreas-nuclear-restart. Retrieved 2009-05-27. 
11. ^ May 12, 2010, AFP, North Korea claims nuclear fusion success, The Australian
12. ^ Siegfried S. Hecker (20 November 2010). A Return Trip to North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Complex (Report). Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University. http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/23035/Yongbyonreport.pdf. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 
13. ^ "North Korea Makes Significant Progress in Building New Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR)". 38 North, School of Advanced International Studies. Johns Hopkins University. 18 November 2011. http://38north.org/2011/11/elwr111411/. Retrieved 18 November 2011. 
14. ^ AP News: Expert Says North Korea has Several Nukes
15. ^ DPRK Nuclear Weapons Program
16. ^ Estimates of North Korea’s Possible Nuclear Stockpile, Jon Wolfsthal, May 11, 2005
17. ^ North Korea’s nuclear program, 2005 published in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists