Nuclear Energy in North Korea - Nuclear Weapons Program

Nuclear Weapons Program

Following the 1958 U.S. deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, the North Korean government asked both the Soviet Union and China for help in developing nuclear weapons, but was refused by both. However, the Soviet Union agreed to help North Korea develop a peaceful nuclear energy program, including the training of nuclear scientists. The North Korean government consequently sought to increase its research capacity in fields such as nuclear physics, energy, and radiochemistry. The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, 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.

Eventually this technology base developed into a clandestine nuclear weapons program, leading to the 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. In 2009, it was estimated that North Korea had up to ten functional nuclear warheads. After the death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011, the IAEA announced its readiness to return nuclear inspectors to North Korea, from which they were expelled in 2009, as soon as an agreement could be reached on steps towards denuclearization. Nonetheless, in early 2013, North Korea pledged to conduct more nuclear tests in the near future, and its third nuclear test took place in February 2013.