ID :
150661
Mon, 11/22/2010 - 10:53
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/150661
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea claims to have 2,000 centrifuges running: U.S. scientist
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Kyodo) - A U.S. nuclear expert who recently visited North Korea said he saw ''more than a thousand centrifuges'' in operation at a uranium enrichment facility at the
Yongbyon nuclear complex, with North Korean officials claiming components were partly modeled on Japanese devices.
In a report posted on the Internet on Saturday, Siegfried Hecker, former chief of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said a North Korean official told him during the tour on Nov. 12 that all components for the centrifuges were domestically made ''but modeled after the centrifuges at Almelo (in the Netherlands) and Rokkasho-mura (in northern Japan).''
''These facilities appear to be designed primarily for civilian nuclear power, not to boost North Korea's military capability,'' said Hecker, co-director of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.
It is the first time that the North's uranium enrichment facilities have been confirmed by an expert from outside the country.
Hecker left open the possibility that the facilities could be converted for use in producing highly enriched uranium for weapons, a move that would run counter to the denuclearization efforts under the six-party framework.
North Korea could use the uranium enrichment facility as a new trump card in negotiating with the United States and its partners.
Meanwhile, the State Department said Saturday that U.S. special envoy on North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth will be dispatched to Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing, apparently to discuss the latest information on the North's nuclear ambitions with officials in South Korea, Japan and China.
Hecker's report said he and two colleagues from Stanford University were told by the chief process engineer ''the facility contained 2,000 centrifuges in six cascades,'' at what Hecker described as a ''modern, clean centrifuge plant'' in Yongbyon, about 90 kilometers north of Pyongyang.
Asked if they were Pakistani-designed centrifuges, the chief process engineer said no, according to the report entitled ''A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex.
Hecker said they were told that construction of the uranium facility began in April 2009 and was completed ''a few days ago.''
''The control room was astonishingly modern,'' Hecker said, adding that it ''would fit into any modern American processing facility.''
Hecker said he ''expressed surprise'' that the North Koreans could apparently get 2,000 centrifuges working so quickly and asked if the facility was actually operating, to which they were given ''an emphatic yes.''
He added that they ''were not able to independently verify this, although it was not inconsistent with what we saw.''
Hecker said North Korean officials insisted that the facility was intended to enrich uranium for use as fuel for a 25 to 30 megawatt experimental light-water nuclear reactor under construction at Yongbyon.
North Korean officials told the Americans it was planned that the light-water reactor would commence operation in 2012, but Hecker said the target date ''appears much too optimistic.''
On Sunday night, Bosworth arrived at Incheon airport near Seoul and said he is visiting the three countries to discuss the next stage of policy for North Korea, South Korea's Yonghap News Agency said.
According to the department, Bosworth will visit Tokyo on Monday and Beijing on Tuesday and return to Washington on Wednesday.
There have been reports recently that Pyongyang is preparing for a third nuclear test in North Hamgyong Province, where it held its second nuclear test in May last year, prompting speculation that the move may be part of the country's nuclear brinkmanship.
Yongbyon nuclear complex, with North Korean officials claiming components were partly modeled on Japanese devices.
In a report posted on the Internet on Saturday, Siegfried Hecker, former chief of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said a North Korean official told him during the tour on Nov. 12 that all components for the centrifuges were domestically made ''but modeled after the centrifuges at Almelo (in the Netherlands) and Rokkasho-mura (in northern Japan).''
''These facilities appear to be designed primarily for civilian nuclear power, not to boost North Korea's military capability,'' said Hecker, co-director of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation.
It is the first time that the North's uranium enrichment facilities have been confirmed by an expert from outside the country.
Hecker left open the possibility that the facilities could be converted for use in producing highly enriched uranium for weapons, a move that would run counter to the denuclearization efforts under the six-party framework.
North Korea could use the uranium enrichment facility as a new trump card in negotiating with the United States and its partners.
Meanwhile, the State Department said Saturday that U.S. special envoy on North Korea policy Stephen Bosworth will be dispatched to Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing, apparently to discuss the latest information on the North's nuclear ambitions with officials in South Korea, Japan and China.
Hecker's report said he and two colleagues from Stanford University were told by the chief process engineer ''the facility contained 2,000 centrifuges in six cascades,'' at what Hecker described as a ''modern, clean centrifuge plant'' in Yongbyon, about 90 kilometers north of Pyongyang.
Asked if they were Pakistani-designed centrifuges, the chief process engineer said no, according to the report entitled ''A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex.
Hecker said they were told that construction of the uranium facility began in April 2009 and was completed ''a few days ago.''
''The control room was astonishingly modern,'' Hecker said, adding that it ''would fit into any modern American processing facility.''
Hecker said he ''expressed surprise'' that the North Koreans could apparently get 2,000 centrifuges working so quickly and asked if the facility was actually operating, to which they were given ''an emphatic yes.''
He added that they ''were not able to independently verify this, although it was not inconsistent with what we saw.''
Hecker said North Korean officials insisted that the facility was intended to enrich uranium for use as fuel for a 25 to 30 megawatt experimental light-water nuclear reactor under construction at Yongbyon.
North Korean officials told the Americans it was planned that the light-water reactor would commence operation in 2012, but Hecker said the target date ''appears much too optimistic.''
On Sunday night, Bosworth arrived at Incheon airport near Seoul and said he is visiting the three countries to discuss the next stage of policy for North Korea, South Korea's Yonghap News Agency said.
According to the department, Bosworth will visit Tokyo on Monday and Beijing on Tuesday and return to Washington on Wednesday.
There have been reports recently that Pyongyang is preparing for a third nuclear test in North Hamgyong Province, where it held its second nuclear test in May last year, prompting speculation that the move may be part of the country's nuclear brinkmanship.
