Newsday February 1, 2003
Activity Seen at N. Korea Nuclear Site;
Spy satellites show trucks where fuel rods are stored
By THE WASHINGTON POST
Washington - U.S. intelligence satellites have seen signs this month that North Korea may have begun moving nuclear fuel rods from storage in a step that could permit new production of weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons, senior administration sources said Thursday night.
"We are not entirely sure what is going on," one official said in confirming that spy satellites have seen truck movements at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, near the pond where the plutonium rods have been stored as part of a 1994 agreement with the Clinton administration. Under the accord, North Korea agreed to freeze its production of weapons-grade plutonium.
The White House declined to comment on the news of the satellite intelligence, which was first reported by The New York Times. On Friday, North Korea's ambassador to China, Choe Jin-su, rejected U.S. efforts to pursue multilateral diplomacy in the confrontation, saying Pyongyang would negotiate only with the United States.
Choe repeated his government's demand for a nonaggression treaty with the United States. Washington has ruled out such a treaty, but says it has no intention of attacking North Korea and could provide a written security guarantee.
If North Korea does reprocess the 8,000 fuel rods, it could produce enough plutonium to fashion six to eight nuclear weapons, according to government sources. CIA analysts said last month they expected the government of Kim Jong Il to go ahead with initial plutonium production no matter what diplomatic agreements eventually are worked out. The agency believes Pyongyang had enough plutonium before the 1994 pact to produce one or two nuclear weapons, but it has never confirmed the weapons were built.
The intelligence is the latest sign that North Korea may be escalating a crisis that began in October when the Bush administration confronted it with evidence that it was bypassing the 1994 agreement by building a new plant to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.
When the United States demanded that North Korea halt all its nuclear activities before any discussions could begin, Pyongyang threatened to reopen its plutonium processing plant, forced out international monitors of the 1994 agreement and announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Since then, the United States - under pressure from South Korea, Japan and China - has modified its position. These nations have argued that diplomacy is the only way to solve the problem.
The Bush administration also has faced criticism at home for looking for a diplomatic solution with North Korea, which had expelled the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, while planning to launch a military attack against Iraq, which had accepted IAEA inspectors. Administration officials have in the past ruled out a military option, including an attempt to destroy Pyongyang's reprocessing plant, because of the threat of North Korean retaliation against South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, is within range of North Korean guns.
FROM FUEL TO NUKE: Dormant since 1994, the five-megawatt Yongbyon nuclear reactor got renewed attention in December after North Korea kicked out international monitors and restarted the plant. Now, U.S. spy photos may show that Pyongyang is taking steps toward making weapons-ready plutonium there.
THE PROCESS
1. Fuel rods containing uranium, radioactive plutonium and other by-products are cut into pieces at the reprocessing plant.
2. Pieces are placed into nitric acid to separate the individual elements.
3. After extensive processing, powdered uranium oxide and plutonium metal are produced.
4. Plutonium is shaped into a grapefruit-sized sphere, packed with explosives in a warhead. The blast compresses the plutonium, causing a nuclear reaction.
THE CONCERN
Fuel rods in Yongbyon reactor, left photo, can be used to produce radioactive elements, including plutonium. When spent, the rods are stored on site. Spy photos have spotted trucks at the storage facility, possibly to move the rods to a reprocessing site, right photo. U.S. is worried the rods would be process for weapons-grade plutonium.
SOURCE: Center for Nonproliferation Studies; GlobalSecurity.org; Time
GRAPHIC: Photos courtesy of Digital Globe - 1) Nuclear reactor and Fuel rod storage; 2) Reprocessing site; Map - / Area of detail - Location of Yongbyon in North Korea (not in text database); Newsday Chart / Map by Rod Eyer; Researched by Andrew Wong - From Fuel to Nuke (see end of text)
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
