Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Yomsogol

On 20 October 1993, a test of a triggering device for a nuclear weapon was reportedly conducted in the mountains in Yomsogol, Sokam-ri [?? Sogam-ni], Pyongwon County [P'yongwon-gun ADM2 39°15'N 125°30'E], South Pyongan Province.

This information is based on statements by Yi Chung-kuk, 26, who defected from North Korea in March 1994. The mock experiment was supposedly conducted in the presence of nuclear development experts under the supervision of the "Nuclear-Chemical Defense Bureau" which is under the direct control of the General Staff of the Ministry of People's Armed Forces. The mock nuclear test was to test the triggering device and the plutonium 238 which was extracted for a nuclear weapon developed by the Nuclear Defense Department in the nuclear complex in Yongbyon. According to another version, the experiment exploded a mock experimental bomb to observe its explosive sound, the flash of light, heat, and the formation of a mushroom cloud.