North Korea Claims Advancements in Nuclear Warheads Pyongyang says it has successfully made nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles By Alastair Gale
http://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-claims-advancements-in-nuclear-warheads-1457482061
SEOUL—North Korea said it has successfully made nuclear warheads for ballistic missiles, a claim which, if true, would represent a clear threat to the U.S.
Military officials and analysts outside North Korea have debated for years the isolated nation’s ability to make nuclear explosives small enough to mount on missiles. The opacity of its nuclear program makes it difficult to determine progress in its stated objective.
In a report from Pyongyang’s state news agency on Wednesday, North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un was briefed by scientists about advances in nuclear missile technology.
“The nuclear warheads have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them, he noted, adding this can be called true nuclear deterrent,” the Korean Central News Agency paraphrased Mr. Kim as saying.
The report also said the warheads were able to generate a thermonuclear reaction, making a more powerful form of explosion if a hydrogen-based weapon is used. North Korea said its latest nuclear bomb on Jan. 6 was a hydrogen-based explosive, although outside experts said the relatively small size of the explosion made it unlikely that it was caused by a typical hydrogen bomb.
Photos released by North Korea’s state media showed Mr. Kim talking with officials while standing close to a large metal sphere. Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, said it was possible the device was a nuclear explosive, either a stand-alone fusion bomb or a trigger for a more powerful thermonuclear device. CONTINUE AT SITE
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