North Korea Nuclear Facilities
Background
North Korea’s nuclear facilities span the complete nuclear fuel cycle, with most of these facilities concentrated in Yongbyon County, North Pyongan Province. This area contains a number of research and development institutes, as well as educational facilities to train the human resources to sustain North Korea’s nuclear program, for both civilian and military purposes. 1 The Yongbyon nuclear complex includes a small research reactor called the IRT-2000, a 5MW(e) gas-graphite moderated reactor, an unfinished 50MW(e) reactor, a spent fuel reprocessing facility, and multiple waste storage sites. However, the 5MW(e) reactor’s cooling tower was destroyed in 2008 as part of the Six-party Talks disablement agreement, and a uranium enrichment facility and light water reactor have since been added. 2 There is also an unfinished and abandoned 200MW(e) nuclear reactor in Taechon County, North Pyongan Province, but work on it was frozen under the Agreed Framework of October 1994. North Korea maintains a testing facility at Punggye-ri, where it tested nuclear devices in 2006, 2009, and 2013. Additionally, North Korea maintains multiple uranium mining and milling sites, as well as research and development facilities.
Relevant Individuals and Institutions
The General Department of Atomic Energy under the Cabinet has direct responsibility for the operation and management of facilities dedicated to electricity generation. Nominally, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) elects and removes cabinet officials, but the SPA Presidium is empowered to act on behalf of the SPA when it is not in session. Ultimately, the General Department of Atomic Energy is subordinate to a small number of officials who hold senior positions in the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP), the government, and the military. 3 The Academy of Sciences manages most of the research institutions that could be described as “dual-use,” and the National Defense Commission has ultimate authority over military applications involving nuclear technology and materials.
The Second Economic Committee (SEC) under the National Defense Commission is responsible for the production of all weapons in North Korea, and the SEC’s Fifth Machine Industry Bureau — also known as the “Fifth General Bureau” — is responsible for the production of nuclear weapons.
The Second Natural Science Institute, also known as the National Defense Institute, is responsible for all weapons research and development in North Korea, but it likely collaborates with the Academy of Sciences and the Second Economic Committee’s Fifth Machine Industry Bureau in the area of nuclear weapons research. The Second Natural Science Institute also conducts research and development for the ballistic missile program, and almost certainly is tasked with responsibility for the design of nuclear warheads suitable for ballistic missiles. 4
The Nuclear Chemical Defense Bureau (NCDB) under the General Staff Department in the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces is responsible for managing the research and development of defensive measures against nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks. The NCDB consists of seven departments and three research institutes, including the “55th Research Institute” or Nuclear and Atomic Defense Laboratory, which runs simulations and estimates damage and fallout from possible nuclear attacks. 5 North Korean doctrine and operating procedures regarding the storage and use of nuclear weapons are unknown, but the National Defense Commission would have ultimate authority over nuclear weapons storage, deployment, and possible use.
Funding for the Program
Little is known about the budget-making process of the Second Economic Committee and its subordinate bureaus. 6 However, a special fund called the “Kim Il Sung fund,” the “presidential fund,” or the “Number 710 fund” is reportedly used to import materials and technologies for the nuclear program. Ultimate control of this fund is almost certainly exercised by Kim Jong Un and the National Defense Commission, but details are unknown. 7
Past, Present and Planned Facilities
Pyongyang closely guards information about its nuclear facilities; however several trends can be seen in North Korea’s nuclear facilities. Construction on the 50MW(e) reactor at Yongbyon and the 200MW(e) reactor at Taechon was never completed. A North Korean official has since described the facilities as “ruined concrete structures and iron scrap.” 8 North Korea’s newest facilities focus on uranium uranium enrichment. 9 Meanwhile, North Korea revealed a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon in 2010, and is constructing a light-water reactor in the near vicinity, which may be operational by 2014. 10
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Glossary
- Dual-use item
- An item that has both civilian and military applications. For example, many of the precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of chemical weapons have legitimate civilian industrial uses, such as the production of pesticides or ink for ballpoint pens.
- Ballistic missile
- A delivery vehicle powered by a liquid or solid fueled rocket that primarily travels in a ballistic (free-fall) trajectory. The flight of a ballistic missile includes three phases: 1) boost phase, where the rocket generates thrust to launch the missile into flight; 2) midcourse phase, where the missile coasts in an arc under the influence of gravity; and 3) terminal phase, in which the missile descends towards its target. Ballistic missiles can be characterized by three key parameters - range, payload, and Circular Error Probable (CEP), or targeting precision. Ballistic missiles are primarily intended for use against ground targets.
- Enriched uranium
- Enriched uranium: Uranium with an increased concentration of the isotope U-235, relative to natural uranium. Natural uranium contains 0.7 percent U-235, whereas nuclear weapons typically require uranium enriched to very high levels (see the definitions for “highly enriched uranium” and “weapons-grade”). Nuclear power plant fuel typically uses uranium enriched to 3 to 5 percent U-235, material that is not sufficiently enriched to be used for nuclear weapons.
Sources
- "Production Capability, Nuclear, Korea, North," Jane's Information Group, 7 January 2010.
- "No Construction at Yongbyon Site," ISIS, 4 September 2008, http://isis-online.org; Siegfried S. Hecker, "A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex," Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, 20 November 2010, http://iis-db.stanford.edu.
- "Production Capability, Nuclear, Korea, North," Jane's Information Group, 7 January 2010.
- Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., "North Korea's Deadly Industries Revealed," Jane's Defence Weekly, 12 November 1997, pp. 54-57.
- "Chemical Directorate," Federation of American Scientists, 22 November 1998, www.fas.org.
- "Production Capability, Nuclear, Korea, North," Jane's Information Group, 7 January 2010.
- Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., "A New Emphasis on Operations against South Korea?" 38 North, 11 June 2010, http://38north.org.
- Siegfried S. Hecker, "A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex," Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, 20 November 2010, http://iis-db.stanford.edu.
- Siegfried S. Hecker, "A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex," Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, 20 November 2010, http://iis-db.stanford.edu.
- Siegfried S. Hecker, "A Return Trip to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Complex," Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, 20 November 2010, http://iis-db.stanford.edu; "North Korea Resumes Construction of Light Water Reactor: Completion of Buildings May Be Near," 38North, 16 May 2012, http://38north.org.