"Japan Possesses 40 Tons of Plutonium"

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Japan said in a report turned in to the National Assembly on October 8 that Japan is in possession of over 40 tons of plutonium.

It is known that North Korea is currently in possession of 24 kilograms of plutonium.

According to a report made open to the public by Rep. Hong Jun-pyo of Grand national Party during National Assembly inspection of the administration held in the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Japan, Japan holds 5,475 kg of plutonium within its borders and 35,168 kg outside.

Rep. Hong pointed out the Korean government’s failure to offer a diplomatic reaction, saying, “With that much plutonium, Japan can make 540 nuclear warheads. It’s nonsense that Japan, in possession of so much plutonium, is showing so much concern over South Korea’s plutonium extraction experiments, which are far different from making nuclear weapons.”

The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Japan explained that the plutonium was under the control of the U.S. and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and said, “Japan’s plutonium is for atomic power generation purposes.”

The embassy added, “No official protest related to Korea’s nuclear experiment was made by the Japanese government. The concerns shown over the nuclear experiments are only the result of excessive responses from some members of the press and the comments of a few officials.”

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com