CIA Finds New Nuclear Testing Site in NK

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials now believe that North Korea is developing the technology to build nuclear warheads small enough to fit atop the country`s medium- and long-range missiles, the New York Times reported on July 1, quoting CIA officials.

The CIA officials said that "satellites had identified an advanced nuclear testing site in an area called Youngdoktong" and "at the site, equipment has been set up to test conventional explosives that, when detonated, could compress a plutonium core and set off a compact nuclear explosion." They also added that explosions simulating a nuclear detonation could be set off at the site, which is not far from the Youngbyon nuclear complex.

Though the New York Times showed that Youngdoktong lies in Hwanghae Province, it is presumed that the area belongs to South Pyeongan Province.

According to sources in Washington, the United States shared this information with South Korea`s senior defense officials and the intelligence chief who recently visited the U.S.

"The existence of the testing range is evidence that North Korea intends to manufacture much more sophisticated weapons that would be light enough to load onto its growing arsenal of medium- and long-range missiles," intelligence officials said according to the newspaper. They also say that if such nuclear missiles are developed, Tokyo and 60,000 American soldiers stationed in Japan will all be within range of these weapons.

This means that North Korea is moving to combine its two most advanced and threatening weapons` projects: nuclear weapons and missile technology.

The CIA says that Pyongyang could develop nuclear warheads in less than a year while some officials point out that "that assessment represents what is called a best guess, rather than a solid estimate."

Meanwhile, according to Korea`s Defense Ministry, North Korea has conducted tests, which precede high explosive tests, 70 times since 1983, and it also conducted high explosive tests several times since 1994.

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