Posted May. 01, 2005 23:40,
The Center for Non-proliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterrey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) forecasted on April 28 that North Korea could produce one to three additional nuclear weapons if the North started plutonium reprocessing of the spent fuel rods at its 5MW nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, Pyongbuk Province that it recently stopped operating.
The report said in its special report on the suspension of North Koreas 5MW nuclear operations that a maximum of 14.5kg of weapon-class plutonium could be extracted, but considering the amount of loss in the process of reprocessing, the real amount of extraction should be closer to eight to 11 kilograms.