That Other Nuclear Nightmare: North Korea Sounds New Alarms

""All of them point to a very serious increase in the capabilities of [North Korea] in the area of nuclear weapons production," the IAEA Inspector General Rafael Grossi said during a mid-April visit to Seoul."

""Kim Jong Un intends to develop a modern nuclear weapons arsenal the size of France or the United Kingdom, each of which has over 200 nuclear weapons," Cha, who served as deputy head of the U.S. delegation at the Six-Party Talks with North Korea, wrote in Foreign Affairs."

""Now North Korea is not just in possession of the nuclear capability - it is becoming more of a nuclear weapons state, and they can use those weapons against us and our allies," Joseph DeTrani, who was the U.S. Special Envoy for the Six-Party Talks, told The Cipher Brief."

North Korea is advancing its nuclear weapons production capabilities, with a new enrichment facility and an arsenal estimated at 50 nuclear warheads. The regime is also improving its delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. Experts express concern that North Korea's ambitions reflect Kim Jong Un's goal to develop a nuclear arsenal comparable to that of France or the UK. The situation is compounded by the U.S. focus on Iran, which may divert attention from North Korea's growing nuclear threat.

Read at The Cipher Brief