The Center’s factsheet on North Korea’s nuclear program was cited in a The Diplomat article published last week. The article was published after Gen. Curtis Scaparotti revealed his confidence in North Korea’s ability to place a nuclear warhead on a missile.
US General: North Korea Can Miniaturize Nuke Warheads
By Zachary Keck
North Korea itself claimed that its February 2013 nuclear test was of a “miniaturized and lighter nuclear device.” In April of last year, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency– the Pentagon’s intelligence shop– assessed with “moderate confidence” that North Korea has acquired this capability. Other U.S. intelligence agencies, as well as South Korean ones would not corroborate this at the time, and President Barack Obama himself also directly refuted the assessment.
At the time, most nuclear experts outside of government also cast doubt on the DIA assessment. For example, a July 2013 analysis by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a Washington, DC think tank, wrote that: “It is generally believed to have not yet developed the capabilities needed to miniaturize a nuclear device for missile delivery.”
Read the rest of the article on The Diplomat.
