General

North Korea: “final uranium phase”

After an ebb in diplomatic tension, N.K. ramps up nuclear threat

North Korea may be closer than ever to building a nuclear bomb. According to the country’s state media, North Korea has entered the final stages of uranium enrichment. “Uranium enrichment tests have been successfully carried out and that process is in the concluding stage,” KCNA news agency reported. Until now, Pyongyang has been working to build a bomb through a process of plutonium reprocessing. But Uranium enrichment offers a second way of
reaching the same goal. The United State’s special envoy to North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, says the new claims are “of concern.” But North Korean authorities warn that if the UN imposes new sanctions on the country, it will face Pyongyang’s nuclear wrath. “If some permanent members of the UN Security Council wish to put sanctions first before dialogue,” North Korea’s delegation to the UN explained, “we would respond with bolstering our nuclear deterrence first.” Three months ago, North Korea vehemently denied that it was enriching uranium.

BBC News

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