South Korean nuclear research programs

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In August 2004, South Korea revealed the extent of its highly secretive and sensitive nuclear research programs to the IAEA, including some experiments which were conducted without the obligatory reporting to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for by South Korea's safeguards agreement.[1] The failure to report was reported by the IAEA Secretariat to the IAEA Board of Governors;[2] however, the IAEA Board of Governors decided to not make a formal finding of noncompliance.[3]

Contents

[edit] Early Nuclear Ambitions

Under the direction of South Korea's Weapons Exploitation Committee, the country attempted to obtain plutonium reprocessing facilities following the pullout of the 26,000 American soldiers of the 7th Infantry Division in 1971.[4] However, under pressure from the United States, France eventually decided not to deliver a reprocessing facility to South Korea in 1975.[4] South Korea's nuclear weapons research program effectively ended on April 23, 1975 with its ratification of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.[4]

[edit] Post-NPT Programs

The South Korean government insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.[5]

[edit] Previously unreported experiments

In 1982, scientists at the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute performed an experiment in which they extracted several milligrams of plutonium. Although plutonium has uses other than the manufacture of weapons, the United States later insisted that South Korea not attempt to reprocess plutonium in any way. In exchange, the US agreed to transfer reactor technology and give financial assistance to South Korea's nuclear energy program. It was revealed in 2004 that some South Korean scientists continued some studies; for example, in 1983 and 1984 Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was conducting chemical experiments related to the handling of spent fuel that crossed the reprocessing boundary.[6]

Later, in an experiment at the same facility in 2000, scientists enriched 200 milligrams of uranium to near-weapons grade (up to 77 percent) using laser enrichment.[6][7] The South Korean government claimed that this research was conducted without its knowledge.[5] While uranium enriched to 77 percent is usually not considered weapons-grade, it could theoretically be used to construct a nuclear weapon.[8][9] HEU with a purity of 20% or more is usable in a weapon, but this route is less desirable because far more material is required to obtain critical mass;[10] thus, the Koreans would have needed to produce much more material to construct a nuclear weapon.[5] This event and the earlier extraction of plutonium went unreported to the IAEA until late 2004.[6]

[edit] IAEA Response

Following Seoul's disclosure of the above incidents, the IAEA launched a full investigation into South Korea's nuclear activities. In a report issued on November 11, 2004, the IAEA described the South Korean government's failure to report its nuclear activities a matter of 'serious concern', but accepted that these experiments never produced more than very small amounts of weaponizeable fissile material. The Board of Governors decided to not make a formal finding of noncompliance, and the matter was not referred to the Security Council.[3]

Pierre Goldschmidt, former head of the department of safeguards at the IAEA, has called on the Board of Governors to adopt generic resolutions which would apply to all states in such circumstances and has argued "political considerations played a dominant role in the board’s decision" to not make a formal finding of non-compliance.[11]

[edit] Nuclear Powered Submarines

With respond to the second North Korean nuclear test. Sources confirm that ROK is seeking nuclear powered submarines to counter North Korea.[12]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Nonproliferation, By the Numbers". Sokolski, Henry. Journal of International Security Affairs. Spring 2007 - Number 12.
  2. ^ IAEA GOV/2004/84: Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Republic of Korea
  3. ^ a b International Atomic Energy Agency: IAEA Board Concludes Consideration of Safeguards in South Korea
  4. ^ a b c GlobalSecurity.org: South Korea Special Weapons
  5. ^ a b c SFGate: South Korea experimented with highly enriched uranium
  6. ^ a b c Kang, Jungmin; Hayes, Peter; Bin, Li; Suzuki, Tatsujiro; Tanter, Richard. "South Korea's Nuclear Surprise". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. January 1, 2005.
  7. ^ Washington Post: S. Korea Nuclear Project Detailed
  8. ^ Council on Foreign Relations: Iran's Nuclear Program

    Weapons-grade uranium—also known as highly-enriched uranium, or HEU—is around 90 percent (technically, HEU is any concentration over 20 percent, but weapons-grade levels are described as being in excess of 90 percent).

  9. ^ Federation of American Scientists: Uranium Production

    A state selecting uranium for its weapons must obtain a supply of uranium ore and construct an enrichment plant because the U-235 content in natural uranium is over two orders of magnitude lower than that found in weapons grade uranium (>90 percent U-235 U).

  10. ^ HEU as weapons material – a technical background
  11. ^ Exposing Nuclear Non-Compliance. Pierre Goldschmidt. Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, vol. 51, no. 1, February–March 2009, pp. 143–164
  12. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korean_nuclear_research_programs"