From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
Via Terry

CHANGING WORLD 2012 -- Japan and East Asia / North Korea keeps Kim Jong Il's nuclear 'legacy'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

This is the fourth installment of the series focusing on the formation of a new national order, and potential leadership changes in the United States, China and Russia this year.

Earlier this month, a government official from a country that participates in the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear program listed four geographical locations in North Korea: Pyongyang; Kongin-ri in Chagang Province; and Sowi-ri and Kumchang-ri in North Pyongan Province.

According to the official, there are undisclosed facilities suspected of engaging in uranium enrichment at these four sites, which have captured the attention of intelligence agents and reconnaissance satellites. 

"The facilities may be producing weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium that can be used to make nuclear armaments," the official said.

Of the four sites, at least three are thought to be underground facilities, which are difficult to detect via satellite. According to intelligence from North Korean insiders, Pyongyang disguises them as a type of research laboratory. 

In October last year, a South Korean opposition party member testified he had heard from a serving North Korean soldier that there is also a uranium enrichment facility in Ryulgok-ri in North Pyongan Province.

The South Korean lawmaker said the facility was located in an underground tunnel originally created for use in mining projects during Japan's colonial rule.

Enriching uranium is the most dangerous legacy of late leader Kim Jong Il, who died in December last year. 

The United States insists that stopping uranium enrichment is a precondition to resuming six-party talks. 

Will Kim Jong Un's regime inherit his father's legacy of intimidation via nuclear weapons, or take a historical step forward toward international collaboration?

North Korea's next action regarding the uranium issue will determine the nature of its new regime. 

Currently, many observers believe North Korea, which refers to nuclear weapons as the "heritage of revolution," has yet to change its belligerent attitude. 

North Korean TV broadcast a remark from Kim Jong Un on Jan. 8, the mysterious leader's 29th birthday, in which Kim stated that if any enemies intercepted North Korean missiles, he would be determined to declare war. 

In 2009, a Taepodong-2, North Korea's long-range ballistic missile, flew over the Japanese archipelago and fell into the Pacific Ocean. Japanese and U.S. forces, which included Aegis-equipped destroyers, were prepared to intercept the missile if necessary.

The remark was apparently made when Kim Jong Un observed test-firing exercises at a command center. The "enemies" are believed to be the Japan-U.S. security alliance. 

Presidential elections will be held this year in both the United States and South Korea in November and December, respectively. In short, 2012 will be a big year in regards to the North Korean situation. 

On Jan. 11, an official at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, an affiliated research center under South Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, said, "Before or after the two elections, [North Korea] may conduct an experiment using a uranium-type nuclear bomb."

Should this happen, it could solidify Kim Jong Un's power base. 

In an academic essay released this month, Siegfried Hecker, a former director of the U.S.-based Los Alamos National Laboratory, pointed out the possibility that North Korea may conduct nuclear experiments this year. He also inspected a uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon, North Pyongan Province, disclosed by the North Korean government in 2010. 

Hecker posits that North Korea could be trying to develop a small-size nuclear warhead that can be loaded onto a midrange Musudan missile capable of hitting Guam. The missile's maximum range is estimated at about 4,000 kilometers. 

Peace for the Korean Peninsula remains a distant goal. 

An official with the six-party talks who has continued to monitor developments regarding the enrichment of uranium said, "What I can surely say is as more time passes, more progress will be made in North Korea's nuclear development." 

(Jan. 27, 2012)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/T120126006533.htm