U.S. Senate bill aims to derail N. Korea’s nuclear weapons drive

The Senate has unanimously approved legislation that aims to derail North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons by hitting Pyongyang with more stringent sanctions. The measure targets North Korea’s ability to finance the development of miniaturized nuclear warheads and the long-range missiles required to deliver them. The announcement comes in the wake of Pyongyang’s recent satellite launch that the U.S. says flouted international law by pursuing its nuclear weapons program.

It’s time to take North Korea seriously.

Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat

Already on heightened alert, U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said North Korea could begin to recover plutonium from a restarted nuclear reactor within weeks. North Korea has used its graphite-moderated reactor as a source of plutonium for its atomic bombs in the past. The nation had expanded the size and sophistication of its ballistic missile forces and was also “committed to developing a long-range, nuclear-armed missile that is capable of posing a direct threat to the United States,” said Clapper.

We further assess that North Korea has been operating the reactor long enough so that it could begin to recover plutonium from the reactor’s spent fuel within a matter of weeks to months.

Clapper

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