North Korea appears to be struggling to obtain 'advanced' nuclear technology: Report

Despite its professed aim for a formidable arsenal of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, North Korea appears to still have a long way to go before accomplishing what it wants, particularly in terms of technology to miniaturise bombs, according to an expert present at a state-run institute on April 27.

According to Lee Sang-min, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised in public to speed up the development of the North's nuclear capabilities and even threatened to use nuclear weapons if "any forces try to violate the fundamental interests" of the country.

Yonhap reported, at a conference in Seoul, Lee stated, "Assuming that its ultimate goal is to load warheads on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), there is no evidence that North Korea has reached such a goal."

He said that the North appears to be struggling to secure sophisticated technologies, such as the shrinking of nuclear warheads and ballistic missile atmospheric re-entry capabilities, and that the secretive regime's nuclear development has so far been based on rather rudimentary technology. Despite reports of a single test launch, he concluded that Pyongyang does not appear to have mastered the ability to load a nuclear warhead atop its Hwasong-15 ICBM and strike a precise target. 

North Korea lowering the bar for nuclear use

Moreover, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's speech at a recent military parade has sparked concerns that the totalitarian state's nuclear strategy is evolving toward utilising nuclear weapons for offensive goals rather than only retaliation. Pyongyang held a military parade on Monday night to commemorate the Korean People's Revolutionary Army's (KPRA) 90th anniversary.

During the event, Kim said his nuclear forces "will have to decisively accomplish its unexpected second mission" if any forces try to violate his country's "fundamental interests." Kim's surprising comments, which signalled a shift in the North's nuclear doctrine, have international watchers concerned that the threshold for using nuclear weapons has been lowered.

North Korea's nuclear doctrine has traditionally been that it may respond to a nuclear attack by launching a retaliation strike against the perpetrator. Kim's remarks came three weeks after his sister, Kim Yo-jong, threatened to use nuclear weapons if South Korea engages in a military conflict with its northern neighbour, in response to President-elect Yoon Suk-mention yeol's of the need for a preemptive strike during the election campaign if the North appeared ready to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the South.

(With agency inputs)