North Korea Pokes World Again on Nukes

Tehran said to have deployed design still classified in US, Britain

(NEWSER) - Iran has tested nuclear warhead technology so advanced that its very existence is an official secret in the US and Britain, according to a report from the UN’s nuclear watchdog group, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The dossier, obtained by the Guardian, says Iran has tested the high-explosive components of a design known as “two-point implosion,” which can produce simple, compact warheads. More»

US-drafted measure strengthened by Obama appearance at meeting

(NEWSER) - The UN Security Council today adopted a US-drafted resolution that outlines much of President Obama’s plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The president’s attendance at the meeting of heads of state—just the fifth in UN history—underscores the centrality of the issue for his administration. Though the measure passed unanimously, the US was not able to convince Russia and China to include Iran and North Korea by name, notes the Washington Post. More»

(NEWSER) - North Korea has for the first time openly confirmed that it is seeking to enrich uranium for the development of nuclear weapons, the BBC reports. The state news agency today announced that the nation plans to “weaponize” its plutonium stocks, and will consider any “blockade” attempts by the US and its allies as an “act of war.” More»

Sale of weapons, info is true threat from secretive regime

(NEWSER) - North Korea's nuclear test yesterday makes it no likelier that the rogue state will actually launch a weapon of mass destruction, argues AP analyst Robert Burns. What it does suggest is something perhaps even scarier: that the regime may facilitate the nuclear ambitions of other state actors or even of terrorists. The cash-strapped North has a history of selling nuclear secrets to foreign buyers, and diplomacy has so far failed to halt its program. More»

First test since 2006 draws international condemnation

(NEWSER) - North Korea announced today it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test since 2006, catching the South and the US off guard and drawing a swift denunciation from Barack Obama. The underground test produced a 4.7-magnitude earthquake, but as with the previous test, it remains unclear whether the North has successfully expanded its weapons capabilities. Hours later, the country fired a short-range missile from its east coast. More»