ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

World

    • Fears, questions about North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal

    Share
    SEOUL, South Korea -

    North Korea's latest missile launches are a demonstration of the country's avowed ability to use nuclear force against South Korea and the mainland U.S. How immediate is that threat?

    North Korea claims its nuclear forces are capable of destroying its rivals, and often follows its provocative weapons tests with launch details. But many foreign experts call the North's claim propaganda and suggest that the country is not yet capable of hitting the United States or its allies with a nuclear weapon.

    There's no question that North Korea has nuclear bombs, and that it has missiles that place the U.S. mainland, South Korea and Japan within striking distance. What's not yet clear is whether the country has mastered the tricky engineering required to join the bombs and the missiles.

    ICBMs

    North Korea has demonstrated that it has missiles that could fly far enough to reach deep into the continental U.S., but it's not clear whether they can survive re-entering the earth's atmosphere on arrival.

    North Korea said it had launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday to verify the weapon's reliability and combat readiness of the country's nuclear forces. It's one of three kinds of ICBMs the country has developed, along with the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-17. All three are liquid-fueled, and North Korea has portrayed them all as nuclear-capable.

    Launched almost straight up to avoid the territories of neighbours, the weapon reached a maximum altitude of about 5,770 kilometres (3,585 miles) and flew 990 kilometres (615 miles), according to North Korea's state media. The reported flight details suggest the missile could travel 13,000 kilometres (8,080 miles) or beyond if launched on a normal trajectory.

    "These days, North Korea has been disclosing information about its launches in a very detailed manner to try to let others believe what they've done is genuine," analyst Shin Jong-woo at South Korea's Defence and Security Forum said. "But I think that's part of their propaganda."

    There are questions on whether North Korea has acquired the technology to shield warheads from the high-temperature, high-stress environment of atmospheric re-entry.

    A South Korean biennial defence document released last week said that it's not clear whether the missiles can survive re-entry, because all of North Korea's ICBM tests have so far been made on high angles.

    Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute, said a normal trajectory would cause greater stress, as a warhead would spend a longer time passing through altitudes of high air density.

    North Korea's state media said the launch was made "suddenly" at a surprise order from leader Kim Jong Un.

    "The Kim regime's claims of short-notice launches are thus intended to demonstrate not only the development of strategic and tactical nuclear forces but also the operational capability to use them," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said.

    In a military parade earlier this month, North Korea showcased around a dozen ICBMs, an unprecedented number that suggested progress in its efforts to mass-produce powerful weapons.

    Among them were huge canister-sealed missiles that experts say were likely a version of a solid-fuel ICBM that North Korea has been trying to develop in recent years. Solid-fueled systems allow missiles to be mobile on the ground and make them faster to launch.

    WARHEADS

    North Korea likely has dozens of nuclear warheads. The question is whether they are small enough to fit on a missile.

    North Korea has so far performed six underground nuclear test explosions to manufacture warheads that it can place on missiles. Outside estimates on the number of North Korean nuclear warheads vary widely, ranging from 20-60 to up to about 115.

    In a 2021 interview with 38 North, a North Korea-focused website, renowned nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker, who has visited North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex numerous times, said that "20 to 60 is possible, with the most likely number being 45."

    Some experts argue that North Korea has likely already built miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on missiles citing the number of years the country has spent on its nuclear and missile programs. But others say North Korea is still years away from producing such warheads.

    "After its sixth nuclear test, people accepted that North Korea really will have nuclear weapons. But they are still debating whether it has warhead miniaturization technology," Shin, the analyst, said.

    The North described its sixth nuclear test in 2017 as a detonation of a thermonuclear bomb built for ICBMs. It created a tremor that measured 6.3 on the Richter scale, and some studies put its estimated explosive yield at about 50 to 140 kilotons of TNT. In comparison, the pair of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II -- which killed a total of more than 210,000 people -- yielded explosions equivalent to about 15 and 20 kilotons of TNT, respectively.

    The biennial South Korean defence document said that North Korea is estimated to have 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of weapons-grade plutonium. Some observers say that's enough for about 9-18 bombs. The document estimated that North Korea has "a considerable amount of" highly enriched uranium as well.

    North Korea's Yongbyon complex has facilities to produce both plutonium and highly enriched uranium, the two main ingredients to build nuclear weapons.

    Plutonium plants are generally large and generate a lot of heat, making it easier to detect. But a uranium enrichment plant is more compact and can be easily hidden from satellite cameras. North Korea is believed to be running at least one additional covert uranium enrichment facility, in addition to one at its Yongbyon complex.

    SHORT-RANGE WEAPONS

    Following the collapse of diplomacy with then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, Kim sped up the development of short-range solid-fuel, nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.

    The so-called "tactical" nuclear weapons include what North Korea calls "super-large" 600-millimetre multiple rocket launchers that it tested Monday. South Korea describes the weapon as a short-range missile system.

    North Korea's state media said its new artillery system can carry nuclear warheads, saying that four rockets would be enough to wipe out an enemy airfield. The statement drew quick outside doubts about whether weapons are indeed nuclear-capable.

    "The North Korean claim doesn't make sense to some extent ... Why do they need four tactical nuclear weapons to destroy just one airfield?" Shin, the analyst, said. "Also, which country would disclose such attack scenarios via state media?"

    Other new North Korean short-range systems include missiles that were apparently modelled after the Russian Iskander mobile ballistic system or outwardly resemble the U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System. Launched from land vehicles, these missiles are designed to be maneuverable and fly at low altitudes, theoretically giving them a better chance of defeating South Korean and U.S. missile defence systems.

    Whether North Korea has an ability to arm short-range missiles with nuclear warheads has not been independently confirmed.

    While North Korea may be able to place simple nuclear warheads on some of its older missiles, including Scuds or Rodong missiles, it would likely require further technology advancements and nuclear tests to build smaller and more advanced warheads that can be installed on its newer tactical systems, said Lee, the expert.

    North Korea also has an intermediate-range, nuclear-capable Hwasong-12 missile capable of reaching Guam, a major U.S. military hub in the Pacific. It has been developing a family of mid-range, solid-fuel Pukguksong missiles, which are designed to be fired from submarines or land vehicles.

    CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

    BREAKING

    BREAKING

    Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.

    A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

    Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.

    The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    Canada

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    • Relatives of a 60-year-old man who took his own life in a Nova Scotia jail after long periods of confinement in his cell have launched a lawsuit against the province.

    • A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

    World

    Politics

    Health

    • A Nova Scotia woman has applied for a medically assisted death, saying after years of battling to receive out-of-country surgery for an illness that causes 'indescribable' pain, she struggles to maintain the will to live.

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    • Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    • It will be the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge as a memorial is held Friday in Calgary.

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    • Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • F1 star Max Verstappen punished over bad word

      Formula One points leader Max Verstappen was ordered to 'accomplish some work of public interest' after uttering an inappropriate word Thursday at the news conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

    • The Winnipeg Jets have some huge holes to fill on both offence and defence this season.

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

    It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

    A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

    • The debate over sexual orientation and gender identity education in schools is heating up. Protests both for and against SOGI in the curriculum took place across the country Friday.

    • A teenager has been charged with multiple offences related to stabbings that occurred in Surrey's Newton neighbourhood last week.

    • New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.

    • Michael Ford, Ontario's minister of citizenship and multiculturalism, says he is taking a leave of absence from cabinet to prioritize his health.

    • Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is urging the Alberta government to preserve pieces of the massive Green Line transit project now being dissolved.

    • It will be the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge as a memorial is held Friday in Calgary.

    • It's billed as 'Canada’s Largest Halloween Festival' and it's taken weeks to set up over 10,000 carved pumpkins that transform the WinSport bobsleigh track into a spooky spectacle.

    • Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.

    • Maplewood Secondary School is scheduled to open Monday after receiving a permit Friday morning allowing 50 per cent of the building to be occupied.

    • Police in western Quebec say a driver has been arrested after almost crashing into a school bus near La Pêche Friday morning.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.

    • A new garden and microforest, years in the making, have been inaugurated at John Abbott College in Montreal.

    • The Montreal couple from Mexico and their three children facing deportation have received a temporary residence permit.

    • Mounties say there was an increased police presence in the Emerald Hills area of Sherwood Park on Friday morning as officers searched for a man who is wanted by police.

    • There are plenty of fun happenings in Edmonton this weekend. It's time to savour that last little bit of the summer season before the leaves really start coming down.

    • Alberta Health Services says an E. coli outbreak at a daycare in Blackfalds has ended.

    • A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

    • Relatives of a 60-year-old man who took his own life in a Nova Scotia jail after long periods of confinement in his cell have launched a lawsuit against the province.

    • Family, friends and fans of late hip hop artist and battle rapper, Pat Stay will gather at events held in his honour on Saturday and Sunday.

    • The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

    • A Manitoba veterinary clinic has two new ways of figuring out what’s causing a horse to be lame.

    • Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

    • BREAKING

      BREAKING

      A large police presence can be seen outside Regina’s Miller High School on Friday afternoon.

    • A 21-year-old man from Codette, Sask. is facing numerous charges in connection to a fatal crash near Wapella, Sask. Wednesday night that claimed the life of a 22-year-old Alberta woman.

    • Arguments between UR Pride and the Government of Saskatchewan on the Parents’ Bill of Rights will be moving ahead to the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan beginning on Monday, Sept. 23.

    • Levels of hydrogen sulfide gas are being monitored at Brantford Collegiate Institute after a leak in their geothermal system.

    • Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

    • The second-degree murder trial of Thomas Hamp is being adjourned until December so an expert witness central to the trial can testify.

    • A 69-year-old woman from Outlook, Saskatchewan is dead and three people are injured after a truck and SUV collided on Highway 15 on Thursday.

    • A garage fire in Saskatoon’s Willows neighbourhood on Friday narrowly missed igniting an attached home, according to the fire department.

    • Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.

    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.

    • The timeline is short, but London officials are confident in their ability to submit a strong application for a Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub that the province will begin funding next year.

    • A man is in hospital with life threatening injuries following a collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle on Friday afternoon.

    • A new outdoor music festival is launching this weekend in London - tickets are still available for the inaugural Fairway Fest at East Park.

    • A section of Grove Street in Barrie's east end will be closed for several weeks as part of the City's ongoing road work.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A 17-year-old from Markham is facing serious charges after an August 11 shooting at a party in Caledon.

    • Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family’s backyard pool.

    • There is no threats to public safety following an incident involving a gun at a local high school.

    • A LaSalle couple has won $1 million after buying a ticket for the Aug. 13 LottoMax draw.

    • New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.

    • The Old Man Lake wildfire near Sooke is the only one currently burning on Vancouver Island. It’s a region of the province that this year saw a drastic drop in blazes in the backcountry.

    • The debate over sexual orientation and gender identity education in schools is heating up. Protests both for and against SOGI in the curriculum took place across the country Friday.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.

    • Ontario Provincial Police say three suspects from southern Ontario have been charged and drugs worth $300,000 have been seized following a traffic stop Sept. 16.

    • A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News