On the 7th of March 2013, North Korea threatened the United States with a "pre-emptive nuclear attack", and Kim Jong-un issued a detailed threat to "wipe out"  Baengnyeong Island,  the scene of previous naval clashes. North Korea has revealed its plans for conducting nuclear strikes on U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

 

At a plenary meeting of the WPK Central Committee held on the 31st March

2013 in the wake of war threats with  South Korea,  Kim Jong-un announced that

North Korea will adopt "a new strategic line on carrying out economic

construction and building nuclear armed forces simultaneously".

 

North Korea declared in 2009 that it had developed a nuclear weapon, and

probably possesses a small stockpile of relatively simple nuclear weapons. North

Korea may also have a chemical and or  biological weapons  capability. Since

2003, North Korea is no longer a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

On October the 9th, 2006, North Korea announced it had successfully

conducted its first nuclear test. An underground explosion was detected, its

yield was estimated as  less than a  kiloton,  and some radioactive output was

detected. On January the 6th, 2007, the North Korean government further

confirmed that it had nuclear weapons.

 

In April 2009, reports surfaced that North Korea has become a "fully fledged

nuclear power", an opinion shared by International Atomic Energy Agency

 (IAEA)  Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. On May the 25th, 2009, North

Korea conducted a second nuclear test, resulting in an explosion estimated

to be between 2 and 7 kilotons. The 2009 test, like the 2006 test, is believed to

have occurred at Mantapsan, Kilju County, in the north-eastern part of North

Korea.

 

On February the 11th, 2013, the  U.S. Geological Survey  detected a magnitude 5.1 seismic disturbance, reported to be a third underground nuclear test. North Korea has officially reported it as a successful nuclear test with a lighter warhead that delivers more force than before, but has not revealed the exact yield. Multiple South Korean sources estimate the yield at 6–9 kilotons, while the German Federal Institute for Geo sciences and Natural Resources estimates the yield at 40 kilotons.

 

The nuclear program can be traced back to about 1962, when North Korea committed itself to what it called

 "all-fortressization",  which was the beginning of the hyper-militarized North Korea of today. In 1963 North Korea asked the Soviet Union for help in developing nuclear weapons, but was refused. The Soviet Union agreed to help North Korea develop a peaceful nuclear energy program, including the training of nuclear scientists. Later, China, after its nuclear tests, similarly rejected North Korean requests for help with developing nuclear weapons.

 

North Korea's nuclear weapons program dates back to the 1980s. Focusing on practical uses of nuclear energy and the completion of a nuclear weapon development system, North Korea began to operate facilities for  uranium fabrication  and conversion, and conducted high-explosive detonation tests.

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In 1985 North Korea ratified the NPT, but did not conclude the required safeguards agreement with the IAEA until 1992. In early 1993, while verifying North Korea's initial declaration, the IAEA concluded that there was strong evidence this declaration was incomplete. When North Korea refused the requested special inspection, the IAEA reported its non-compliance to the  UN  Security Council.  In 1993, North Korea announced its withdrawal from the NPT, but suspended that withdrawal before it took effect.

 

In February 2012, North Korea announced that it would suspend uranium enrichment at the  Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific   Research Center  and not conduct any further tests of nuclear weapons while productive negotiations involving the United States continue. This agreement included a moratorium on long-range missiles tests. Additionally, North Korea agreed to allow IAEA inspectors to monitor operations at Yongbyon. The United States reaffirmed that it had no hostile intent toward the DPRK and was prepared to improve bilateral relationships, and agreed to ship humanitarian food aid to North Korea. The United States called the move "important, if limited", but said it would proceed cautiously and that talks would resume only after North Korea made steps toward fulfilling its promise. However, after North Korea conducted a long-range missile test in April 2012, the United States decided not to proceed with the food aid.

 

In the 1960s, DPRK first received shipments of short-range ballistic missiles from its main ally, the Soviet Union. The first weapons of this kind to be delivered were the  tactical FROG-series.  In the late 1970s or early 1980s, the DPRK received several longer range Scud-B missiles from Egypt (which in turn received those missiles from the USSR, Bulgaria and Poland). The USSR had refused to supply Scuds to North Korea. A local production basis was established, and the first modified copy was named Hwasong-5. With time, more advanced types of missiles were developed. Eventually North Korea equipped itself with ballistic missiles, capable of reaching Japan. In the 1990s, North Korea sold medium- sized nuclear capable missiles to Pakistan in a deal facilitated by China.

 

                                                                                                                     North Korea's ability to deliver weapons of mass                                                                                                                           destruction to a hypothetical target is somewhat                                                                                                                             exaggerated. As of 2005, North Korea's total range

                                                                                                                     with its  Nodong missiles  estimated as 900 km                                                                                                                             with a 1000 kg payload, enough to reach South                                                                                                                             Korea and parts of Japan, Russia and China. It is                                                                                                                         not known if this missile is capable of carrying                                                                                                                               the nuclear weapons North Korea may have                                                                                                                                   developed.

 

                                                                                                                     The  BM 25 Musudan  is a North Korean designed

                                                                                                                     intermediate-range ballistic missile with range                                                                                                                               capabilities of up to 1,550 miles (2,490 km), and                                                                                                                           could carry a nuclear warhead. As of 2010,                                                                                                                                     Western sources had no indication that the                                                                                                                                     missile system had ever been tested, or was                                                                                                                                 operational.

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                                                                                                                     North Korea has also developed the Taepodong 1                                                                                                                         missile, which has a range of 2,500 km, but it is unlikely to have been deployed. With the development of the  Taepodong 2 missile,  with an expected range of 5,000 to 6,000 km, hypothetically can deliver a warhead to almost all countries in Southeast Asia, as well as the west coast of America. The Taepodong 2 missile was unsuccessfully tested on July the 4th, 2006. U.S. intelligence estimates that the weapon will not be operational for another 11 years. The Taepodong 2 could theoretically hit the western United States and other U.S. interests

in the Western hemisphere. The current model of the Taepodong 2 could not carry nuclear warheads to the United States.

 

Former CIA director  George Tenet  has claimed that, with a light payload, Taepodong 2 could reach western parts of Continental United States, but with low accuracy. A few Taepodong 2 missiles may exist, but launch procedures are lengthy and not visible.

 

On April the 5th, 2009, North Korea launched the  Unha-2 space booster  (allegedly based on the long-range Taepodong 2). Although the launch was more successful than the 2006 test, the third stage still failed to separate properly. The UN

Security Council condemned the launch as a violation of previous Security Council resolutions.

 

This means North Korea may be able to develop and deploy mobile  ICBMs,   which can survive a U.S. first strike, within 7 to 10 years. On July the 2nd, 2009, North Korea test fired a series of at least four surface-to-ship cruise missiles into the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Two days later, on July the 4th, they proceeded to test fire a further seven Scud-type ballistic missiles into the same sea. The tests are seen by world powers as a symbol of defiance to the United Nations, set over North Korea after their nuclear test on May the 25th, 2009. These launches come only a week after U.S. President Barack Obama extended U.S. economic sanctions against North Korea. This is also a response to the UN sanctions that were imposed in June 2009, after Pyongyang's nuclear test in May 2009, as well as the new UN resolution that any nation can inspect a North Korean vessel that the investigating nation believes is carrying weaponry. It has been suggested that the test firing of missiles is an act of defiance against the United States national holiday, Independence Day.

 

In April 2009 the United Nations named the Korea Mining and Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) as North Korea's primary arms dealer and main exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. The UN lists KOMID as being based in the  Central District, Pyongyang.  However it also has offices in Beijing and sales offices worldwide which facilitate weapons sales and seek new customers for North Korean weapons.

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KOMID has sold missile technology to Iran and has done deals for missile related technology with the Taiwanese.  KOMID  representatives were also involved in a North Korean deal to mass-produce Kornet anti-tank guided missiles for Syria and KOMID has also been responsible for the sale of equipment, including missile technologies, gunboats, and

multiple rocket artilleries, worth a total of over $100 million, to Africa, South America, and the Middle East.

 

There is evidence that North Korea has been able to  miniaturize a nuclear warhead  for use on a ballistic missile. Re-entry technology to protect the warheads en route to their targets is lacking. The April 2012 display of missiles purporting to be ICBMs were declared fakes by Western analysts, and indicated North Korea was a long way from having a credible ICBM. In December 2012, North Korea placed a satellite into orbit for the first time.

 

Many countries have bought North Korean ballistic missiles or have received assistance from North Korea to establish local missile production.

 

 Pakistan 

North Korean entities continued to provide assistance to Pakistan's ballistic missile program during the first half of 1999 in return for nuclear weapons technology. Such assistance is critical to Islamabad's efforts to produce ballistic missiles. In April 1998, Pakistan flight-tested the Ghauri MRBM, which is based on North Korea's Nodong missile. Also in April 1998, the United States imposed sanctions against Pakistan and North Korean entities for their role in transferring, Missile Technology Control, Regime Category I ballistic missile-related technology.

 

 Egypt 

Egypt has received technologies and assistance for manufacture of both the Hwasong-5 and Hwasong-6, and may have provided guidance systems, or information on longer-range missiles to North Korea from the Condor/Badr program.

 

 Iran 

Iran was one of the first countries to buy North Korean missiles. Iran has established local production for the Hwasong-5 (Shahab-1), Hwasong-6 (Shahab-2) and the Rodong-1 (Shahab-3). Iran also possesses some 19 land based BM25 Musudan missiles, according to a leaked, classified U.S. State Department cable, however Iran has never displayed these missiles causing some U.S. intelligence officials to doubt the missiles were transferred to Iran.

 

 Libya 

Libya during the reign of Muammar Gaddafi had been known to receive technological assistance, blueprints and missile parts from North Korea.

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 Syria 

Syria originally obtained the SCUD-B from North Korea. North Korea may have assisted Syria in development of the SCUD-C and or the SCUD-D. As of 2013, Syria relies on foreign assistance from multiple countries, including North Korea, for advanced missile components and technologies.

 

 United Arab Emirates 

25 Hwasong-5s were purchased from North Korea in 1989. The Military of the United Arab Emirates were not satisfied with the quality of the missiles, and they were kept in storage.

 

 Vietnam 

Acquired Hwasong-5/6 missiles in 1998.

 

 Yemen 

Known to have bought Hwasong-5 missiles from the DPRK in the 1990s—a total of 15 missiles, 15 TELs with 15 HE warheads.