How Big Is North Korea's Nuclear Program

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North Korean Nuclear Arms Program Has 20 Sites, 3,000 Workers, South Says -- Global Security Newswire

South Korea said yesterday that North Korea's nuclear-weapon operations involve 20 facilities employing 3,000 personnel, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 22).

Lawmaker Lee Mi-kyung, reading from a South Korean Unification Ministry report, said that there are roughly 200 scientists and researchers among the North's nuclear work force. The Yongbyon nuclear complex contains 11 of the nuclear-related sites, while nine uranium mines and related facilities are found at two other locations.

The Unification Ministry did not dispute the data.

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My Comment: These are surprisingly small numbers for North Korea's nuclear program. The U.S. atomic program (i.e. the Manhattan Project) employed over 100,000 scientists, engineers, and support staff during the life of its program during the Second World War. I do not know exactly what the Soviets, Chinese, Pakistanis and Indians employed for the development of their nuclear arsenal, but I do understand that the numbers were also very high.

Does this mean that we should not take the North Korean program seriously .... I dare say not. The North Koreans have been working on their nuclear program since the early 1990s. They also have the benefit of knowing what other nuclear countries did to obtain their nuclear arsenals, and are using this knowledge to obtain the necessary resources and materials that are essential for any nuclear program.

If there is a surprise, it is that the North Koreans do not have a sizable and reliable nuclear arsenal. My guess is that the North Koreans are limited in the resources and materials that they can obtain to make a nuclear bomb, and that sanctions have been successful in hurting them in this program.