Will North Korea Market Its Nuclear Technology To Religious-Based Terrorists?

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un provides guidance on a nuclear weapons program in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 3. © KCNA/Reuters

Alan L. Gropman, National Interest: New Nuclear Threat: Terrorists Could Profit from North Korea's Technology

Pyongyang would not hesitate to sell nuclear technology to build its military and keep Kim Jong-un in luxury.

North Korea almost certainly will not attack the United States or its armed forces or its distant territories with conventional or nuclear weapons. The costs to Kim Jong-un and his country would be monstrous. Kim’s hyperbolic rhetoric is much more a message to the North Korean people than to Americans, and his hyperbolic language is like his father’s and grandfather’s, and means little. What is highly likely, however, is Kim selling nuclear technology to truly dangerous adversaries of the United States—some of which the United States will be less likely to deter.

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WNU Editor: This is an interesting article because I have used this anti-nuclear proliferation argument with my Chinese and Russian friends .... that they should be just as concerned about a nuclear terror attack on Moscow or Beijing as the U.S. .... if not more so because of their history in waging war on Islamic militants. The current media focus is on concerns that North Korea may sell nuclear tech to terrorists who would then attack the U.S. .... and I can understand why they are focused like that ..... but I say that Russia and China are just as inviting as targets, and they are just as vulnerable.

The U.S. Is Not Ready To Respond To A Radio-logical Terrorist Attack On American Soil

Jana Winter, Daily Mail: Why America Can’t Spot Dirty Bombs

As Trump preps a new executive order to stop would-be terrorists before they enter the country, a government report finds the threat could come from within—and we aren’t prepared.

While President Trump doubles down on the hypothetical threats of incoming terrorists posing as refugees, he might be ignoring a very real concern here at home: The U.S. is largely underprepared to detect or respond to the threat of a radiological terrorist attack on American soil.

A so-called Red Team from the U.S. federal agency charged with evaluating domestic capabilities to defend against dirty bomb and weapons of mass destruction attacks found gaping holes in domestic nuclear detection and defense capabilities and massive failures during covert testing. That’s according to the most recent annual report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

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WNU Editor: This is one of those stories where everyone is talking about it .... but no one in Washington is seriously doing anything about it.

Three Scenarios On What May Happen If Terrorists Got Hold Of A Nuclear Weapon

The Economist: If Terrorists Got Hold Of A Nuclear Weapon

The stuff of nightmares

TO SEE a nuclear horror story unfold, look no further than YouTube. In “My Nuclear Nightmare”, a five-minute graphic film, Bill Perry, a former American defence secretary, describes how a breakaway faction of a rogue state’s security forces enriches 40 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium in a secret facility and then constructs what appears to be a crude bomb, similar in design and yield to the kind that obliterated Hiroshima. It then transports the bomb in a box labelled “agricultural equipment” by civilian cargo aircraft to Dubai and on to Washington, DC. It is soon loaded onto a delivery truck and driven to Pennsylvania Avenue, where it is detonated at the halfway point between the White House and the Capitol building.

What follows is excruciating. More than 80,000 people are instantly killed, including the president, the vice-president and every member of Congress present. Another 100,000 are severely injured. Phones are down. A little later, it gets even worse: TV news stations have received a message that there are five more such bombs hidden in five more American cities. One bomb will be triggered each week unless all American troops serving abroad are immediately sent home. Panic ensues as people stream out of cities, and with the administration wiped out by the blast there is a constitutional crisis. Martial law is declared as looting and rioting spread; military detention centres spring up across the country.

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WNU Editor: A nightmare scenario in every-way.

Islamic State Are Planning To Use Drones To Spray Nuclear Material Over A Western City

The Telegraph: Isil plotting to use drones for nuclear attack on West

Isil terrorists are planning to use drones to spray nuclear material over Western cities in a horrific “dirty bomb” attack, David Cameron has warned.

World leaders are concerned that jihadists want to buy basic drones that are widely available online to transport radioactive material into the heart of major cities in a strike that could kill thousands.

The Prime Minister warned that the dangers of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) getting hold of nuclear material was “only too real”.

Mr Cameron on Friday met world leaders, including the presidents of America, France and China, to plan how they would react to such an attack.

Footage has reportedly emerged showing Isil using drones and the threat was deemed so serious that – in a highly unusual move – world leaders were asked to take part in war games to plan how they would respond.

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Update: 'Nuclear drones' threat to British cities: Cameron and Obama hold a 'war game' session on how to respond to an ISIS attack which could kill thousands of people (Daily Mail)

WNU Editor: I am sceptical that they would kill thousands .... but spreading mayhem and panic .... this is one way to do it.

Two Belgium Nuclear Plant Workers Have Joined The Islamic State

Daily Mail: Two Belgian nuclear power plant workers have joined ISIS leading to fears the jihadis have the intelligence to cause a meltdown disaster

* Two workers from a nuclear power plant in Doel fled to Syria to join ISIS
* One was 'killed in Syria' and another served time for terror offences in 2014
* Security guard at a Belgian nuclear research facility murdered in Charleroi
* Officials say killing is being treated as a criminal act rather than a terror act
* Nuclear power plants are known to be targets for the terror network behind the Brussels bombings

Belgian security services are fearful that ISIS operatives may have been looking to target a nuclear plant as it emerged two workers from a plant in Doel fled to Syria to join ISIS.

One of the men, reportedly known as Ilyass Boughalab, is believed to have been killed in Syria, while the second served a short prison sentence in Belgium for terror-related offences in 2014.

With an extensive understanding of nuclear facilities, the convict's short jail sentence has raised further questioned of the Belgian security services as well as fears he may have passed on important knowledge about the sites to the terrorist group.

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Previous Post: Belgium Nuclear Security Officer Was Murdered With His Security Badge Missing Two Days After The Brussels Terror Attack

WNU Editor: This story gets better with each passing day .... The Islamic State’s Plot to Build a Radioactive ‘Dirty Bomb’ (Patrick Malone and R. Jeffrey Smith, Foreign Policy).

UN Atomic Chief Warns On 'Nuclear Terrorism'

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano says the possibility of a nuclear terror attack cannot be ruled out (AFP Photo/Joe Klamar)

AFP: UN atomic chief warns on 'nuclear terrorism'

Vienna (AFP) - The world needs to do more to prevent "nuclear terrorism", the head of the UN atomic watchdog has warned ahead of an important summit and in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks.

"Terrorism is spreading and the possibility of using nuclear material cannot be excluded," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano told AFP in an interview late Thursday.

"Member states need to have sustained interest in strengthening nuclear security," he said. "The countries which do not recognise the danger of nuclear terrorism is the biggest problem."

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Update: Don’t Ignore the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism (TOGZHAN KASSENOVA, Carnegie Endowment For International Peace)

WNU Editor: All that it will take will be one small nuclear device and/or dirty bomb going-off in a city that will completely change the international focus on what has always been a real threat.

Belgium Terrorists Had Plans To Attack One Of Belgium's Nuclear Plants

Doel Nuclear Power Station near Antwerp. Wikipedia

Daily Mail: Brussels bombers DID plan to attack nuclear power station as police uncover 12 hours of footage jihadists filmed outside a plant director's home

* Investigators found 12 hours of footage filmed by the jihadi cell in Brussels
* It included film of the Belgian nuclear power chief's home in Flanders
* The ISIS terrorists are believed to have wanted to kidnap him to gain entry
* It has now emerged the creators of the footage were the Bakraoui brothers
* The footage was seized following the Paris terror attacks in November

The Brussels terrorists were preparing an attack on a nuclear power plant and had recorded 12 hours of reconnaissance footage, it has been reported.

The ISIS cell were spying on Belgium's nuclear power chief, possibly as part of a kidnap plan to force him to let them into an atomic facility, according to newspaper Derniere Heure.

Hours of film of the home of the Research and Development Director of the Belgian Nuclear Programme were discovered in an apartment in Brussels raided by anti-terrorist police following the attack in Paris.

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More News On Reports That The Belgium Terrorists Had Plans To Attack One Of Belgium's Nuclear Plants

Brussels attackers were targeting nuclear plant, changed their minds-paper -- Reuters
Brussels suspects linked to nuclear facility plot -- CBS
Brussels bombings: Terror group 'were planning to attack nuclear power station', surveillance suggests -- The Independent
Brussels bomber brothers plotted to kidnap nuclear official -- New York Post
Brussels terrorists were planning attacks on nuclear plants -- New Europe
Bakraui Brothers May Have Planned to Blow Up Belgium's Nuclear Power Plants -- Sputnik
Brussels Attacks: Bombers Filmed Nuclear Researcher, Expert Says -- NBC
Belgium ups security at nuclear plants following Brussels bombings -- Euronews
ISIL's next Belgian target could be a nuclear plant: Column -- USA Today
Brussels explosions: Security stepped up at Belgian nuclear plants -- Telegraph

The U.S. Prepares For A Nuclear Attack

CNS News: HHS Boosting Nation's Stockpile of Burn Treatments in Case of Nuclear Attack

"The detonation of an improvised nuclear device would produce intense heat, resulting in many patients with severe burns," says a September 30 news release from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The announcement says HHS has contracted for the development of "four novel products to treat severe thermal burns."

The products will boost the number of treatment options in case of disaster, and they'll also be used in "routine" burn care situations.

The four treatments -- one commercially available right now and three in development -- "will be added to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) or managed by vendors to help protect people from burn injuries resulting from radiological and nuclear threats," HHS said.

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... even with all of this preparation .... no one can ever be ready to respond to such a disaster.

U.N. Nuclear Chief Warns About Nuclear Terrorism Threat

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano. Photo: IAEA/D. Calma

Governments Warn About Nuclear Terrorism Threat -- Reuters

(Reuters) - More action is needed to prevent militants acquiring plutonium or highly-enriched uranium that could be used in bombs, governments agreed at a meeting on nuclear security in Vienna on Monday, without deciding on any concrete steps.

A declaration adopted by more than 120 states at the meeting said "substantial progress" had been made in recent years to improve nuclear security globally, but it was not enough.

Analysts say radical groups could theoretically build a crude but deadly nuclear bomb if they had the money, technical knowledge and materials needed.

Ministers remained "concerned about the threat of nuclear and radiological terrorism ... More needs to be done to further strengthen nuclear security worldwide", the statement said.

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More News On U.N. Nuclear Chief Warning About Nuclear Terrorism Threat

More action needed to improve global nuclear security, urges UN atomic energy chief -- UN News Centre
UN atomic agency sounds warning on 'nuclear terrorism' -- FOX News/AFP
U.N. nuclear chief warns of 'dirty bomb' threat -- Reuters
IAEA chief sounds warning on 'nuclear terrorism' -- Asia One/AFP
U.N. nuclear chief says more global action needed for nuclear security -- UPI
Fukushima Shows Nuclear-Terrorism Risks at UN-Diplomat Meeting -- Bloomberg Businessweek

President Obama: Terrorists Still Want To Have Nuclear Weapons

President Barack Obama delivers remarks to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction symposium held at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 2012. Joing the President on stage are, from left: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta; former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga.; and Sen. Richard Lugar, R- Ind.(Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Terrorist Still Eying Nuclear Weapons, Says Obama -- Zee News

Washington: The world is facing a constant threat from terrorists prying to attain nuclear weapons, the US President Barack Obama said, emphasizing the need to secure such weapons and that world must continue to stand guard.

"Even with all your success - the thousands of missiles destroyed, bombers and submarines eliminated, the warheads that have been deactivated - we're nowhere near done. Not by a long shot. You all know this," Obama said.

"There's still much too much material - nuclear, chemical, biological - being stored without enough protection. There are still terrorists and criminal gangs doing everything they can to get their hands on it," Obama said in his address to the "Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction" symposium.

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Update: Obama: Terrorists Doing All They Can to Get Nuclear Materials -- Voice of America

My Comment: This is probably President Obama's number one nightmare scenario. (not including wars, economic collapse, etc.).

Concerns Over A "Dirty Bomb" Attack Rising

Alistair Burt will say countries around the world face a 'real and global threat' of a nuclear terror attack. South Korean radiologists are pictured taking part in an exercise in dealing with a possible radioactive terror attack at the Kimpo airport

Dirty Bomb Attack Now A 'Real Threat' To Britain As Nuclear Waste Smugglers Swap Tips Online, Foreign Office Warns -- Daily Mail

* Minister Alistair Burt uses speech to warn nuclear terrorism, once unthinkable, is now a real possibility
* More information about nuclear weapons is available online than ever
* The Middle East minister says global terror networks are 'thriving'

A dirty bomb attack is a ‘real threat’ faced by Britain, the Foreign Office warned today.

The government claims nuclear terrorism is still one of the biggest threats to global peace.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt used a speech in London to warn of the dangers posed by a rise nuclear weapons being smuggled around the world.

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More News On Growing Concerns Of A Dirty Bomb Attack

Dirty Bomb Attack In UK A 'Real Threat' -- SKY News
Nuke smugglers raise the threat of a dirty bomb, warns minister -- The SUN
Terrorists 'acquire nuclear container to smuggle uranium' -- The Telegraph
Nuclear trafficking getting more professional: IAEA chief -- Reuters
Dirty bomb terror threat breakthrough: British scientists build machine to detect smuggling of nuclear materials -- The Independent

More Evidence That Terror Groups Are Trying To Build A 'Dirty Bomb'

Terrorists 'Acquire Nuclear Container To Smuggle Uranium' -- The Telegraph

Terrorist groups have acquired a "container" to smuggle uranium undetected past the global network of sensors to prevent a dirty bomb, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has warned.

Speaking in London, Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said groups' efforts to build a dirty bomb were becoming "more professional".

It was particularly worrying, he said, that smuggling networks had hold of technology to evade sophisticated monitoring equipment designed to prevent proliferation of radioactive material.

"Terrorists having access to nuclear material is a real threat," he said. "They have developed a particular container to put enriched uranium in as samples. The groups repeat [deliveries] to defeat the preventive measures. This is a real threat."

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My Comment: When reading stories like this one, one cannot help but feel that it will only be a matter of time before a terror group is successful in a 'dirtyt bomb' attack.

What A 10 Kiloton Nuke Blast Will Do To Washington DC

Government Report: D.C. Nuke Blast Wouldn’t Destroy City -- Washington Times/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hollywood has destroyed Washington — or New York or Los Angeles — lots of times with nuclear bombs detonated by terrorists. It turns out to be harder in real life.

Thinking about the unthinkable, a U.S. government study analyzed the likely effects from terrorists setting off a 10-kiloton nuclear device a few blocks north of the White House. It predicted terrible devastation for roughly one-half mile in every direction, with buildings reduced to rubble the way that World War II bombing raids destroyed parts of Berlin. But outside that blast zone, the study concluded, even such a nuclear explosion would be pretty survivable.

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More News On The Impact Of A 10-Kiloton Explosion On Washington DC

US: Even a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb won’t destroy Washington -- First Post

Gov't report: DC nuke blast wouldn't destroy city -- Boston.com/AP
Thinking the unthinkable: Gov’t considers effects of nuclear terror attack in Washington -- Washington Post/AP
Here’s What Happens When Our Nation’s Capital Is Nuked -- Gizmodo
Here's What Happens If Someone Decides To Nuke DC -- Business Insider
Good News! A Nuclear Blast Wouldn’t Destroy D.C. -- New York Magazine

My Comment: A 10-kiloton explosion in the middle of Washington DC will make 9-11 look small and insignificant in comparison .... and while it would not be the end of Washington DC .... it will be the end of our way of life as we know it.

World Leaders Voice Their Fears Of Nuclear Terrorism

World Leaders: Nuclear Terrorism A 'Grave Threat' -- BBC

World leaders have called for closer co-operation to tackle the threat of nuclear terrorism at a summit on nuclear security in Seoul.

A communique at the end of the summit reiterated a joint call to secure "vulnerable nuclear material".

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said nuclear terrorism remained a "grave threat", while US President Barack Obama said action was key.

The meeting was dominated by North Korea's plan to launch a rocket.

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More News On World Leaders Voicing Their Concerns On Nuclear Terrorism

World Leaders Vow to Secure Loose Nuclear Material by 2014 -- Bloomberg
US, China, SKorea urge nations to lock down nukes -- AP
Summit seeks to deter nuclear-armed terrorism -- AP
Summit aims to guard against nightmare of terrorists getting nukes from unsecured countries -- Washington Post/AP
Nuclear terror threat: Summit urges more co-operation -- Euronews
World Leaders to Continue Efforts to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism -- Voice of America
China, South Korea and US warn about nuclear terrorism -- Christian Science Monitor
Moscow urges real nuclear security -- RT
Obama Says ‘Bad Actors’ Trying to Get Nuclear Material -- Bloomberg
Obama warns North Korea, Iran on nuclear weapons -- CNN
Obama warns leaders on nuclear threat -- The Australian
World Leaders to Strengthen Nuclear Security: Statement Text -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Radioactive Material Theft From Egyptian Nuclear Power Station Raises Alarms

Radioactive Material Stolen From Egyptian Nuclear Power Station -- The Telegraph

Radioactive material has been stolen from a nuclear power station on Egypt's Mediterranean coast that was the site of violent protests last week, state-run al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday.

A safe containing radioactive material at the Dabaa nuclear power plant was seized while another safe containing radioactive material was broken open and part of its contents taken, the newspaper said.

The government has alerted security authorities and asked that specialised teams help in the search for the stolen material, al-Ahram reported.

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Update: Radioactive material said stolen from Egypt plant -- Reuters

My Comment: No details on the exact nature of the nuclear material stolen. Nor is there any mention if there is a terrorist angle in this theft. But I can guarantee one thing .... some will be wondering (and worrying) if this means something like this has a greater chance of happening in the future.

Nuclear Terrorism Warnings From Israel

Iran officially launched the Bushehr nuclear power plant in October.‎ Press TV

Nuclear Terrorism May Rise From Libyan, Syrian Fallout -- Jerusalem Post

Shaul Chorev addresses IAEA ahead of vote expected later this week on Arab resolution titled ‘Israeli Nuclear Capabilities.’

Iran is directly involved in activities related to the design and testing of nuclear weapons, head of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. Shaul Chorev, warned on Tuesday in a speech at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna.

Chorev addressed the meeting ahead of a vote expected later this week on a resolution submitted by Arab states to single out Israel for condemnation over its nuclear activities.

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My Comment: The head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission warnings on nuclear proliferation and terrorism from the Middle East is going to fall on deaf ears .... the focus is more on Israel's nuclear weapons program and activities.

Letters Claim Al Qaeda Planted 160 Nuke Bombs Across USA

Threats Claim Nuclear Bombs Hidden All Over U.S. -- CBS News

CHICAGO (CBS 2) – The threats came in the mail and to date, there have been 25 letters that warn of nuclear bombs destroying America.

People who got them called the FBI and CBS 2′s Kristyn Hartman learned, the Bureau’s Chicago office is leading the investigation.

FBI Special Agent Andre Zavala said, “Yes, they alarmed a lot of people.”

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My Comment: I doubt .... correction .... I am sure that this is all a hoax. But nuclear terrorism is something that we will have to live with for the rest of our lives, and threats like this one probably illustrates what our law enforcement agencies (and our elected leaders) must go through everyday.

Rewriting The Rules For Dealing With A Terrorist Nuclear Strike In A Major U.S. City

Experts Plan For How To Deal With Nuclear Terror Strike -- USA Today

A terrorist nuclear strike in a major U.S. city would kill and injure so many people that disaster planners rewrote the rules for dealing with casualties.

Their analysis is part of a comprehensive effort to develop a medical response plan for dealing with a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb, which would pack roughly the explosive force of the Hiroshima blast or 5,000 Oklahoma City truck bombs.

Demand for medical care would be almost inconceivable. In Washington, a city with 38 ambulances, and neighboring communities, at least 930,000 people would seek medical care. More than 70,000 would need hospitalization, vastly overflowing the city's 3,600 hospital beds. There would be at least 1,000 severely injured trauma patients for every available operating room, says co-author David Weinstock, a radiation expert at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The reports were released Monday in the Journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

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Update: US ill-prepared for emergency radiation: study -- AFP

My Comment: The report from the Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness can be found at their website here.

What That Keeps Presidents And Prime Ministers Awake At Night.

Nuke Facility Raid An Inside Job? -- CBS News/60 Minutes

Eyewitness Talks To 60 Minutes About Brazen Assault On South African Nuclear Facility.

(CBS) This story was first published on Nov. 28, 2008. It was updated on June 15, 2010.

When President Obama invited 47 world leaders to Washington for a nuclear security summit in April, the assault on Pelindaba was exactly the kind of scenario they were working to prevent.

It was a daring break-in at a heavily guarded nuclear plant that holds enough weapons grade uranium to build a dozen atomic bombs. The story was little known until 60 Minutes reported on it a year and a half ago through the eyes of the one man who stopped the plot.

What happened at Pelindaba is the kind of thing that keeps presidents and prime ministers awake at night.

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My Comment: Forget about South Africa .... Pakistan's nuclear sites are only a .... "hop, skip, and a jump away" .... from where Al Qaeda's leaders and their followers are probably hiding out.

A Must See Program On 60 Minutes -- Assault On Pelindaba

WNU Editor: In 2007 an attack on a South African nuclear facility that had stocks of bomb grade fissionable material (enough weapons grade material for 25 bombs) almost succeeded in compromising the site. If an alarm was not activated, their ultimate objective was probably this stockpile of material.

There is not much news information on this attack. The best link that I have found so far is from a 2007 Washington Post story. That link is here.

I suspect that the 60 Minutes story will add more information to this attack. I will embed the complete video from 60 Minutes once it becomes available at the end of the day.