North Korea’s Secret Sauce: Still Cooking Up Bomb Fuel
Bottom line: Even while trying to show the West they’re being all good, North Korea may have secretly kept cooking up enough bomb fuel to add 5‑7 more nukes to its stash.
What the Stanford Study Says
The report from Stanford’s Centre for International Security and Cooperation popped out just before the second Trump‑Kim summit. It estimated an extra 5–8 kg of weapons‑grade plutonium and 150 kg of highly enriched uranium produced between 2016‑18, enough to bump the arsenal from about 30 to 37 warheads.
Why the Numbers Aren’t Scary Scary (Yet)
- North Korea stopped all nuclear and missile tests since 2017. That’s like putting the brakes on a rocket—its ability to fine‑tune warheads, like miniaturising them for ICBMs, has stalled.
- While the fuel production machinery kept humming, turning that fuel into functional, deliverable bombs still requires design, build, and testing—steps they halted.
- According to the experts, the chance of a North Korean warhead landing on U.S. soil with any accuracy is virtually zero. The primary threat remains Japan and South Korea.
Official Reactions
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reminded Congress that North Korea keeps churning out bomb fuel even after its pledge to denuclearise. He claimed the Trump administration was still making headway, but the State Department hasn’t been giving any real proof.
The Summit Dance
Kim Jong Un’s first face‑to‑face with Trump last June was a splash of hope, with promises to denuclearise the peninsula. But the dream turned into a “pretty good” conversation in Hanoi last month, with both sides hoping for real action.
Kim signalled he’s ready to dismantle Yongbyon for a trade‑off: “Corresponding measures” from the U.S. Horizons remain uncertain. The talks were described as “productive,” yet the State Department still shows no tangible progress.
“It’s like a dance where the music stops halfway, but we keep stepping,”
In short, North Korea keeps roasting the atomic fuel pile while quietly saying, “We’re on a good path, but let’s see some real steps first.” Until then, every new kilogram of plutonium is a reminder that the situation is still complex, tense, and oddly dramatic.
