N. Korea's Nuclear Stockpile Could Expand To 100 Weapons: U.S. Expert

By Chang Jae-soon

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's nuclear stockpile could expand to as many as 100 weapons by 2020, a U.S. expert said Tuesday, calling for greater international attention and efforts to stop the communist regime from its nuclear rush.

Joel Wit, the chief analyst running the website 38 North at Johns Hopkins University, announced the projections during a seminar, saying Pyongyang is currently believed to have 10-16 nuclear weapons, six to eight of them based on plutonium andfour to eight based on weapons-grade uranium.

Wit also said the North is believed to have miniaturized the plutonium-based weapons enough to be mounted on medium-range Nodong missiles, which can strike South Korea and Japan, and on Taepodong-2 missiles that can achieve intercontinental ranges.

He also stressed the North can significantly expand its arsenal without additional nuclear tests.

"Our fixation with when these tests happen really is not the right way to view this issue. Tests could happen. They may never happen again. If they never happen again, it doesn't mean that North Korea isn't the threat or isn't a problem," Wit said.

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