South Korea warns that North Korea has enough plutonium for more than ten atomic bombs

Seoul reintroduces the country as an "enemy" in its South Korean Defense White Paper

MADRID, 16 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The South Korean authorities have warned this Thursday that North Korea has about 70 kilos of plutonium, a sufficient quantity for the manufacture of more than ten atomic bombs.

The South Korean Defense Ministry has reintroduced Pyongyang as the country's "enemy" in its Defense White Paper, a qualification that had not been introduced for six years, due to its growing ballistic and nuclear program.

Thus, the Government has also described Japan as a "close neighbor" in accordance with the measures implemented by the authorities to improve bilateral relations on security.

The document, however, now contains new information about the North Korean stockpile of plutonium used to make nuclear bombs. The text, which includes South Korea's defense policy, hopes to reflect the promise of the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who seeks to stop Pyongyang and achieve stability in the region.

"As North Korea defines us as an undoubted enemy and continues to maintain its military threat without giving up its nuclear program, the North Korean regime and its Army constitute an enemy," the White Paper collects, according to information from the Yonhap news agency.

The South Korean government already listed North Korea as a military "enemy" in 1995. In the 2004 version, the expression was replaced with "direct military threat" in an attempt to pave the way for reconciliation.

The rating, which was reintroduced in 2010, was withdrawn again in 2018 and 2020 under the Administration of former President Moon Jae In. Now, the text points to an increase of 20 kilos of plutonium than previously estimated --about 50 kilos--.

This increase is attributable to the work of several nuclear reactors and other nuclear activities carried out in the Yongbyon complex, north of Pyongyang, according to South Korean sources.