North Korea appears poised to expand its nuclear program over the next five years and in a worst case scenario could possess 100 atomic arms by 2020, US researchers warned Tuesday.
Unveiling the first results of what will be a 15-month study, Joel Wit, senior fellow at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said some of their conclusions were very "disturbing." Using satellite imagery, North Korean media reports and their deep knowledge of nuclear programs, Wit, and renowned non-proliferation expert David Albright, have drawn up three possible future scenarios based on the progress made by Pyongyang from 2009 to 2014.
In the first scenario, Pyongyang would almost double its stockpile to about 20 weapons, including plutonium-based weapons which have been miniaturized sufficiently to be mounted on its Rodong-class medium-range ballistic missile, capable of reaching Japan.
