FAS Note: The following document is an untitled CIA estimate provided to Congress on November 19, 2002.
UNCLASSIFIED
Nuclear Weapons

The US has been concerned about North Korea's desire for nuclear weapons and has assessed since the early 1990s that the North has one or possibly two weapons using plutonium it produced prior to 1992.

In 1994, P'yongyang halted production of additional plutonium under the terms of the US-DPRK Agreed Framework.

If the Framework Collapses

If North Korea abandoned the Agreed Framework P'yongyang could resume production of plutonium.

Uranium Enrichment

The United States has been suspicious that North Korea has been working on uranium enrichment for several years. However, we did not obtain clear evidence indicating the North had begun constructing a centrifuge facility until recently. We assess that North Korea embarked on the effort to develop a centrifuge-based uranium enrichment program about two years ago.

UNCLASSIFIED


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