The Chosunilbo:
A photo last week of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with what the North claimed is a miniaturized nuclear warhead was taken at a missile factory in Nampo, according to a U.S. expert.
Jeffrey Lewis of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies said on the website 38 North that a close observation of the lighting on the ceiling shows the picture was taken at the Taesung Machine Factory.
The official [North] Korean Central News Agency published the photo last week but did not say where it was taken. The factory is thought to be the oldest missile plant in North Korea.
“Although the images do not provide quite enough detail to determine the type of engine, for the first time we can confirm that the first stage of the KN-08 Mod 1 comprises two engines,” Lewis said.
“North Korea has now shown a reentry body that looks like early U.S. and Soviet ones.” Reentry body is boffin-speak for a ballistic missile that leaves and reenters the atmosphere.
“This is the first credible reentry vehicle design that North Korea has displayed,” he added. “There is enough open source evidence to take seriously the possibility that North Korea has developed a compact fission device that is approximately 60 cm in diameter and weighs between 200-300 kg.”
