A Physicist Defector's Account of North Korea's Nuke Labs 

Source: 北朝鮮寧辺核開発研究者の手記全文

Comments by Lee Wha Rang

Lee Mi (not her real name) was born in 1955 in Pungsuh-gun, Jagang-do 両江道豊西郡) and graduated from the Pyongyang Physics College (平北物理大学) in 1974.  The college was headed by Dr. Kim Myong Whan (金明煥).  Upon graduation,  Lee was assigned to a nuke lab, where she worked until her dismissal on February 21, 1999.  

Map: North Korea's nuclear labs. 

She escaped to China in September 2000 and later, went to a third country (probably South Korea or the United States).  It is believed that her first-hand account of  North Korea's nuclear weapons program was a key factor leading to the public disclosure of Kim Jong Il's nukes in recent weeks.

Park Kwang Ho (朴官五 - currently, president of the Kim Il Sung University) directed the nuclear program prior to the inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency  (IAEA) in 1990.   Kim Jong Il took over right after the inspection.  After Kim Il Sung died in 1994, central controls and supplies diminished somewhat for a while but now the controls are tighter and the lab gets all the supplies it needs. 

There are several nuke labs in North Korea.  They are code-named: The 101st Research Lab, The 304th Research Lab, The 206th Research Lab, The 175th Industry, The 66th Industry, The August Industry, The February Industry and so on.  There is no open communication among the lab workers, who are paid 20-30 percent extra for security. Lee worked at the 304th Research Lab located in Bungang (分江) near Youngpyong.

Dr. Doh Won Son directs the lab.  He came from South Korea in 1950.  Dr. Kim Do Sul is a section chief.  He studied at the Dubna Lab in the Soviet Union.   Some of the key staff members are: Dr. Park Myong Jung (studied nuclear physics for 15 years abroad),  Dr. Whang Jung Man (studied in the Soviet Union), Dr. Kim Jong Bok (studied at Dubna), Kim Gyong Sung (Dubna),  Dr. Kim Duk Soo (Dubna), Hyun Chul (Dubna), Kim Do Whi (Czechoslovakia), and Kim Oh Gyo (the Soviet Union). The 304th Lab operates a reactor built with Soviet assistance. Most of the lab equipment are of Soviet origin or design. The lab workers live in housing areas provided by the lab. 

North Korea's nuclear weapons program began in 1950, when Kim Il Sung ordered Lee Hak Mun, a two-time national hero medal winner, to develop nuclear weapons. Lee Hak Mun recruited Dr. Lee Sung Ki (李勝基),  Dr. Doh Won Sung, Do Sang Rok and other prominent South Korean scientists during North Korea's brief occupation of South Korea in 1950.  A nuke lab was established at Bungang (平安北道寧辺郡分江特区) in late 1950. Dr. Lee Sung Ki set up a branch lab in Hamhung and Doh Wong Sup and Kim Do Sul headed the main lat at Bungang.

Lee Wha Rang notes:  Lee's statements are inaccurate. North Korea's bomb was made possible by three noted scientists:

In addition to these three renowned scientists, there were many other outstanding scientists: Dr. Kim Gyng Wan, a chemist and president of Kim Chaik University; Dr. Yo Gyong Ku, a son of Yo Wun Hyung, who studied nuclear physics in the USSR; Dr. Jung Gun, Dr. Choe Hak Soon, Dr. Keh Yong Soon and Dr. Park Kwan Oh. Several hundred of North Korea's top scientists studied at the Dubna Nuclear Research Institute in the USSR.

The 304th Lab is primarily for nuclear weapons development but it also does research and development in chemical weapons.  More than 70 percents of the staff are foreign-trained experts. The staff numbers about 150.  The lab has research areas, shower rooms for radiation safety,  and other modern nuclear weapons research facilities. Doctoral staff members head research teams of technical assistants.   

The 206th Lab is mainly (70-80%) made of physicists numbering about 100. It is also located at Bungang and doe research and development of new weapons.  The Applications Research Institute (利用研究所) performs research and development of military technology in general.  It has s staff of about 150.   The 175th Industry builds equipment needed by nuke labs.   The August Industry started after the IAEA inspection in 1990.  It is located inside a forest and is connected to Bunsang via a rail road.  It processes uranium compounds needed by nuke labs.   The 101st Research Lab has a staff  of about 100.  It is comparable to the 304th and 206th nuke labs and performs research and development.

The 66th Industry is a support service organization responsible for plant construction and maintenance. It also builds living quarters for the lab staff members and provides daily necessities of the labs and staff. It is a large enterprise employing over 20,000 workers.  The Trading and Supply Company (輸出入資材商社) acquires materials from foreign sources for nuke labs. The February Industry (２月企業所) was created after the 1990 inspection.  It operates a reactor.  

Nuclear facilities operate in caves dug deep into mountains: the Yaksan, Dongdeh, and Sokdeh mountains. 

The underground facilities were constructed by the 66th Industry deep beneath Mt. Yaksan at a huge human costs. Many workers died in various accidents during the construction. 

Map:  Entrance to the Yaksan underground facility.

The construction began in 1965 and completed in 1970.  The underground caves branch out into different interconnected tunnels. The complex is extremely large and well illuminated. Its entrance is large enough for trucks to enter.  Concrete walls block the entrance and clever camouflage hide it from outsiders.    

The caves are used to hide lab equipment and other evidence of nuclear weapons program in case of inspections or other events. During the IAEA inspection, tell-tale equipment and materials were secretly moved into the Yaksan cave. During the inspection, the lab staff members wore military uniforms.  The Mt. Sokdeh facility is located near residential areas. It is next to a hospital. It is a shelter for the lab staff in case of an emergency.   There are two entrances to this underground facility, which has its own power generation.   

The Pyongyang Physics College is guarded by armed sentries. It is housed in a 2-story apartment building next to a hospital in Pyongyang.  Its students are mostly children of the scientists at nuke labs. The students come from well-established party cadres and selected from the brightest high school graduates. The College is under the direct control of the Workers' Party of Korea.  It has about 300 students and a staff of 50 or so. The staff members are selected from the basic research scientists at nuke labs.  

In 1990, the world was astonished to learn that North Korea had nuclear weapons and the United States forced North Korea to accept an IAEA inspection. The staff members at Bungang were given temporary military ranks and uniforms, and moved with their families to a secret hiding place. A new site was constructed at Pyongsan (黄海南道平山郡).  Lee's elder sister's husband directed the mass migration of the staff and family.  The lab equipment were moved to a hiding place. The reactor is now at the February Industry attached to the 304th Research Lab.

Lee has no direct knowledge of nuclear weapons actually assembled.  Research ideas of staff members are passed on to senior research project managers, who pass viable ideas to experimental labs operated by other groups.  The originators of ideas are excluded from experimentation.  Several researchers have been exposed to radiation over dose and had deformed children.   

The Bungan lab was created in the late 1950 with the help of Soviet scientists and advisors. Special living quarters were built along Guwol-gang (九龍江) River and the staff members were bused to the lab.  Families lived in the staff quarters. Chosen members were sent to China, Russia and other nations to study nuclear physics and chemistry.  The staff scientists are not allowed to travel abroad or even within North Korea on their own.   If a problem cannot be resolved by the staff, then special permission is given to go abroad to find the solution. Some of the staff members sent abroad engaged in reactionary activities and were sent to labor camps.

As stated earlier, the nuclear weapons program was started in late 1950 under the direction of Lee  Hak Mun. When the war ended in 1953, a branch lab was established in Hamhung.  There were about 200 Soviet and foreign advisors working at the lab.  Some time before 1970,  North Korean security agents broke into the safe that kept secret blue prints and made a cope of them.  Soon after, the foreign advisors were sent home.   

The reactor at Bungang was built in the 1950s. Later, new reactors were built at a branch lab and at the February Industry after the 1990 IAEA inspection. In the early days, reactor parts came from the Soviet Union but in the later days, they came from China. Uranium is mined domestically.   

Dr. Kim So In is the son of Prof. Kim Do Sul. The younger Kim in still in his 30s. His father and mother are both nuclear scientists. Kim So In's younger brother, also a scientist, works under him.  Dr. Kim So In was born at Dubna and returned home when he was 3. Kim So In is considered to be a genius. At age seven, he entered the Bungang High School (分江高等中学校).  Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il took note of the boy genius and had him educated at the Kim Il Sung University under an individual tutelage. At age 13, he was sent abroad to study nuclear physics.  He received a master's degree at age 19 and a doctorate at age 21. 

Dr. Kim So In is a member of the young scientists nurtured by Kim Il Sung. Kim So In is being groomed to succeed Dr. Lee Sung Gi at the lab in Hamhung. Kim Jong Il has a core of about 20 young scientists, like Dr. Kim So In, working on research and development of modern warfare. They receive the best care North Korea can provide.  Their whereabouts are kept secret.

Dr. Kim So In is married to Dr. Lee Sung Gi's daughter, and is the leader of the this group. He reports directly to Kim Jong Il.  Kim Jong Il said: "I will unite the country with the help of these young scientists."    

Related Webs: