An undated undated photograph released by North Korea’s official news agency on Wednesday showed the country’s leader, Kim Jong-Il (in sunglasses), and his youngest son, Kim jong-un (in black suit, between military officers), inspecting troops recently. Kns/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDefector Offers Insights Into N.Korean Arms Buildup -- Chosun Ilbo
North Korea began building centrifuges to enrich uranium in the late 1990s, a high-ranking North Korean defector said Tuesday. "There is a factory in Huichon, Jagang Province that builds centrifuges," the defector said.
There are fears that centrifuges manufactured in Huichon could have been moved to the nearby Yongbyon nuclear facility north of Pyongyang. Huichon is just 57 km from Yongbyon and the two cities are connected by road and railway.
In November North Korea took U.S. nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker to a facility in Yongbyon that contained around a thousand centrifuges. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials believe that the centrifuges were made elsewhere.
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My Comment: Most of what is being reported here makes a lot of sense. I have to believe that this defector's observations and analysis is true, and that he must have been highly placed within the government. As to why he defected .... with recent reports coming out of North Korea that a Communist purge is underway .... I would not be surprised if he is one of many who have (and are) searching for a way to get out of North Korea.