Fat man shows off his Fat Man: Kim Jong-un poses next to ‘his new tactical nukes’ as he calls for ‘exponential’ growth of his nuclear arsenal
- It comes as the North-Korean supreme leader met with officials to discuss the production of new nuclear weapons
- Warheads included blunt-rounded capsules, akin to those dropped on Nagasaki at the close of World War II
Kim Jong-Un is ready to up the ante in coming weeks with increasingly provocative and eccentric displays of his military nuclear program.
In recently released photos provided by the North Korean government, the Supreme Leader visited a hall displaying what appeared to be various types of nuclear warheads designed to be mounted on missiles or rocket launchers.
The photos showed Kim – who weighs a whopping 270lbs, or 122kg – talking with officials inside the hall.
The warheads included around 10 khaki-green capsules with red tips.
Other weapons included devices that looked like a black-and-white cone with fins or a large torpedo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location
The Supreme Leader visited a hall displaying what appeared to be various types of nuclear warheads designed to be mounted on missiles or rocket launchers
He could also be seen standing next to smaller, blunter and more rounded nuclear devices.
These weapons were originally called Fat Man nukes following their use in the detonation of Nagasaki in August 1945, due to their rounded, wide shape.
One of the nukes was a warhead called the Hwasan-91, as described by a poster in the hall.
The poster´s graphics implied that the weapon could fit on some of North Korea´s short-range ballistic systems, cruise missiles and a purported nuclear-capable underwater drone the country first unveiled last week.
The size and shape of the Hwasan-31, which some experts estimated was around 50 centimeters (19 inches) wide and 90 centimeters (35 inches) long, suggested progress in North Korean efforts to create a miniaturized warhead that could fit on its delivery systems, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
Other weapons included devices that looked like a black-and-white cone with fins or a large torpedo
He could also be seen standing next to smaller, blunter and more rounded nuclear devices
It comes as Kim used the meetings to stress the need to ramp up bomb fuel production to meet his goals to expand his nuclear arsenal ‘exponentially,’ and issued unspecified ‘important tasks’ for his nuclear industry.
Kim also examined the country´s established plans for nuclear counterattacks as scientists briefed him on the North´s latest nuclear-capable weapons systems and progress in technologies for mounting nuclear warheads on missiles, the Korean Central News agency said.
Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea´s Sejong Institute, said the reports suggest North Korea is moving closer to its next nuclear test.
Hours before North Korea´s sixth test in 2017, state media showed Kim Jong Un observing a silver, peanut-shaped device, which apparently was a purported thermonuclear weapon built for intercontinental ballistic missiles the North claimed to have detonated during that test.
One of the nukes was a warhead called the Hwasan-91, as described by a poster in the hall
Cheong said the North will likely use its next test to claim it acquired a miniaturized nuclear warhead to mount on a growing range of weapons it describes as ‘tactical.’
The North´s use of the term communicates a threat to proactively use them during conflicts to blunt the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the United States.
Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson of Seoul´s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South´s military was analyzing the warhead unveiled in the North Korean photos but didn´t provide specific assessments.
The poster´s graphics implied that the weapon could fit on some of North Korea´s short-range ballistic systems, cruise missiles and a purported nuclear-capable underwater drone the country first unveiled last week
It comes as Kim used the meetings to stress the need to ramp up bomb fuel production to meet his goals to expand his nuclear arsenal ‘exponentially’
Kim’s calls for boosting bomb fuel production came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, in what was seen as a warning to the West as it increases military support for Ukraine.
While aligning with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, North Korea has stressed three-way cooperation with Moscow and Beijing to confront a ‘new Cold War’ waged by ‘U.S. imperialists,’ who it accuses of bringing the conflict to Asia by stepping up military activities with Seoul and Tokyo.
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