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Who is N. Korea's 'Mr. Bomb?' It's hard to tell
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 20, 2006
SEOUL, South Korea - The scientists who have propelled North Korea's decadeslong nuclear program are shrouded in a deep veil of secrecy. Experts say it's virtually impossible to pinpoint a scientist as the charismatic driving force of North Korea's drive to tame the atom. But experts generally agree that in North Korea, scientific stars have been subsumed into a collective effort under draconian supervision - and in any case, major advances are attributed to leader Kim Jong Il or his father, founding ruler Kim Il Sung. Still, among North Korean scientists there is a "handful who truly have been pivotal," said Joseph Bermudez, a senior analyst at Jane's Information Group. Some scientists credited with the foundation for a nuclear program after 1945, such as To Sang Rok and Lee Sung Ki, studied at Japanese universities during the colonial period. Both are dead. Another influential figure, Seo Sang Guk, studied in the 1950s with many other North Korean scientists in the Soviet Union. He may live in the North. The most enigmatic figure may be a man identified in reports as Kyong Won Ha. In April 2003, the Australian newspaper reported he was among key North Korean specialists who defected to the West, describing him as the "father of North Korea's nuclear program." Kim Tae Woo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul said Kyong played a "very important role" - and was probably still in the North.
[Last modified October 20, 2006, 05:48:06]
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