KTRS News
NORTH KOREA VOWS TO RESTART NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Tuesday, 02 April 2013 11:50 Published in National News
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Tuesday it will restart its long-shuttered plutonium reactor and increase production of nuclear weapons material, in what outsiders see as its latest attempt to extract U.S. concessions by raising fears of war.
A spokesman for the North's General Department of Atomic Energy said scientists will quickly begin "readjusting and restarting" the facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex, including the plutonium reactor and a uranium enrichment plant. Both could produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
The reactor began operations in 1986 but was shut down as part of international nuclear disarmament talks in 2007 that have since stalled. North Korea said work to restart the facilities would begin "without delay." Experts estimate it could take anywhere from three months to a year to reactivate the reactor.
The announcement will boost concerns in Washington and among its allies about North Korea's timetable for building a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach the United States, although it is still believed to be years away from developing that technology.
The nuclear vows and a rising tide of threats in recent weeks are seen as efforts by the North to force disarmament-for-aid talks with Washington and to increase domestic loyalty to young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by portraying him as a powerful military commander.
Hwang Jihwan, a North Korea expert at the University of Seoul, said the North "is keeping tension and crisis alive to raise stakes ahead of possible future talks with the United States."
"North Korea is asking the world, 'What are you going to do about this?'" he said.
The unidentified North Korean atomic spokesman said the measure is meant to resolve the country's acute electricity shortage but is also for "bolstering up the nuclear armed force both in quality and quantity," according to a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The statement suggests the North will do more to produce highly enriched uranium. Uranium worries outsiders because the technology needed to make highly enriched uranium bombs is much easier to hide than huge plutonium facilities. North Korea previously insisted that its uranium enrichment was for producing electricity — meaning low enriched uranium.
Kim Jin Moo, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in South Korea, said that by announcing it is "readjusting" all nuclear facilities, including the uranium enrichment plant, North Korea "is blackmailing the international community by suggesting that it will now produce weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that North Korea appears to be "on a collision course with the international community." Speaking in Andorra, the former South Korean foreign minister said the crisis has gone too far and international negotiations are urgently needed.
China, North Korea's only major economic and diplomatic supporter, expressed unusual disappointment with its ally. "We noticed North Korea's statement, which we think is regrettable," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. South Korea also called it "highly regrettable."
Yukiya Amano, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the North's decision "is another step which is deeply troubling for us and the world."
The North's plutonium reactor produces spent fuel rods laced with plutonium and is the core of Nyongbyon. It was disabled under a 2007 deal made at now-dormant aid-for-disarmament negotiations involving the North, the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
In 2008, North Korea destroyed the cooling tower at Nyongbyon in a show of commitment, but the deal later stalled after the North balked at allowing intensive international fact-checking of its past nuclear activities. North Korea pulled out of the talks after international condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April 2009.
North Korea "is making it clear that its nuclear arms program is the essence of its national security and that it's not negotiable," said Sohn Yong-woo, a professor at the Graduate School of National Defense Strategy of Hannam University in South Korea.
North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February, prompting a new round of U.N. sanctions that have infuriated its leaders. It has since declared that the armistice ending the Korean War in 1953 is void, shut down key military phone and fax hotlines with Seoul, threatened to launch nuclear and rocket strikes on the U.S. mainland and its allies and, most recently, declared at a high-level government assembly that making nuclear arms and a stronger economy are the nation's top priorities.
The Korean Peninsula technically remains in a state of war because a truce, not a peace treaty, ended the Korean War. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent to North Korea.
Washington has said it takes the threats seriously, though White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday the U.S. has not detected any military mobilization or repositioning of forces in North Korea.
The North's rising rhetoric has been met by a display of U.S. military strength, including flights of nuclear-capable bombers and stealth jets at annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that the allies call routine but that North Korea claims are invasion preparations.
South Koreans are familiar with provocations from the North, but its rhetoric over the last few weeks has raised worries.
"This is a serious concern for me," said Heo Jeong-ja, 70, a cleaning lady in Seoul. "The country has to stay calm, but North Korea threatens us every day."
North Korea added its 5-megawatt plutonium reactor to its nuclear complex at Nyongbyon in 1986, and the country is believed to have exploded plutonium devices in its first two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.
There had long been claims by the U.S. and others that North Korea was also pursuing a secret uranium program. In 2010, the North unveiled to visiting Americans a uranium enrichment program at Nyongbyon.
Analysts say they don't believe North Korea currently has mastered the miniaturization technology needed to build a warhead that can be mounted on a missile, and the extent of its uranium enrichment efforts is also unclear.
Scientist and nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, one of the Americans on the 2010 visit to Nyongbyon, has estimated that North Korea has 24 to 42 kilograms of plutonium — enough for perhaps four to eight rudimentary bombs similar to the plutonium weapon used on Nagasaki in World War II.
It's not known whether the North's latest atomic test, in February, used highly enriched uranium or plutonium stockpiles. South Korea and other countries have so far failed to detect radioactive elements that may have leaked from the test and which could determine what kind of device was used.
North Korea is under a U.N. arms embargo over its nuclear program. On Tuesday, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a treaty regulating international arms trade over the objection of North Korea, Iran and Syria.
___ Associated Press writers Sam Kim and Jean H. Lee in Seoul, John Heilprin in Geneva, George Jahn in Vienna, and researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report. ___ Follow Foster Klug on Twitter at twitter.com/APKlug
A spokesman for the North's General Department of Atomic Energy said scientists will quickly begin "readjusting and restarting" the facilities at its main Nyongbyon nuclear complex, including the plutonium reactor and a uranium enrichment plant. Both could produce fuel for nuclear weapons.
The reactor began operations in 1986 but was shut down as part of international nuclear disarmament talks in 2007 that have since stalled. North Korea said work to restart the facilities would begin "without delay." Experts estimate it could take anywhere from three months to a year to reactivate the reactor.
The announcement will boost concerns in Washington and among its allies about North Korea's timetable for building a nuclear-tipped missile that can reach the United States, although it is still believed to be years away from developing that technology.
The nuclear vows and a rising tide of threats in recent weeks are seen as efforts by the North to force disarmament-for-aid talks with Washington and to increase domestic loyalty to young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by portraying him as a powerful military commander.
Hwang Jihwan, a North Korea expert at the University of Seoul, said the North "is keeping tension and crisis alive to raise stakes ahead of possible future talks with the United States."
"North Korea is asking the world, 'What are you going to do about this?'" he said.
The unidentified North Korean atomic spokesman said the measure is meant to resolve the country's acute electricity shortage but is also for "bolstering up the nuclear armed force both in quality and quantity," according to a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The statement suggests the North will do more to produce highly enriched uranium. Uranium worries outsiders because the technology needed to make highly enriched uranium bombs is much easier to hide than huge plutonium facilities. North Korea previously insisted that its uranium enrichment was for producing electricity — meaning low enriched uranium.
Kim Jin Moo, a North Korea expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in South Korea, said that by announcing it is "readjusting" all nuclear facilities, including the uranium enrichment plant, North Korea "is blackmailing the international community by suggesting that it will now produce weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that North Korea appears to be "on a collision course with the international community." Speaking in Andorra, the former South Korean foreign minister said the crisis has gone too far and international negotiations are urgently needed.
China, North Korea's only major economic and diplomatic supporter, expressed unusual disappointment with its ally. "We noticed North Korea's statement, which we think is regrettable," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said. South Korea also called it "highly regrettable."
Yukiya Amano, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the North's decision "is another step which is deeply troubling for us and the world."
The North's plutonium reactor produces spent fuel rods laced with plutonium and is the core of Nyongbyon. It was disabled under a 2007 deal made at now-dormant aid-for-disarmament negotiations involving the North, the U.S., South Korea, Japan, China and Russia.
In 2008, North Korea destroyed the cooling tower at Nyongbyon in a show of commitment, but the deal later stalled after the North balked at allowing intensive international fact-checking of its past nuclear activities. North Korea pulled out of the talks after international condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April 2009.
North Korea "is making it clear that its nuclear arms program is the essence of its national security and that it's not negotiable," said Sohn Yong-woo, a professor at the Graduate School of National Defense Strategy of Hannam University in South Korea.
North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in February, prompting a new round of U.N. sanctions that have infuriated its leaders. It has since declared that the armistice ending the Korean War in 1953 is void, shut down key military phone and fax hotlines with Seoul, threatened to launch nuclear and rocket strikes on the U.S. mainland and its allies and, most recently, declared at a high-level government assembly that making nuclear arms and a stronger economy are the nation's top priorities.
The Korean Peninsula technically remains in a state of war because a truce, not a peace treaty, ended the Korean War. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent to North Korea.
Washington has said it takes the threats seriously, though White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday the U.S. has not detected any military mobilization or repositioning of forces in North Korea.
The North's rising rhetoric has been met by a display of U.S. military strength, including flights of nuclear-capable bombers and stealth jets at annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that the allies call routine but that North Korea claims are invasion preparations.
South Koreans are familiar with provocations from the North, but its rhetoric over the last few weeks has raised worries.
"This is a serious concern for me," said Heo Jeong-ja, 70, a cleaning lady in Seoul. "The country has to stay calm, but North Korea threatens us every day."
North Korea added its 5-megawatt plutonium reactor to its nuclear complex at Nyongbyon in 1986, and the country is believed to have exploded plutonium devices in its first two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.
There had long been claims by the U.S. and others that North Korea was also pursuing a secret uranium program. In 2010, the North unveiled to visiting Americans a uranium enrichment program at Nyongbyon.
Analysts say they don't believe North Korea currently has mastered the miniaturization technology needed to build a warhead that can be mounted on a missile, and the extent of its uranium enrichment efforts is also unclear.
Scientist and nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, one of the Americans on the 2010 visit to Nyongbyon, has estimated that North Korea has 24 to 42 kilograms of plutonium — enough for perhaps four to eight rudimentary bombs similar to the plutonium weapon used on Nagasaki in World War II.
It's not known whether the North's latest atomic test, in February, used highly enriched uranium or plutonium stockpiles. South Korea and other countries have so far failed to detect radioactive elements that may have leaked from the test and which could determine what kind of device was used.
North Korea is under a U.N. arms embargo over its nuclear program. On Tuesday, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a treaty regulating international arms trade over the objection of North Korea, Iran and Syria.
___ Associated Press writers Sam Kim and Jean H. Lee in Seoul, John Heilprin in Geneva, George Jahn in Vienna, and researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report. ___ Follow Foster Klug on Twitter at twitter.com/APKlug
OBAMA PROPOSES $100M FOR BRAIN MAPPING PROJECT
Tuesday, 02 April 2013 11:28 Published in Health & Fitness
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Congress to spend $100 million next year on a new project to map the human brain in hopes of eventually finding cures for disorders like Alzheimer's, epilepsy and traumatic injuries.
Obama said the so-called BRAIN Initiative could create jobs and eventually lead to answers to ailments including Parkinson's and autism and help reverse the effect of a stroke. The president told scientists gathered in the White House's East Room that the research has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.
"As humans we can identify galaxies light-years away," Obama said. "We can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears."
BRAIN stands for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. The idea, which Obama first proposed in his State of the Union address, would require the development of new technology that can record the electrical activity of individual cells and complex neural circuits in the brain "at the speed of thought," the White House said.
Obama wants the initial $100 million investment to support research at the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. He also wants private companies, universities and philanthropists to partner with the federal agencies in support of the research. And he wants a study of the ethical, legal and societal implications of the research.
The goals of the work are unclear at this point. A working group at NIH, co-chaired by Cornelia "Cori" Bargmann of The Rockefeller University and William Newsome of Stanford University, would work on defining the goals and develop a multi-year plan to achieve them that included cost estimates.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
Obama said the so-called BRAIN Initiative could create jobs and eventually lead to answers to ailments including Parkinson's and autism and help reverse the effect of a stroke. The president told scientists gathered in the White House's East Room that the research has the potential to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.
"As humans we can identify galaxies light-years away," Obama said. "We can study particles smaller than an atom, but we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the three pounds of matter that sits between our ears."
BRAIN stands for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies. The idea, which Obama first proposed in his State of the Union address, would require the development of new technology that can record the electrical activity of individual cells and complex neural circuits in the brain "at the speed of thought," the White House said.
Obama wants the initial $100 million investment to support research at the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. He also wants private companies, universities and philanthropists to partner with the federal agencies in support of the research. And he wants a study of the ethical, legal and societal implications of the research.
The goals of the work are unclear at this point. A working group at NIH, co-chaired by Cornelia "Cori" Bargmann of The Rockefeller University and William Newsome of Stanford University, would work on defining the goals and develop a multi-year plan to achieve them that included cost estimates.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Jaden Schwartz and Andy McDonald each had a goal and an assist, Brian Elliott stepped in and made 19 saves, and the St. Louis Blues snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Monday night.
Kevin Shattenkirk and Barret Jackman also scored for St. Louis, which made another major move to strengthen its defense during the game.
During the first intermission, the Blues announced the acquisition of defenseman Jay Bouwmeester from Calgary in exchange for a first-round pick and two prospects - defenseman Mark Cundari and goaltender Reto Berra.
The move comes 48 hours after St. Louis traded for defenseman Jordan Leopold, who played his first game in a Blues sweater Monday.
Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, whose home winning streak ended at four games. Minnesota lost for just the sixth time in its last 21 games overall.
St. Louis began the day out of the playoffs and staring at a stretch in which it plays six of the next seven on the road. Bouwmeester is expected to be on the ice Thursday against Chicago, the top team in the Western Conference.
Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak left the game with 12.5 seconds to go in the first period after sprawling to try and make a save on a slap shot. Halak had missed time previously this season with a groin injury.
Elliott, fresh off a two-game conditioning assignment in the minors, stepped in and stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced, including all 14 in the third period.
Elliott was especially strong early in the third when the Wild unleashed six shots in the opening five minutes.
On the other end, Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom's career-best and team-record eight-game winning streak ended.
Schwartz got a clean look from the right circle midway through the first period and beat Backstrom over his right glove.
In the second, McDonald put his own rebound past Backstrom to make it 2-1 at 12:17. Less than two minutes later, Shattenkirk sent a shot from the point through traffic that made it 3-1.
Led by free-agent signees Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, as well as captain Mikko Koivu, the Wild scored four or more goals in six of their last nine games entering Monday and put themselves in the hunt for the Northwest Division title.
But the exciting trio was kept off the board Monday and the rest of the Wild were unable to pick up the slack.
NOTES: If St. Louis does not qualify for this year's playoffs, the Flames will receive St. Louis' fourth-round selection in this summer's draft, with the first-round pick being deferred to 2014. ... Koivu missed time in the first period after getting hit in the face with Chris Stewart's stick. ... Wild forward Matt Cullen was injured late in the second period and did not play in the third. ... Jake Allen was assigned to AHL Peoria to make room for Elliott. ... The Blues also announced that the Vancouver Canucks have agreed to buy Peoria Rivermen, pending approval from the AHL.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
Kevin Shattenkirk and Barret Jackman also scored for St. Louis, which made another major move to strengthen its defense during the game.
During the first intermission, the Blues announced the acquisition of defenseman Jay Bouwmeester from Calgary in exchange for a first-round pick and two prospects - defenseman Mark Cundari and goaltender Reto Berra.
The move comes 48 hours after St. Louis traded for defenseman Jordan Leopold, who played his first game in a Blues sweater Monday.
Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, whose home winning streak ended at four games. Minnesota lost for just the sixth time in its last 21 games overall.
St. Louis began the day out of the playoffs and staring at a stretch in which it plays six of the next seven on the road. Bouwmeester is expected to be on the ice Thursday against Chicago, the top team in the Western Conference.
Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak left the game with 12.5 seconds to go in the first period after sprawling to try and make a save on a slap shot. Halak had missed time previously this season with a groin injury.
Elliott, fresh off a two-game conditioning assignment in the minors, stepped in and stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced, including all 14 in the third period.
Elliott was especially strong early in the third when the Wild unleashed six shots in the opening five minutes.
On the other end, Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom's career-best and team-record eight-game winning streak ended.
Schwartz got a clean look from the right circle midway through the first period and beat Backstrom over his right glove.
In the second, McDonald put his own rebound past Backstrom to make it 2-1 at 12:17. Less than two minutes later, Shattenkirk sent a shot from the point through traffic that made it 3-1.
Led by free-agent signees Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, as well as captain Mikko Koivu, the Wild scored four or more goals in six of their last nine games entering Monday and put themselves in the hunt for the Northwest Division title.
But the exciting trio was kept off the board Monday and the rest of the Wild were unable to pick up the slack.
NOTES: If St. Louis does not qualify for this year's playoffs, the Flames will receive St. Louis' fourth-round selection in this summer's draft, with the first-round pick being deferred to 2014. ... Koivu missed time in the first period after getting hit in the face with Chris Stewart's stick. ... Wild forward Matt Cullen was injured late in the second period and did not play in the third. ... Jake Allen was assigned to AHL Peoria to make room for Elliott. ... The Blues also announced that the Vancouver Canucks have agreed to buy Peoria Rivermen, pending approval from the AHL.
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
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