• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.454-466
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• 2017

North Korea intended to increase the power of its nuclear weapons and standardize warhead to be loaded in ballistic missiles through the $4^{th}$ and $5^{th}$ nuclear tests. In this study, three kinds of nuclear weapons that North Korea might have used in the $4^{th}$ and $5^{th}$ nuclear tests to achieve their technical goals were suggested. Monte Carlo modeling and various technical assessments have shown that boosted fission weapons are most likely to be used. Also, using the empirical formula considering the burial depth of explosion, we found that the yield of the $4^{th}$ and $5^{th}$ nuclear tests is at least twice as strong as that is expected it could be and the initial design power could reach 8kt before amplification. This means that North Korea has already achieved a substantial level of nuclear fusion technology through the $4^{th}$ test and has made a breakthrough in the miniaturization of nuclear weapons through the $5^{th}$ test. After two or three additional tests, North Korea is expected to have nuclear missiles equipped with nuclear warhead by 2020, which is expected to complete ballistic missile development.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.413-430
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• 2011

Consideration on the explosion resistant design of infrastructure has increased in the recent years. The explosion load is caused by gas explosion or bomb blast. In this study an analytical model is developed, whereby the tunnel structure is divided in several elements that are schematized as single degree of freedom mass-spring-dashpot systems on gas explosion. Using this simple model a sensitivity analysis has been carried out on tunnel structure design parameters such as explosive peak pressure, duration of the load, thickness of structure, burial depth. Finite element method was used to investigate the dynamic response and plastic zone of a tunnel under gas explosion. And it was found from the comparison of the analysis results that there are slight differences in the response of the intermediate wall between the single degree of freedom mass-spring-dashpot model and FEM.