• Title/Summary/Keyword: nuclear weapons

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A Study on the Applicability of Water-soluble Decontaminant to the Contaminated Aircraft Using SEM/EDS analysis (SEM/EDS 분석을 통한 수용성 제독제의 오염 항공기 적용 가능성 연구)

  • Kim, Jae-Kyun;Kim, Ik-Sik;Shin, Ki-Su
    • Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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    • v.45 no.6
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    • pp.48-54
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    • 2008
  • Biochemical weapons, called as a poor nation's nuclear-weapon, are most favorable Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD). At the beginning of war, these biochemical weapons, which can threaten the operations of our forces and cause the anxiety and chaos of people, should be used to attack our principle facilities. And these attacks might be conducted as a long term scenario over the war. Consequentially, our military training as well as civilian-military joint training have been focused on these circumstances to improve defense capability against the invasion of biochemical weapons. Add to these efforts, there have been a lot of researches to develop advanced decontaminations that can secure our troops and equipments. In this study, applicability of the water-soluble decontaminant for the contaminated aircraft was evaluated. The water-soluble decontaminant has been applied to the military stations and ground weapon systems only. According to the theoretical analyses and published papers, the water-soluble decontaminant has been shown better decontamination capability than commercial cleaner by roughly 50%. Furthermore, as a result of experiment efforts in this study, it was showed that the water-soluble decontaminant can reduce corrosion risk which is primary concern for the aircraft structures.

Militarization and Weaponization of Outer Space in International Law

  • Kim, Han-Taek
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.33 no.1
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    • pp.261-284
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    • 2018
  • The current international legal system does not provide a safeguard against the militarization and the weaponization of outer space. Although the term "peaceful use of outer space" in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty(OST) appears in official government statements or in multilateral space treaties, it is still without an authoritative definition in reviewing national practices. The ambiguous ban on weapons in Article IV of the OST allows countries to loophole on the deployment of other weapons other than nuclear weapons. Meanwhile "Draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapon in Outer Space and of the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects(PPWT)" to Conference on Disarmament (CD) commissioned by the UN General Assembly's Special Session jointly submitted by China and Russia in 2008 and later revised in 2014, attempting to define and prohibit the proliferation of weapons in outer space and provided definitions of prohibited weapons, are opposed by the US on the grounds that currently there is no arms race in outer space. Some experts support a hard law approach in which binding laws aimed at ultimately creating integrated and binding legal instruments in all aspects of the use of outer space should be adopted to regulate the military use of space. However as a temporary measure the soft law guidelines should be developed for the non liquiet, a situation where there is no applicable law. The soft law could be used to create support for the declaration of the treaties and to create international customary law. For example, the 1963 Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space that regulates the activities of the state in the exploration and use of the universe, and the 1992 Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space will illustrated. While substantial portions of the former was codified later in the 1967 OST, the latter which, although written in somewhat mandatory terms, have been consistently complied with by states, have arguably become part of customary international law. On November 12, 1974, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the development of international law may be reflected inter alia, by declarations and resolutions of the General Assembly which may to that extent be taken into consideration by the International Court of Justice.

Assessment of the material attractiveness and reactivity feedback coefficients of various fuel cycles for the Canadian concept of Super-Critical Water Reactors

  • Ibrahim, Remon;Buijs, Adriaan;Luxat, John
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.7
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    • pp.2660-2669
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    • 2022
  • The attractiveness for weapons usage of the proposed fuel cycle for the PT-SCWR was evaluated in this study using the Figure-of-Merit methodology. It was compared to the attractiveness of other fuel cycles namely, Low Enriched Uranium (LEU), U/Th, Re-enriched Reprocessed Uranium (RepU), and Pu/Th/U. The optimal content of natural uranium, which can be added to Pu/Th to render the produced U-233 unattractive, was found to be 9%. A ranking system to compare the attractiveness of the various fuel cycles is proposed. RepU was found to be the most proliferation resistant fuel cycle for the first 100 years,while, the least proliferation resistant fuel cycle was the originally proposed Pu/Th one. The reactivity feedback coefficients were calculated for all proposed fuel cycles. All studied reactivity coefficients have the same sign implying that all the fuel cycles will behave neutronically in a similar way. The Pu/Th/U fuel was found to have the most negative value of the Coolant Void Reactivity which will help to restore the core to a safe status faster in case of a loss-of-coolant accident. The fuel and moderator temperature coefficients did not show significant differences between the fuels studied.

Trends and Prospects of N. Korea Military Provocations After the Sinking of ROKS Cheon-an (천안함 폭침 이후 북한의 군사도발 양상과 전망)

  • Kim, Sung-Man
    • Strategy21
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    • s.34
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    • pp.58-92
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    • 2014
  • Even after S. Korea took 5.24 Measure(24 May 2014), N. Korea has not stopped raising provocations such as the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, electronic and cyber attacks. To make matters worse, the communist country lunched long-range missiles(twice) and conducted 3rd nuclear test, escalating tensions which could possibly lead to an all-out war. Korean Government failed to respond properly. However, escalation into an all-out war was deterred by the CFC immediately carrying out its peacetime duty(CODA). The US made a rapid dispatch of its augmentation forces(Aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered submarine, strategic bomber, F-22) to the Korean Peninsula. In recognition of the importance of the Combined Forces Command, since May 2013 the Park Geun-Hye Administration has been pushing ahead with re-postponement of Wartime Operational Control Transfer(which initially meant the disassembling of the CFC as of 1 December 2015) More recently, there has been a series of unusual indicators from the North. Judging from its inventory of 20 nuclear weapons, 1,000 ballistic missiles and biochemical weapons, it is safe to say that N. Korea has gained at least war deterrence against S. Korea. Normally a nation with nuclear weapons shrink its size of conventional forces, but the North is pursuing the opposite, rather increasing them. In addition, there was a change of war plan by N. Korea in 2010, changing 'Conquering the Korean Peninsula' to 'Negotiation after the seizure of the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area(GSMA)' and establishing detailed plans for wartime projects. The change reflects the chain reaction in which requests from pro-north groups within the South will lead to the proclamation of war. Kim, Jeong-Un, leader of N. Korean regime, sent threatening messages using words such as 'exercising a nuclear preemptive strike right' and 'burning of Seoul'. Nam, Jae-June, Director of National Intelligence Service, stated that Kim, Jung-Un is throwing big talks, saying communization of the entire Korean Peninsula will come within the time frame of 3 years. Kim, Gwan-Jin, Defense Minister, shared an alarming message that there is a high possibility that the North will raise local provocations or a full-fledged war whenever while putting much emphasis on defense posture. As for the response concept of the Korean Government, it has been decided that 'ROK·US Combined Local Provocation Counter-Measure' will be adopted to act against local provocations from the North. Major provocation types include ▲ violation of the Northern Limit Line(NLL) with mobilization of military ships ▲ artillery provocations on Northwestern Islands ▲ low altitude airborne intrusion ▲ rear infiltration of SOF ▲ local conflicts within the Military Demarcation Line(MDL) ▲ attacking friendly ships by submarines. Counter-measures currently established by the US involves the support from USFK and USFJ. In order to keep the sworn promise, the US is reinforcing both USFK and USFJ. An all-out war situation will be met by 'CFC OPLAN5027' and 'Tailored Expansion Deterrence Forces' with the CFC playing a central role. The US augmentation forces stands at 690,000 troops, some 160 ships, 2,000 aircraft and this comprise 50% of US total forces, which is estimated to be ninefold of Korean forces. The CFC needs to be in center in handling both local provocations and an all-out war situation. However, the combat power of S. Korean conventional forces is approximately around 80% of that of N. Korea, which has been confirmed from comments made by Kim, Gwan-Jin, Defense Minister, during an interpellation session at the National Assembly. This means that S. Korean forces are not much growing. In particular, asymmetric capabilities of the North is posing a serious threat to the South including WMD, cyber warfare forces, SOF, forces targeting 5 Northwestern Islands, sub-surface and amphibious assault forces. The presence of such threats urgently requires immediate complementary efforts. For complementary efforts, the Korean Government should consider ① reinforcement of Korean forces; putting a stoppage to shrinking military, acquisition of adequate defense budget, building a missile defense and military leadership structure validity review, ② implementation of military tasks against the North; disciplinary measures on the sinking of ROKS Cheon-an/shelling of Yeonpyeong Islands, arrangement of inter-Korean military agreements, drawing lessons from studies on the correlation between aid for N. Korea, execution of inter-Korean Summit and provocations from the North, and ③ bolstering the ROK·US alliance; disregarding wartime operational control transfer plan(disassembling of CFC) and creation of a combined division.

Material attractiveness of irradiated fuel salts from the Seaborg Compact Molten Salt Reactor

  • Vaibhav Mishra;Erik Branger;Sophie Grape;Zsolt Elter;Sorouche Mirmiran
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.56 no.9
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    • pp.3969-3980
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    • 2024
  • Over the years, numerous evaluations of material attractiveness have been performed for conventional light water reactors to better understand the nature of the spent fuel material and its desirability for misuse at different points in the nuclear fuel cycle. However, availability of such assessments for newer, Generation IV reactors such as Molten Salt Reactors is rather limited. In the present study we address the gap in knowledge of material attractiveness for molten salt reactor systems and describe the nature of irradiated fuel salts which the nuclear safeguards community might be faced with in the near future as more and more such reactors enter commission and operation. Within the scope of the paper, we use a large database of simulated irradiated fuel salt isotopics (and other derived quantities such as gamma activity, decay heat, and neutron emission rates) developed specifically for a molten salt reactor concept in order to shed some light on possible weapons usability of uranium and plutonium present in the irradiated fuel salts. This has been achieved by proposing a new attractiveness metric that is better suited for quantifying attractiveness of irradiated salts from a model molten salt concept. The said metric has been computed using a database that has been created by simulating the irradiation of molten fuel salt in a concept core over a wide range of operational parameters (burnup, initial enrichment, and cooling time) using the Monte-Carlo particle transport code, Serpent. With the help of this attractiveness metric, the findings from this study have shown that in relative terms, molten salt spent fuel is more attractive than spent fuel produced by a conventional light water reactor. The findings also underscore the need for strengthened safeguards measures for such spent fuel. These results are expected to be useful in the future for regulatory authorities as well as for nuclear safeguards inspectors for designing a functional safeguards verification routine for irradiated fuel of such unique nature.

The Nuclear Security Summit Achievements, Limitations, and Tasks against Nuclear Terrorism Threat (핵테러리즘 위협에 대한 핵안보정상회의 성과, 한계 및 과제)

  • Yoon, Taeyoung
    • Convergence Security Journal
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.73-81
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    • 2017
  • In April 2009, in the wake of President Obama's Prague speech, the international community held four nuclear sec urity summits from 2010 to 2016 to promote nuclear security and prevent nuclear terrorism. The Nuclear Security S ummit has made significant progress in preventing terrorists from attempting to acquire nuclear weapons or fissile materials, but it still has limitations and problems. To solve this problem, the international community should resume the joint efforts for strengthening bilateral cooperation and multilateral nuclear security regime, and the participating countries should strive to protect their own nuclear materials and fulfill their commitments to secure nuclear facilitie s. Second, the United Nations(UN), the IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency), International Criminal Police Or ganization(INTERPOL), the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism(GICNT), and the Global Partnership(G P) must continue their missions to promote nuclear security in accordance with the five action plans adopted at the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit. Third, the participating countries should begin discussions on the management and protection of military nuclear materials that could not be covered by the Nuclear Security Summit. Fourth, the intern ational community must strive to strengthen the implementation of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuc lear Material(CPPNM) Amendment and International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrori sm(ICSANT), prepare for cyber attacks against nuclear facilities, and prevent theft, illegal trading and sabotage invo lving nuclear materials.

A Review on the South Korean Non-nuclear "Plan B": Improvement of its Own Deterrence and Defense Posture (북핵 대응에 대한 한국의 비핵(非核) "플랜 B" 검토: 자체 억제 및 방어태세의 보완)

  • Park, Hwee-rhak
    • Korean Journal of Legislative Studies
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.69-96
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    • 2019
  • This paper is written to suggest several recommendations for South Korea to deter and defend North Korean nuclear threat, when North Korea does not seem to give up its nuclear weapons and the US's extended deterrence including the nuclear umbrella could remain uncertain. For this purpose, it explains key options regarding nuclear deterrence and defense by non-nuclear weapon state. It evaluates the current status of South Korean non-nuclear preparedness against North Korean nuclear threat and provides some recommendations to improve the preparedness. As a result, this paper concluded that South Korean non-nuclear preparedness against North Korean nuclear threat was not that reliable. The preparedness has weakened since the South Korean effort to denuclearize North Korea through negotiations in 2018. In this sense, South Korea could have serious problems in protecting its people from North Korean nuclear threat if the US promise of extended deterrence is not implemented. South Korea should focus on its decapitation operation to North Korean highest leaders in case of North Korean nuclear attack based on a minimal deterrence concept. It should be prepared to conduct preventive strikes instead of preemptive strikes due to North Korea's development of solid fuel ballistic missiles. It should integrate its Ballistic Missile Defense with that of the US forces in Korea. South Korea should make a sincere effort for nuclear civil defense including construction of nuclear shelters.

(A) Study on the Effectiveness of Preventive Attacks in the Process of Nuclear Development : Focusing on Israel's Attacks on Iraq and Syria (핵 개발 과정에서의 예방공격 효용성 연구 : 이스라엘에 의한 이라크와 시리아 공격을 중심으로)

  • Han, Seung Jo
    • Convergence Security Journal
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.129-141
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of preventive attacks through cases of military attacks against nuclear facilities in Iraq and Syria that Israel has conducted. It also suggests a desirable approach to preventive attacks against North Korea. The Operation Opera in Iraq in 1981 and the Operation Orchard in Syria in 2007 are examined with an aim to support the opinion "the preventive attack can not be successful in the long run though it may be effective in the short term". It is also possible to denuclearize if the effective preventive attacks on the Korean peninsula are conducted together with removing both nuclear weapons development means and will. In order to guarantee the successful prevent attacks, it is necessary to secure the legitimacy of preventive attacks as well as international pressure. Also, the reliable military attack should be done on facilities, manpower and monitored continuously to prevent developing the nuclear afterwards.

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Cesium removal in water using magnetic materials ; A review (자성체 물질을 이용한 수중의 세슘제거 동향)

  • Yeo, Wooseok;Cho, Byungrae;Kim, Jong Kyu
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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    • v.21 no.6
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    • pp.395-408
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    • 2018
  • Even after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the rate of production of electric energy using nuclear energy is increasing, but there is a great danger such as the radioactive waste produced when using nuclear power, the catastrophic accident of nuclear power plant, and connection with nuclear weapons. In particular, Cs present in the ionic form of alkaline elements has a long half-life (30.17 years) because it is readily absorbed by the organism and emits intense gamma rays, thus presenting a serious radiation hazard. Therefore, it must be completely removed before it can be released into the natural ecosystem, because it can adversely affect not only humans but also natural ecosystems. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. In addition, researches have been doing to synthesize magnetic materials with adsorbents such as HCF and PB, and it shows a great effect in the removal rate of Cs present in wastewater or the maximum Cs adsorption amount. In particular, when a magnetic material was applied, excellent results were obtained in which only Cs was selectively removed from other cations. However, new problems such as applicability in the sea where Cs is directly released, applicability in various pH ranges, and failure to preserve the magnetizing force possessed by the magnetic body have been found. However, researches using ferromagnetic field with stronger magnetic properties than those of magnetic bodies is considered to be insufficient. Therefore, it is considered that if the researches combining the ferromagnetic field with the magnetization ability and functional adsorbents more actively, the radioactive material Cs which adversely affects the natural ecosystem can be effectively removed.

Analyses and improvement of fuel temperature coefficient of rock-like oxide fuel in LWRs from neutronic aspect

  • Shelley, Afroza
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.52 no.6
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    • pp.1156-1163
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    • 2020
  • Fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) of PuO2+ZrO2 (ROX) fueled LWR cell is analyzed neutronically with reactor- and weapons-grade plutonium fuels in comparison with a U-free PuO2+ThO2 (TOX), and a conventional MOX fuel cells. The FTC value of a ROX fueled LWR is smaller compared to a TOX or a MOX fueled LWRs and becomes extremely positive especially, at EOL. This is because when fuel temperature is increased, thermal neutron spectrum is shifted to harder, which is extreme at EOL in ROX fuel than that in TOX and MOX fuels. Consequently at EOL, 239Pu and 241Pu contributes to positive fuel temperature reactivity (FTR) in ROX fuel, while they have negative contribution in TOX and MOX fuels. The FTC problem of ROX fuel is mitigated by additive ThO2, UO2 or Er2O3. In ROX-additive fuel, the atomic density of fissile Pu becomes more than additive free ROX fuel especially at EOL, which is the main cause to improve the FTC problem. The density of fissile Pu is more effective to decrease the thermal spectrum shifts with increase the fuel temperature than additive ThO2, UO2 or Er2O3 in ROX fuel.