How Much Has N. Korea Advanced in Its Nuclear Technoloy?

North Korea clearly demonstrated its capability to make devices with substantial explosive power with its nuclear test but how far have the regime's nuclear ambitions advanced over the years? Our Heo Seung-ha gives us an idea. South Korean intelligence officials estimate that North Korea poured as much as 1-point-5-billion U.S. dollars in developing nuclear weapons. If you include the money invested in developing its missile technology, which enabled December's launch of a long-range rocket, the figure would rise up to 3-point-2-billion dollars. That's a sum the famine-stricken nation can buy over 10-million tons of corns, the amount enough to feed its entire population for up to three years. So, how much has this reclusive nation advanced its nuclear technology by depriving its people of food? Everybody agrees that since Pyongyang undertook its first underground nuclear test in 2006, its nuclear weapons technology has evolved considerably and some experts predict that it could make a small enough nuclear warhead needed to be mounted atop an Inter-continental ballistic missile in the next 4 to 5 years. South Korean defense ministry officials figure the nuclear device used in Pyongyang's third nuclear test on Tuesday was half as powerful as the bomb used in Hiroshima in 1945. But it was at least twice as powerful as the second test North Korea conducted in 2009, according to Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organizatio; If Pyongyang manages to succeed in miniaturizing its nuclear bombs, that means nuclear warheads could be installed on its long-range rocket which can travel over 10-thousand kilometers, posing a bigger threat to the international community, particularly the United States. South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon says, although Pyongyang has succeeded in launching a long range missile and managed to detonate a powerful nuclear device, it has yet to develop small and light warheads that can be carried by its long-range rocket. Heo Seung-ha, Arirang News.