Furthermore, South Korea, which is paying 70 percent of the cost and also getting most of the contract business, would balk. It could produce between 75 to 150 bombs' worth of nuclear material annually. It's so misleading it makes me mad. Such extraction is hugely difficult and would require a large reprocessing effort far beyond North Korea's technical or financial means, he and other experts said. North Korea has reacted angrily to the prospect of a unilateral change in the deal.
Observers dismiss that as shrill propaganda.
But they do not dismiss Pyongyang's past pattern of provoking a crisis to engage in brinkmanship bargaining. Even without a change, the project faces more hurdles. North Korea must meet IAEA standards before crucial nuclear components will be delivered. Some say North Korea will balk at those inspections. North Korea also needs to find a way to rebuild its power grid.