Citing what they claim is an internal Chosun Workers’ Party document, two Japanese newspapers have today published articles stating that the late Kim Jong Il ordered the mass production of highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

If true, the contents of the 19-page document, as reported by Tokyo Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, contradict the North Korean official position; namely, that its nuclear program is a peaceful expression of a sovereign right, and that its enrichment facility at Yongbyon is producing only low enriched uranium for use in civilian energy generation.

"Time is not being put into highly-enriched uranium technology for use in civilian industry," Kim Jong Il is reported to have declared pointedly in the document, before ordering the “mass production” of nuclear bombs.

The document was allegedly produced in February this year.