Anchor: The U.S. is found to have proposed that North Korea ship 50 percent of its nuclear warheads to the United Kingdom. Britain is known for its expertise in nuclear weapons dismantlement. 
Hong Suhryung has this exclusive KBS report. 

Report: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden estimates that North Korea owns as many as 20 nuclear warheads.

It's confirmed that the U.S. government has proposed that Pyongyang receive assistance from the UK in the process of dismantling its nuclear warheads.

According to a diplomatic source, a U.S. State Department official who recently visited South Korea said that a proposal was made to North Korea on transferring 50 percent of its nuclear warheads to the UK.

Britain remains a nuclear power but its arsenal has been reduced by half since the late 1970s during the height of the Cold War, as a result, the U.K. has expertise in the field of nuclear dismantlement.

The proposal came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requested British technical support for North Korea in this area during talks with then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in June.

But shipping out half of its warheads is not the first step the North has been asked to take. A U.S. State Department official reportedly said that before transferring any warheads, the North needs to submit a list of its nuclear weapons to the U.S.

Ahead of his fourth visit to the North, Pompeo said Washington and Pyongyang are continuing to make progress and hope to make a "big step" before too long.

Some analysts said the U.S. and the North could have made concessions during their recent talks.
Hong Suhryung, KBS World Radio News