North Korea announced Wednesday that its scientists had created a nuclear fusion reaction - a claim nuclear experts quickly cast doubt on.
"Nobody in the world has been able to sustain a controlled nuclear fusion reaction, the ultimate goal of nuclear technology," said Dan Pinkston, head of the Seoul office of the International Crisis Group. "I don't think the North Koreans are going to start ... putting nuclear power vendors around the world out of business any time soon."
Nuclear fusion is the same process that fuels stars, but has never been sustained in the laboratory by any nation, much less one of the poorest nations on earth. If scientists could harness fusion energy, it could become a long-term, inexpensive power source.
Korean President Lee Myung-bak demanded a transparent investigation into the sinking of the corvette Cheonan Thursday, while the nation mourned a hero as the navy diver who died during rescue attempts on the wreck was memorialized.
The trial of a South Korean couple whose 3-month-old baby allegedly died of malnutrition while they nurtured an animated child during marathon sessions playing an online game begins Friday in Suwon, a satellite city south of Seoul.
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