Why does the exact composition of the bomb matter?
The fact that it is apparently a plutonium bomb makes it highly likely that it came from North Korea’s long-standing, indigenous plutonium-based programme, rather than imports. If the exact composition of the bomb can be determined, then intelligence agencies might be able to learn a great deal about how this programme refines plutonium. The composition might also provide hints as to why the bomb ‘fizzled’.
