N. Korea has weaponized declared plutonium: U.S. scholar

N. Korea has weaponized declared plutonium: U.S. scholar

BEIJING, China - Selig Harrison, Asia Program director at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, speaks at a news conference in Beijing after visiting North Korea. Harrison said North Korea contends it has weaponized the more than 30 kilograms of plutonium it has declared to its partners in the six-way denuclearization talks, and insists they cannot be inspected.

2007 year calendar made of gold on sale

2007 year calendar made of gold on sale

TOKYO, Japan - A woman points at a calendar for 2007 made of gold at a precious metal shop GINZA TANAKA in Tokyo on Oct. 28. The calendar, which is 67 centimeters long, 42 centimeters wide, and one millimeter thick, is made of pure gold and weighs some six kilograms. In connection with the year 2007, its price is set at 20.07 million yen.

Hokuriku Electric Power's "Assist Arm" robot for power distribution work

Hokuriku Electric Power's "Assist Arm" robot for power distribution work

Hokuriku Electric Power Company has completed the development of the "Assist Arm" (photo), a robot for power distribution work, and has begun deploying it. The robot will assist in the construction work, which used to be done by two people in a high-altitude work truck, enabling the work to be done by one person. This is the first time such a robot has been used in Japan. The company plans to adopt 10 more robots, including those of group companies, by the end of fiscal year 2019. The robots will be used for the most frequent part of the power distribution work, the wire separator work. In the past, high-voltage wires were cut and the cut wires were connected to each other with a temporary equipment called a wire separator by lifting a stick-shaped tool weighing about 10 kilograms. The robot will be able to cut wires and grab objects with an arm that can move in six axes with a single control grip, saving labor. Photo taken on November 20, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

N. Korea has weaponized declared plutonium: U.S. scholar

N. Korea has weaponized declared plutonium: U.S. scholar

BEIJING, China - Selig Harrison, Asia Program director at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, speaks at a news conference in Beijing after visiting North Korea. Harrison said North Korea contends it has weaponized the more than 30 kilograms of plutonium it has declared to its partners in the six-way denuclearization talks, and insists they cannot be inspected. (Kyodo)

2007 year calendar made of gold to be on sale

2007 year calendar made of gold to be on sale

TOKYO, Japan - A woman points at a calendar for 2007 made of gold at a precious metal shop GINZA TANAKA in Tokyo on Oct. 28. The calendar, which is 67 centimeters long, 42 centimeters wide, and one millimeter thick, is made of pure gold and weighs some six kilograms. In connection with the year 2007, its price is set at 20.07 million yen. (Kyodo)

Japan conducts geological study in Antarctica

Japan conducts geological study in Antarctica

SHOWA BASE, Antarctica - Japan's 41st Antarctic expedition conducted a large-scale geological study in Antarctica by detonating dynamite in January to research underground structures. A total of 180 seismometers were buried deep under ice over a 200-kilometer-long area. Some 600-kilograms of dynamite were set at each of six points to cause an artificial earthquake of about magnitude 2. The photo, provided by expedition member Shintaro Nomoto, shows one of the explosions.