SEOUL.-North Korea offered a rare glimpse of a secret facility dedicated to producing weapons-grade uranium after state media reported Friday that ruler Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for redoubled efforts to “exponentially” increase its nuclear arsenal.
It is not immediately clear whether the site is at its main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, but it is North Korea’s first public disclosure of the existence of a uranium enrichment facility since it showed a site at Yongbyon to visiting American academics in 2010. While the latest disclosure is likely an attempt to ramp up pressure on Washington and its allies, images of the site that were released to the North Korean press could provide a valuable source of information for outside experts to use to estimate how many nuclear components the North Korean government has produced.
During his visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the production center for weapons-grade nuclear materials, Kim “once again expressed his great satisfaction over the excellent technical capabilities of the atomic energy branch,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCA) reported.
The agency said Kim visited the control room of the uranium enrichment base and a construction facility that would expand its capacity for nuclear weapons production. North Korean media photos showed Kim being briefed by scientists as he walked through rows of tall gray pipes, but the agency did not specify the date of the president’s visit or where the facility was located.
The agency said Kim stressed the need to further increase the number of centrifuges to “continue to expand and strengthen the national self-defense power with nuclear armed forces,” a goal he has stressed several times in recent years. The agency said Kim instructed authorities to continue with the introduction of a new centrifuge, which has reached its completion stage.
Kim said North Korea needs greater defense and preemptive strike capabilities because “the nuclear threat maneuvers carried out by the US imperialist-led proxy forces are becoming more open and are crossing the dangerous line,” according to the ACNC.
North Korea first unveiled its Yongbyon uranium enrichment facility to the world in November 2010, when it allowed a delegation of Stanford University academics led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker to visit. At the time, North Korean officials told Hecker that 2,000 centrifuges were already installed and operating at Yongbyon.
