North Korea opens new plant producing nuclear weapons fuel

North Korea revealed a new nuclear fuel production facility on Thursday, with leader Kim Jong Un stating plans to expand the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.”

Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant's disclosure implies that Kim is eager to cement his country's status as a nuclear power and has no intentions of placing his bomb program on a negotiating table, News.Az reports, citing NPR.org.

After visiting the site on Wednesday, Kim said he and other top officials "confirmed the order of priority for implementing the ambitious future plan designed to beef up our state's nuclear forces at an exponential rate," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

The site is likely a uranium enrichment plant

KCNA said the facility used "more sophisticated technology" but didn't provide further details like its location. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the site as a uranium enrichment plant and said it was closely coordinating with the United States to monitor North Korean nuclear activities.

KCNA photos showed Kim walking through narrow aisles lined with dense rows of silver tubes and pipes, in what appeared to be a centrifuge hall. Another image showed him speaking with senior officials in a meeting room, where a blurred graphic depicting a cone-shaped object was spread across a table. It wasn't immediately clear whether the graphic showed a warhead design.

It's the third time that North Korea has disclosed a uranium enrichment site. In 2010, North Korea showed one at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars, and in 2024, North Korea released photos of another covert uranium-enrichment plant, which experts believe was at its Kangson complex.

Experts say the newly disclosed site is likely an additional uranium enrichment facility that North Korea is suspected to have been building at Yongbyon.

"Based on a preliminary analysis, it appears that this facility is likely the newly added Yongbyon enrichment facility. It appears to have two levels and represents a substantial expansion of enrichment capability," said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli