North Korea Unveils Images of Banned Uranium Enrichment Site as Kim Jong Un Pledges to Counter US Threats
For the first time, North Korea revealed images of its centrifuges used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons. The photos, shown on Friday, accompanied a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to a uranium enrichment facility, where he called for an increase in weapons-grade material to bolster the country’s nuclear arsenal.
Kim’s visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute, as reported by state media, provided a rare glimpse into North Korea’s nuclear program. The images showed Kim walking through rows of metal centrifuges, though the report did not specify the date or location of the visit.
During his tour, Kim urged workers to accelerate the production of materials for tactical nuclear weapons, emphasizing that the country’s nuclear stockpile was crucial to defending against threats from the U.S. and its allies. He stressed the need for both “self-defense” and the capability for a “preemptive attack.”
Kim also warned that nuclear threats from “U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces” had crossed a critical threshold, according to the report. In response, South Korea condemned North Korea’s actions, reiterating its stance against Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi confirmed that the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog had detected activity consistent with the operation of a reactor and centrifuge facility at North Korea’s Yongbyon complex. Kim has called for an “exponential increase” in the country’s nuclear arsenal and the expansion of a new type of centrifuge to enhance the production of weapons-grade material.
Experts pointed out that the newly revealed centrifuges appeared to be smaller and more efficient, indicating advancements in North Korea’s nuclear fuel production capabilities.
