Pyongyang, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is under multiple United Nations sanctions over its banned weapons programs, has never publicly shown the facilities. They produce highly enriched uranium, needed for nuclear warheads, using high-speed centrifuges. Kim visited the nuclear weapons institute and a nuclear weapons materials production base, the official KCNA news agency said, without specifying where the facilities are located or when the visit took place.
North Korean leader “stressed the need to further increase the number of centrifuges in order to exponentially increase self-defense nuclear weapons”the agency reported, publishing footage of Kim Jong Un inspecting rows of centrifuges. Mr. Kim “became familiar with the production of nuclear warheads” and nuclear materials, according to the agency. The leader urged “promote the introduction of a new type of centrifuge (…) in order to strengthen the foundations for producing nuclear materials for military use.” Mr Kim also called for “set a higher long-term target for the production of the necessary nuclear materials,” KCNA added.
North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs are under UN sanctions, but the country ignores those restrictions, thanks in part to the support of its allies Russia and China. South Korea has condemned Pyongyang for “revealed the existence of a uranium enrichment facility” and discussed an increase in the production of materials for nuclear weapons. “This is a flagrant violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions.”a spokesman for the Unification Ministry in Seoul said.
Influencing the US Election
According to experts, the release of images of uranium enrichment facilities could be intended to influence the US presidential election in November. These images are “a message to the next administration” meaning “that it will be impossible to denuclearize North Korea,” Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP. “It is also a message asking other countries to recognize North Korea as a nuclear state.”he added.
North Korea is believed to operate several uranium enrichment facilities, according to South Korean intelligence, including one at the Yongbyon nuclear site. Decommissioned after negotiations, Pyongyang is believed to have reactivated it in 2021. The facility unveiled Friday is “most likely the Kangson site”another top-secret nuclear complex near Pyongyang, according to Mr. Hong. However, the exposure is unlikely to be quickly followed by another nuclear test, the analyst said.
Flood damaged site
North Korea’s main nuclear test site was damaged by flooding following heavy rains in late July, according to reports released Wednesday by 38 North, a North Korea analysis program run by the Stimson Center think tank. The site “is in very bad condition.” “All the roads and railways have been destroyed by the rains and the ground is very fragile.”Mr. Hong also believes.
Relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are at an all-time low, with the North recently announcing the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launchers on its southern border. North Korea has been dropping large quantities of garbage-laden balloons in recent months, with another round last week. On Thursday, Seoul announced that North Korea had fired several “short-range ballistic missiles” towards the sea, its first major weapons test since early July. But the KCNA news agency said Friday that it was a test of a “new type of 600mm multiple rocket launcher.”
Source: www.liberation.fr
