SEOUL, South Korea, Sept 13 (Alliance News): New images of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un touring a uranium enrichment facility offer a rare glimpse into the secretive nation’s nuclear weapons program.
The state media report from Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim inspecting a facility with rows of cylindrical machinery, used for producing weapons-grade nuclear material.
The report underscores North Korea’s ongoing efforts to expand its nuclear arsenal and deepen ties with Russia, heightening Western concerns about the regime’s nuclear ambitions.
Kim’s visit to the facility, whose location and exact date remain undisclosed, was focused on increasing production capabilities for weapon-grade materials.
Experts interpret the images as a sign of North Korea’s growing confidence and its commitment to bolstering its nuclear capabilities.
Kim has pledged to “exponentially” expand the country’s nuclear stockpile, signaling that denuclearization of North Korea remains unlikely, according to Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University.
The facility’s disclosure comes amid heightened tensions between North Korea and the West. The US and its allies have accused North Korea of providing military aid to Russia in its conflict with Ukraine—a claim both Moscow and Pyongyang deny.
The precise location of the enrichment facility remains unclear, leaving open the possibility that it may be a new site or an existing one like Yongbyon.
