Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has asked for expanding the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment to increase the country’s nuclear arsenal for self-defence, state media said on Friday.
For the first time in history, North Korea has publicly disclosed details of its uranium enrichment facility, as reported by Yonhap news agency. This unprecedented move has brought a significant development to light.
Kim made the call while visiting the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the “production base of weapon-grade nuclear materials,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. The dispatcher did not provide the facility’s location or the date of the visit.
“The KCNA said Kim went around the control room of the uranium enrichment base to learn about the overall operation of the production lines. Kim expressed great satisfaction after being briefed that the “base is dynamically producing nuclear materials.”
Kim also “stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges in order to exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defence true to the Party’s line of building up nuclear-armed forces,” the KCNA said.
A uranium enrichment facility produces highly enriched uranium by placing it in centrifuges and spinning it at high speeds. This uranium is essential for the manufacture of nuclear warheads.
South Korean and US intelligence agencies believe North Korea operates uranium enrichment facilities at the Kangson nuclear complex near Pyongyang and at the Yongbyon nuclear site.
In 2010, North Korea invited Siegfried Hecker, a renowned American nuclear scientist, to inspect its uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon.
Additionally, Kim called for improving the separation capacity of the centrifuges and accelerating the development of a new type of centrifuge to “further solidify the foundation for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials.”
The sudden public disclosure of the uranium enrichment facility is seen as a move to flaunt North Korea’s nuclear capabilities ahead of the US presidential election in November. This could potentially influence the election by drawing attention to the ongoing nuclear threat from North Korea, a key issue in US foreign policy.
Earlier this month, during a crucial deterrence dialogue between South Korea and the US, the allies issued a stark warning. They cautioned that North Korea’s potential significant provocations, such as a nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, could pose a serious threat to global security, especially close to the US presidential election.
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–IANS
(File photo: Xinhua)
