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Nuclear facility visited by Kim Jong Un is in Yongbyon

Posted February. 04, 2025 08:15,   

Updated February. 04, 2025 08:15

한국어

The South Korean government has reportedly determined that the highly enriched uranium (HEU) production facility that North Korea disclosed on Wednesday is located at the Yongbyon nuclear facility in North Pyongan Province. At the time, North Korean media released several photos showing Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, inspecting a nuclear material production base and a nuclear weapons research institute. However, the facility's specific location and the visit date were not disclosed. The fact that North Korea unusually revealed two HEU facilities right before the U.S. presidential election in September last year and shortly after the inauguration of the Trump administration on Wednesday is seen as an effort to increase nuclear pressure on the U.S.

"Although a precise analysis is ongoing, the initial assessment is that the facility is in Yongbyon, not Kangson," a high-ranking South Korean government official stated on Monday. The interior of the facility, packed with centrifuges for uranium enrichment, was similar to the nuclear facility disclosed last September. However, considering that the facility appeared to be relatively old, it is believed that the possibility of it being a "third nuclear facility" other than those in Yongbyon or Kangson is low. The South Korean government previously determined that the HEU facility disclosed by North Korea last September was the Kangson nuclear facility.

The South Korean government estimates North Korea operates between 10,000 and 12,000 centrifuges in Yongbyon and Kangson. This capacity allows for the production of 200 to 240 kilograms of HEU per year, which means North Korea could secure up to 10 nuclear warheads annually from these facilities. It is also reported that North Korea has recently accelerated uranium enrichment activities in Yongbyon and Kangson.

Additionally, the government believes that North Korea has kept the Yongbyon reactor, which was restarted in 2021, in a state that allows for the extraction and reprocessing of spent fuel rods to extract plutonium at any time. Plutonium can be extracted if the spent fuel rods are reprocessed at the radiochemical laboratory within the nuclear facility by operating the reactor.


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com