IAEA reports new uranium facility in North Korea

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported identifying a newly constructed building at North Korea’s Yongbyon site, believed to be a uranium enrichment facility. Preparations for a new nuclear test also appear to be underway at North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

The IAEA plans to use the report as a basis for discussions on North Korea’s nuclear development at its annual meeting in mid-September. The Yomiuri Shimbun noted that Yongbyon has long housed a facility for producing highly enriched uranium, a key material for nuclear weapons, adding, “If North Korea has built a new enrichment facility, it indicates the country is accelerating its nuclear development.”

Earlier, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at a board meeting in June that a facility similar to the Kangson uranium enrichment site was under construction at Yongbyon. The U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) also reported on its North Korea-focused website, Beyond Parallel, that North Korea is building a facility at Yongbyon suspected to be a new uranium enrichment site. In addition, the U.S.-based monitoring outlet 38 North reported on Aug. 8 that North Korea had carried out major repairs to the exterior of the 5-megawatt-electric (MWe) reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex.

Earlier this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited nuclear material production facilities and a weapons research institute, saying, “We must achieve groundbreaking results in exceeding plans for the production of weapons-grade nuclear material and in strengthening the country’s nuclear shield.”


In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com