North Korea on Thursday released photos of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un President Trump is known for showing off nuclear bombs, and this week he opened up to the public a facility that makes the key materials that make nuclear bombs work.
Kim released photos of himself touring facilities and called on the military to “exponentially” build up its nuclear arsenal and prepare for conflict with the United States and its allies.
The photos, released by state media Korean Central News Agency, provide a glimpse into the country's secret nuclear program, which is banned by several UN Security Council resolutions.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects facilities during a visit to a nuclear weapons laboratory and production base for weapons-grade nuclear material in an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on September 13, 2024. (Reuters via KCNA)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects facilities during a visit to a nuclear weapons laboratory and production base for weapons-grade nuclear material in an undisclosed location in North Korea in a photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on September 13, 2024. (Reuters via KCNA)
The photo shows Kim Jong Un walking between rows of centrifuges that spin uranium at high speed to make nuclear warheads.
Kim visited a nuclear weapons research institute and a production base for weapons-grade nuclear materials, and ordered the base to increase the number of centrifuges “to dramatically increase the number of nuclear weapons,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“Chairman Kim inspected the control room of the uranium enrichment facility and learned about the overall operation of the production line,” the Korean Central News Agency said, expressing pleasure at seeing the facility “dynamically producing nuclear material.”
The world has had few opportunities to catch glimpses into life in the isolated, nuclear-armed nation, but Kim Jong Un visited a military training base on Wednesday and was photographed “guiding the training of fighters,” the Korean Central News Agency said.
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North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, landing in the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan. Judging by the range of the missiles, they were likely designed to attack South Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees the test-firing of a new 600mm multiple rocket launcher at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this photo released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency on September 13, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a training base for the North Korean military's special operations forces to guide combat training at an undisclosed location in North Korea on September 11, 2024. (North Korea's Korean Central News Agency/KCNA via Reuters)
It was North Korea's first public weapons launch in more than two months.
Kim said he pledged to redouble his nuclear efforts because North Korea faces a “grave threat” from the “reckless expansion” of a U.S.-led regional military bloc.
Last week, North Korea launched balloons filled with garbage towards South Korea for five consecutive days.
Officials in Seoul have sharply condemned North Korea's nuclear program.
“Any nuclear threats or provocations by North Korea will be met with an overwhelming and powerful response by our government and military, based on the robust extended deterrence of the ROK-U.S. alliance,” South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted the Unification Ministry as saying.
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It is not clear how many nuclear warheads North Korea possesses. A report released in July by the Federation of American Scientists concluded that the country may have produced enough fissile material to build 90 warheads but has likely assembled closer to 50.
