"North Korea's overall uranium enrichment capacity is expanding"

"Clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions"

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours a newly operational nuclear material production facility between rows of centrifuges in June, accompanied by Choe Song-nam, deputy director of the Munitions Industry Department. Kang Kyong-ho, deputy director of the Nuclear Weapons Institute, follows behind Kim.[Yonhap]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tours a newly operational nuclear material production facility between rows of centrifuges in June, accompanied by Choe Song-nam, deputy director of the Munitions Industry Department. Kang Kyong-ho, deputy director of the Nuclear Weapons Institute, follows behind Kim.[Yonhap]

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has determined that North Korea's new uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon can accommodate up to 28 centrifuge cascades.

According to Voice of America, the IAEA disclosed the assessment in a report on North Korea's nuclear safeguards. The IAEA submitted the report to its Board of Governors and the 70th General Conference on Aug. 28 and made it public Monday.

North Korea released photos of the new uranium enrichment facility in June, which showed cascades of centrifuge equipment installed on both the first and second floors of the building.

Comparing the North's released photos with satellite imagery, the IAEA identified the building as Yongbyon's second uranium enrichment facility.

The agency assessed that the facility could hold up to 28 cascades of the type shown in the photos.

A cascade refers to a single enrichment unit made up of multiple centrifuges connected together to progressively raise uranium concentration, rather than a single centrifuge. As the number of cascades increases and they operate simultaneously, more uranium can be enriched over the same period.

However, the IAEA said it could not confirm the exact number and performance of the centrifuges installed in each cascade, nor their actual operating rates. As a result, the agency did not provide an estimate of how much highly enriched uranium the new facility could produce. Nor did it estimate how that might translate into a number of nuclear weapons.

The IAEA also said it had observed signs of expanded production capacity at the uranium enrichment facility in Kangson, near Pyongyang. It noted indications that an extension built next to the existing building in 2024 has been operating since January of this year.

The IAEA assessed that with expansion underway simultaneously at both Yongbyon and Kangson, North Korea's overall uranium enrichment capacity continues to grow.

The agency went on to say that the expansion of North Korea's enrichment capacity and the further development of its nuclear program clearly violate relevant UN Security Council resolutions. It expressed serious concern over these developments.


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