by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – North Korea’s uranium-enrichment capacity could soon rise by roughly 75% once a new facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex reaches full production, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing analysis from Vertic, a London-based arms-control verification group.
The new facility is estimated to house more than 9,000 centrifuges capable of producing about 160 kilograms of highly enriched uranium per year. Vertic previously estimated that North Korea could produce roughly 215 kilograms annually, meaning the new site would mark a major expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.
“North Korea probably has all the material they’d need for a medium-sized nuclear arsenal already. And now it looks like they’re running up the numbers,” said Grant Christopher, a Vertic analyst involved in the assessment.
North Korea is believed to have about 60 nuclear warheads, along with enough fissile material to produce at least 90 more, according to a new estimate by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Analysts estimate Pyongyang’s highly enriched uranium stockpile at roughly 2,100 kilograms.
Kim Jong Un recently inspected the new enrichment site, which is located at the heart of the Yongbyon nuclear complex, and vowed to pursue “larger plans” for the country’s nuclear program. North Korean state media showed Kim walking past rows of centrifuges while praising scientists for more than doubling the country’s weapons-grade nuclear material production capacity.
The expansion underscores Kim’s determination to grow North Korea’s nuclear arsenal despite years of international sanctions and diplomatic pressure from the United States and its allies. It also comes as China, once more vocal in pressing Pyongyang over denuclearization, has recently avoided public demands on the issue while seeking closer ties with North Korea.
The new facility was reportedly built in about 18 months. Analysts noted that it was placed prominently inside Yongbyon rather than hidden in a remote mountain site, suggesting Pyongyang intended for the outside world to see the expansion.
The development signals that Kim is unlikely to pursue a serious nuclear rollback agreement with Washington or other powers, despite past offers of sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on North Korea’s weapons program.
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