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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Recent satellite images show that North Korea is expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, a sign that it intends to increase production of bomb materials, according to experts.
The assessment comes after North Korea recently increased tensions with its first missile tests in six months as part of long-dormant nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States.
“The expansion of the enrichment plant probably indicates that North Korea plans to increase its production of military-grade uranium at the Yongbyon site by up to 25%,” said Jeffrey Lewis and two other experts. from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. a report.
According to the report, photos taken by satellite imaging company Maxar showed construction in an area adjacent to the Yongbyon uranium enrichment plant.
He said a satellite image taken on September 1 showed North Korea cleared trees and prepared the ground for construction, and a construction excavator was also visible. The report says a second image taken on September 14 showed a wall erected to enclose the area, work on a foundation, and panels removed from the side of the enrichment building to provide access to the newly closed area.
The new area measures approximately 1,000 square meters (10,760 square feet), enough space to house an additional 1,000 centrifuges, which would increase the plant’s capacity to produce highly enriched uranium by 25%, according to the report.
Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce both at Yongbyon. Earlier satellite photos of Yongbyon last month showed signs that North Korea was resuming operation of other facilities to produce military-grade plutonium.
North Korea calls the Yongbyon complex “the heart” of its nuclear program. During a summit with then-President Donald Trump in early 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle the entire complex if he received major sanctions relief. But the Americans rejected Kim’s proposal because they saw it as a stage of limited denuclearization.
Some US and South Korean experts believe North Korea is secretly operating at least one other uranium enrichment plant. In 2018, a senior South Korean official told parliament that North Korea had also manufactured up to 60 nuclear weapons.
Estimates of how many nuclear weapons North Korea can add each year vary, ranging from six to 18 bombs.
Over the past week, North Korea launched ballistic and cruise missiles out to sea in tests seen as an effort to diversify its missile forces and bolster its attack capability against South Korea and Japan. , where a total of 80,000 US troops are based. Experts say both types of missiles could be armed with nuclear warheads.
Kim has threatened to bolster its nuclear arsenal and acquire more sophisticated weapons unless Washington renounces its hostility against his country, an apparent reference to US-led sanctions and its regular military exercises with Seoul. But Kim still maintains his self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing aimed directly at the Americas, suggesting he wants to preserve the chances of future diplomacy with Washington.
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