Inside the Hermit Kingdom: A Rare Glimpse of North Korea’s Nuclear Secrets
North Korea Reveals Images of Centrifuges Used in Uranium Enrichment
Amid years of uncertainty over its nuclear program, North Korea has proposed pictures of the centrifuges that produced the fuel for their atomic bombs for the first time.
Pyongyang displayed the images at a time when its leader, Kim Jong Un, visited a uranium enrichment facility and called for increased production of nuclear material enriched to a degree suitable for weapons, aimed at strengthening the country’s nuclear arsenal.
The First Image of the Centrifuge
The centrifuge was the first images to accompany Kim’s visit to a nuclear weapons institute and an official media report of a base making weapons-grade enriched nuclear material, providing a rare inside look at North Korea’s nuclear program, banned by multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
The image also shows Kim walking between long rows of metal centrifuges used in uranium enrichment. The report did not specify the time of the visit or the location of the facility.
From Kim’s visit to nuclear facility (Reuters)
From Kim’s visit to nuclear facilities (AFP)
Kim urged workers to increase production of materials needed to build tactical nuclear weapons and said the country’s nuclear arsenal was critical to countering threats from the United States and its allies.
“To Launch a Preemptive Attack”
Although he said these weapons are necessary for “self-defense and the ability to launch a preemptive attack.”
Media reports quoted him as saying that the “nuclear threat to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” from “forces aligned with American imperialists” had crossed a red line.
In addition, Kim emphasized the need to expand the number of centrifuges and a new type of use of these devices to increase the production of enriched nuclear materials to levels suitable for weapons to achieve a “tremendous increase” in nuclear weapons.
It is noteworthy that North Korea is believed to have several uranium enrichment sites. Analysts say commercial satellite images over the past few years have shown construction at Yongbyon’s Nuclear Scientific Research Center, including a uranium enrichment plant, which could mean expansion.
Estimates on the number of North Korean nuclear weapons vary. A Federation of American Scientists report in July concluded that the country could produce enough fissile material to build 90 nuclear warheads, but could only succeed in assembling about 50.