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The photos show that the expanded enrichment plant can increase the production of weapons-grade plutonium by 25%.
Experts say that recent satellite images show that North Korea is expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its main nuclear facility in Yongbyon, indicating that it intends to increase the production of bomb materials.
A report from the Middlebury International Institute in Monterey stated that photos taken by satellite imagery company Maxar showed that the area adjacent to the Yongbyon uranium enrichment plant was under construction.
“The expansion of the enrichment plant may indicate that North Korea plans to increase the production of weapons-grade uranium at the Yongbyon base by as much as 25%,” Jeffrey Lewis of the institute and two other experts said in their report.
North Korea recently announced the first Ballistic missile test Six months later, nuclear negotiations with the United States have stalled since 2019.
Satellite images taken on September 14 show some expansion of the uranium enrichment plant at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility [Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP]Middlebury reported that satellite images taken on September 1 showed that North Korea cleared trees and prepared the ground for construction, and construction excavators could also be seen. The report stated that the second photo taken two weeks later showed that a wall had been built to enclose the area, and panels had been removed from the sides of the condensed building to provide access to the newly enclosed area.
According to the report, the new area is approximately 1,000 square meters (10,760 square feet), enough to accommodate 1,000 additional centrifuges, which will increase the plant’s capacity to produce highly enriched uranium by 25%.
Nuclear weapons can be manufactured using highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce these two materials in Yongbyon. Earlier satellite photos of Yongbyon last month showed signs that North Korea is resuming operations at other facilities that produce weapons-grade plutonium.
The satellite image on August 14 shows an overview of the Yongbyon complex (top right) [Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP]North Korea claims that the Yongbyon complex is the “core” of its nuclear program.
At a summit held with then-President Donald Trump in early 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed that he would demolish the entire complex if he receives major sanctions relief. The proposal was rejected.
Some US and South Korean experts believe that North Korea is secretly operating at least one additional uranium enrichment plant. In 2018, a senior South Korean official told the parliament that it is estimated that North Korea has also manufactured as many as 60 nuclear weapons.
Estimates of how many nuclear weapons North Korea can increase each year vary, ranging from 6 to 18.
In addition to ballistic missile tests, North Korea also stated that it has launched cruise missiles into the sea. The test is seen as an effort to strengthen its attack capabilities against South Korea and Japan, which have approximately 80,000 soldiers in the United States.
Experts say that North Korea describes this long-range missile as “strategy“It can be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
President Biden completed a months-long review of the U.S. policy toward North Korea in May, saying that he will continue to seek denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but will not pursue any “Bargaining“With Pyongyang.
North Korea accused the United States of continuing to be “hostile” and threatened to expand its nuclear arsenal and develop more advanced weapons.
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