North Korea has revealed a new facility believed to be used for producing nuclear bomb fuel, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to expand the country’s nuclear capabilities “at an exponential rate.”
The development signals Pyongyang’s continued push to strengthen its nuclear programme, despite ongoing international sanctions and calls for denuclearisation.
According to North Korea’s state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited the site on Wednesday and reviewed what officials described as an “ambitious future plan” to significantly boost nuclear forces.
Experts believe the newly disclosed site is a uranium enrichment plant, although its exact location was not revealed. South Korea’s military also assessed it as such and said it is working closely with the United States to monitor North Korean nuclear activity.
KCNA released images showing Kim walking through what appeared to be a centrifuge hall lined with metal pipes and equipment. Another photo showed him in a meeting room with officials, with a blurred diagram of a cone-shaped object placed on a table.
This is the third time North Korea has publicly shown a uranium enrichment facility, after similar disclosures in 2010 and 2024. Analysts say the country is believed to operate multiple such sites, including at its Yongbyon nuclear complex.
During the visit, Kim said rising tensions with what he called “the most ferocious enemies,” widely understood as the United States and South Korea, have made it necessary to expand nuclear deterrence both in scale and capability.
He also claimed that North Korea’s production of nuclear materials has more than doubled in the past five years, a statement that cannot be independently verified.
Pyongyang has long insisted it must be recognised as a nuclear weapons state and has shown little interest in returning to denuclearisation talks unless sanctions are lifted.
The United States has repeatedly called for dialogue, with President Donald Trump expressing willingness to restart negotiations. However, North Korea has demanded recognition of its nuclear status as a precondition for talks.
Since the collapse of nuclear diplomacy in 2019, Kim has overseen a series of weapons tests while pledging to rapidly expand the country’s arsenal. Experts estimate North Korea may now possess more than 100 nuclear warheads, though exact figures remain uncertain.
Questions also remain over whether the country has fully mastered the technology needed for long-range nuclear missiles, including warhead re-entry and multiple warhead deployment systems.
North Korea last conducted a nuclear test in September 2017.