© picture alliance / YONHAPNEWS AGENCY | Yonhap
On Wednesday, Kim Jong-un inspected a new weapons-grade nuclear material plant and announced plans to expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal "at an exponential rate".
According to North Korean state media, the North Korean leader stated that his country has more than doubled its nuclear material production capacity in the past five years. For example, the new facility is equipped with advanced centrifuge technology.
Analysts point to the shift from research to mass production. They say that this indicates further development and scale-up of the program.
Third North Korean facility
North Korea already has enough material for up to 90 warheads and is estimated to have assembled about 50 of them. The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA had previously identified at least two active enrichment plants and pointed to the construction of a likely third facility in Yongbyon. North Korean state media KCNA circulated images of Kim Jong-un's visit to a nuclear facility, but it's not clear whether it is Yongbyon, CNN reported.
The U.S. is currently making efforts to reach an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. North Korea's nuclear advance is cited as the outcome Washington wants Tehran to avoid. During Donald Trump's first term in office, talks between Kim Jong-un and the U.S. President to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons came to nothing.
International concern
Kim Jong-un's announcement comes amid broader global concerns about nuclear proliferation: 2025 marked the ninth consecutive year of an increase in the number of deployable nuclear weapons worldwide. Nine nuclear weapons states now possess nearly 9,750 warheads that are ready for use: they include Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. According to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, these warheads "have a combined explosive power equivalent to more than 135,000 Hiroshima bombs."
Picture: © picture alliance / YONHAPNEWS AGENCY | Yonhap