North Korea is demonstrating a “very serious increase” in its capacity to produce atomic weapons, according to the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, April 15th during a visit to Seoul.
The diplomatically isolated North is believed to operate multiple facilities for enriching uranium—a critical step in manufacturing nuclear warheads–according to South Korea’s intelligence agency. These facilities include the Yongbyon nuclear site, which Pyongyang claimed to have decommissioned following diplomatic talks, only to reactivate it in 2021.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said:
In our periodic assessments, we have been able to confirm that there’s a rapid increase in the operations of the Yongbyon reactor.
Grossi further revealed that current data points to a “very serious increase in the capabilities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the area of nuclear weapons production,” with the country’s arsenal now estimated at several dozen warheads.
_03.jpg){kind=link}