North Korea is expanding uranium enrichment plant, photos show

SEOUL  —  Recent satellite images show North Korea is expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, a sign that it’s intent on boosting the production of bomb materials, experts say.

The assessment comes after North Korea recently raised tensions by performing its first missile tests in six months amid long-dormant nuclear disarmament diplomacy with the United States.

“The expansion of the enrichment plant probably indicates that North Korea plans to increase its production of weapons-grade uranium at the Yongbyon site by as much as 25 percent,” Jeffrey Lewis and two other experts at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey said in a report.

The report said satellite images taken by Maxar show construction in an area adjoining the uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon.

It said a satellite image taken on Sept. 1 shows that North Korea cleared trees and prepared the ground for construction and that a construction excavator is also visible. The report said a second image taken on Sept. 14 showed a wall erected to enclose the area, work on a foundation and panels removed from the side of the enrichment building to provide access to the newly enclosed area.

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Analysts say the ratcheting up of military might between North and South Korea raises the possibility of misunderstandings that could spiral to dangerous consequences.

“The new area is approximately 1,000 square meters, enough space to house 1,000 additional centrifuges,” the report said. “The addition of 1,000 new centrifuges would increase the plant’s capacity to produce highly enriched uranium by 25 percent.”

Nuclear weapons can be built using either highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and North Korea has facilities to produce both at Yongbyon. Last month, earlier satellite photos on Yongbyon showed signs that North Korea was resuming the operation of other facilities to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

North Korea calls the Yongbyon complex “the heart” of its nuclear program. During a summit with then-President Trump in early 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered to dismantle the entire complex if he was given major sanctions relief. But the Americans rejected Kim’s proposal because they viewed it as a limited denuclearization step.

Some U.S. and South Korean experts speculate that North Korea is covertly running at least one additional uranium enrichment plant. In 2018, a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea was estimated to have already manufactured up to 60 nuclear weapons as well.

Estimates on how many nuclear weapons North Korea can add every year vary, ranging from six to as many as 18 bombs.

In the last week, North Korea launched both ballistic and cruise missiles toward the sea in tests seen as an effort to diversify its missile forces and strengthen its attack capability toward South Korea and Japan, where a total of about 80,000 American troops are based. Experts say both types of missiles could be armed with nuclear warheads.

Kim has threatened to bolster his nuclear arsenal and acquire more sophisticated weapons unless Washington drops its hostility against his country, in an apparent reference to U.S.-led sanctions and its regular military drills with Seoul. But he still maintains his self-imposed moratorium on testing long-range missiles directly targeting the U.S. mainland, a suggestion that he wants to keep chances for future diplomacy with Washington alive.