North Korea Reveals New Nuclear Fuel Plant, Signals Accelerated Weapons Build-Up

North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility for producing nuclear bomb fuel, with leader Kim Jong Un declaring that the country would expand its nuclear forces “at an exponential rate” amid what he described as growing security threats.

South Korea’s military assessed the site as a uranium-enrichment plant and said it was closely coordinating with the United States to monitor North Korea’s nuclear activities. While the location of the facility remains undisclosed, state media photographs appeared to show a large centrifuge hall used to produce weapons-grade uranium.

According to North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited the facility on Wednesday to review its operations and long-term production plans. The agency said the plant employs “more sophisticated technology” but provided no further details.

KCNA quoted Kim as saying that the need to strengthen North Korea’s nuclear deterrent, both qualitatively and quantitatively, had become more urgent due to confrontations with “the most ferocious enemies,” an apparent reference to the United States and South Korea.

Kim claimed the country’s capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials has more than doubled over the past five years, although the assertion could not be independently verified. He said senior officials had approved priorities for implementing an ambitious plan to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal at an “exponential rate.”

The disclosure comes less than two years after Pyongyang publicly revealed another covert uranium-enrichment facility in 2024, its first such acknowledgment since showing a plant at the Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars in 2010.

North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test since 2017, but it has steadily expanded its arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and accelerated efforts to increase its stockpile of nuclear weapons following the collapse of Kim’s diplomacy with US President Donald Trump in 2019.

Experts estimate North Korea may now possess more than 100 nuclear warheads, a significant increase from earlier assessments. South Korean officials have previously said the country operates multiple uranium-enrichment facilities, including those at Yongbyon.

The latest announcement follows warnings from International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who said in April that the agency had observed a “rapid increase” in activity at North Korea’s nuclear facilities.