North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's nuclear arsenal continues to increase. This has been revealed recently through satellite images. Photos have revealed that Kim Yongbyon is expanding the uranium plant. On the other hand, experts have also made a similar claim in their report. He said this could increase the production of nuclear bomb-making materials at the Yongbyon plant by up to 25 percent.
Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey and two other experts said in their report that the expansion of the enrichment plant indicates that Kim is about to increase his nuclear arsenal. He said North Korea is planning to increase uranium production at Yongbyon by 25 percent. Satellite images taken on September 1 showed construction work in an area adjacent to the uranium enrichment plant in Yongbyon, he said. The process of preparing the land by clearing the trees and plants is going on. At the same time, in another photo taken on September 14, a wall was erected to enclose the area. Simultaneously the panels were removed from the side of the Samvardhan Bhawan.
Production of nuclear weapons in Yongbyon
Yongbyon is a nuclear complex with a five MW reactor, considered the center of North Korea's nuclear program. Nuclear weapons can be made using highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and Yongbyon has the facilities to produce both. The new area covers approximately 1,000 square meters (10,760 sq ft). It can hold up to 1,000 additional centrifuges. It will increase the plant's capacity by 25 percent to produce highly enriched uranium, the report said.
Secretly running the plant
North Korea is secretly running at least one additional uranium enrichment plant, according to US and South Korean experts. In 2018 a top South Korean official told parliament that North Korea had already manufactured 60 nuclear weapons. With this, it can make six to 18 nuclear weapons every year.
Had offered to destroy the premises
North Korea calls the Yongbyon complex the heart of its nuclear program. At a summit with then-President Donald Trump in early 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered to destroy the entire complex to relieve sanctions, but the Americans rejected Kim's offer Because they saw it as a limited nuclear program.
