North Korea publishes first photos of a banned uranium enrichment facility

Seoul [South Korea]September 13 (ANI): A state media report showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting a uranium enrichment facility. The media also published pictures of centrifuges that produce fuel for the country's nuclear bombs, South Korean media reported on Friday.

Yonhap published photos from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in its report showing Kim visiting the nuclear weapons institute and weapons-grade nuclear material production site. The report did not disclose the location of the facility or the date of the visit.

Kim Jong-un has called for an increase in the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment in order to strengthen his nuclear weapons for self-defense, official media in the North reported.

North Korea’s nuclear program is banned by several UN Security Council resolutions.

The country, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, has never publicly disclosed details of its uranium enrichment facility.

“He walked through the control room of the uranium enrichment base to learn about the general operation of the production lines,” KCNA reported, adding that Kim expressed great satisfaction after being informed that “the base is dynamically producing nuclear materials,” Yonhap news channel reported.

In a uranium enrichment plant, highly enriched uranium is produced by placing uranium in centrifuges and spinning it at high speed. Highly enriched uranium is essential for the production of nuclear warheads.

South Korean and US intelligence agencies believe that North Korea operates uranium enrichment facilities at the Kangson nuclear complex near Pyongyang and at the Yongbyon nuclear site. Relations between North and South Korea are fraught with tension.

On September 12, North Korea announced that it had fired several short-range missiles into waters east of the Korean peninsula. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide further details but said that analysis of the incident was ongoing.

North Korea also recently announced the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launch pads on its southern border.

The North had previously sent balloons filled with garbage to South Korea.

Last month, Kim Jong-un called for the development and production of more “suicide drones” to improve war preparations. Yonhap had previously reported that Kim supervised a performance test of various drones on August 24. (ANI)