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North Korea builds new Yongbyon uranium enrichment facility, IAEA says
CNN • • world
Key Points:
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that North Korea has constructed a new uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon capable of housing up to 28 centrifuge cascades, and has started operating an expanded annex at its Kangson enrichment site.
- The findings, based on satellite imagery and North Korean state media photos, indicate a steady expansion of North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure across multiple locations despite the absence of IAEA inspectors in the country since 2009.
- The new Yongbyon facility is a two-storey building with centrifuge cascades on both floors, while operations at the Kangson annex reportedly began in January 2024.
- The IAEA condemned these developments as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and expressed serious concern over North Korea’s increased production of weapons-grade nuclear material.
- North Korea has consistently rejected the IAEA’s authority, asserting its status as a nuclear weapons state outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty and denying the agency’s right to interfere in its nuclear affairs.
