Pyongyang(National Times)- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an \u201cexponential\u201d expansion of the country\u2019s atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory, state media agency KCNA said on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim said production capacity for weapons-grade nuclear material had reached more than double its previous level over the past five years and instructed officials to further increase output to meet long-term strategic goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the visit, he was briefed on new production processes incorporating more advanced technology and reviewed current output targets and future plans, KCNA reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photographs published by state media showed Kim walking between rows of cylinder-shaped equipment inside the facility, which some analysts said could indicate the location is at the country\u2019s main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim said the expansion was necessary given what he called worsening security threats and long-term confrontation with \u201cthe most ferocious enemies\u201d and reaffirmed the country\u2019s policy of increasing its nuclear deterrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KCNA said a key consultative meeting on bolstering nuclear forces was held the same day, at which Kim outlined guidelines for accelerating both the qualitative and quantitative expansion of North Korea\u2019s nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The country has set out the sequence and safeguards for executing an \u201cambitious future plan designed to beef up our states nuclear forces at an exponential rate,\u201d KCNA quoted Kim as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a \u201chistoric event that has set up an epochal milestone in rapidly upgrading our nuclear capabilities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potential Xi visit to Pyongyang
The nuclear facility North Korea unveiled on Thursday was a uranium-enrichment site, an official at South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a briefing in Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts said Kim\u2019s visit appeared aimed at reinforcing North Korea\u2019s negotiating position ahead of potential diplomatic engagement while justifying an acceleration of its nuclear build-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chad OCarroll, founder of North Korea-focused website NK News, said the site visit could be linked to a potential trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang, noting that before travelling to Beijing in September 2025, Kim inspected plans for a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the \u201cHwasong-20\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe logic would be to demonstrate absolutely that denuclearisation is not possible, right on the eve of contact with the PRC (People\u2019s Republic of China),\u201d OCarroll said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at South Koreas Kyungnam University\u2019s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, also linked Kim\u2019s latest visit to Seoul\u2019s pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine and its talks with Washington over uranium enrichment rights, which he said Pyongyang may be using to justify accelerating its weapons programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven if South Korea does not proceed, the North will follow its own path, but such developments provide a convenient pretext to push its nuclear build-up faster and on a larger scale,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Korea is estimated to possess around 50 nuclear warheads, according to international assessments, though it has never disclosed the size of its arsenal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pyongyang(National Times)- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an \u201cexponential\u201d expansion of the country\u2019s atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory, state media agency KCNA said on Thursday. Kim said production capacity for weapons-grade nuclear material had reached more than double its previous level over the past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n