️ North Korea is demonstrating a “very serious increase” in its ability to produce atomic weapons, according to Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Grossi made these remarks during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, highlighting the challenges in monitoring the country’s nuclear program due to the lack of inspector access since 2009.

️ The diplomatically isolated nation is believed to operate multiple uranium enrichment facilities, including one at the Yongbyon nuclear site, which Pyongyang purportedly decommissioned after talks but reactivated in 2021. Grossi reported a rapid increase in operations at the Yongbyon reactor, a rise in activity at its reprocessing unit and light-water reactor, and the activation of other facilities, all pointing to enhanced nuclear capabilities.

️ “All that points to a very serious increase in the capabilities of [the] DPRK in the area of nuclear weapons production, which is estimated at a few dozen warheads,” Grossi said, using North Korea’s official name. North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, is under a slew of United Nations sanctions for its banned weapons programs. It has declared it will never surrender its nuclear weapons and cut off IAEA inspector access in 2009.

️ The IAEA has also noted the construction of a “new facility similar to the enrichment facility in Yongbyon,” but Grossi stated it is “not easy to calculate” production increases without site visits. However, based on external features, the agency considers there will be a significant increase in North Korea’s enrichment capacity. When asked if Russia is assisting North Korea’s nuclear development, Grossi said the IAEA has not seen “anything in particular in that regard.”

️ North Korea has sent ground troops and artillery shells to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Pyongyang is receiving military technology assistance from Moscow in return. This development exacerbates regional security threats and underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the international community in curbing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions amid geopolitical tensions.

Source: www.aljazeera.com