Recent intelligence suggests that North Korea’s Nyongbyon nuclear complex and Kangson uranium enrichment facility continue to operate at full capacity.
On Tuesday, Voice of America (VOA) reported on a keynote address delivered by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria. Grossi provided a comprehensive update on North Korea’s nuclear program.
According to Grossi, the 5-megawatt (MW) reactor at Nyongbyon is believed to be running its seventh fuel cycle. He also disclosed that the radiochemical laboratory was operational from January to September last year, indicating the likely reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from the reactor’s sixth cycle during this period.
Grossi expressed grave concerns over the ongoing operations at both the Kangson and Nyongbyon enrichment facilities. He revealed that North Korea is constructing new buildings at the Yongbyon site, which bear striking similarities to the Kangson uranium enrichment facility in terms of scale, infrastructure, power supply, and cooling capacity.
The IAEA chief estimated that while exterior construction of these new buildings has been completed, interior work appears to be in progress.
Regarding the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, Grossi noted that while no major changes have been observed, the site maintains readiness to support potential nuclear testing activities.
Grossi strongly condemned the continuation and further development of North Korea’s nuclear program, calling it a blatant violation of relevant the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions. He reaffirmed that the IAEA remains on high alert, ready to verify North Korea’s nuclear program at a moment’s notice.