SEOUL, Sep 15 (Askume) –Photos of North Korea’s uranium enrichment centre show an unidentified nuclear bomb construction site on the outskirts of the capital, analysts said .
north korea fridayPictures of centrifuges producing fuel for their nuclear bombs were shown for the first time as leader Kim Jong Un visited a uranium enrichment facility and sought more weapons-grade material to bolster his nuclear arsenal.
The photos showed Kim Jong-Un walking between a long row of metal centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. The location of the facility was not mentioned in the report.
North Korea watchers and analysts say the site, called Kangson, is suspected of housing a secret uranium enrichment plant.
Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury School of International Studies, said five images released by state media inside the facility, including a “large” lobby and an annex, were similar to satellite images of nuclear facilities.
He said the building’s odd shape and its unusual columns and beams “perfectly matched” the location where North Korea had been building this year.
Lewis said: “It could be Thornhill. It’s a cultivated plant.”
North Korea is believed to have several uranium enrichment sites.
Analysts say commercial satellite imagery shows construction has been underway at the main nuclear science research center in Yongbyon and the Gangsan Nuclear Research Center in recent years, suggesting possible expansion at both sites.
Collin Zwirko, senior analytics reporter for Seoul-based North Korea tracking website NK Pro, said photographs and satellite images show the compound is located in Gangsan.
In June, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said a new development of the Thornson complex’s main facility would be built this year, adding that the complex’s “infrastructure is closely related to the so-called centrifugal enrichment at Yongbyon.”
During the visit, Kim stressed the need to increase the number of centrifuges to “rapidly expand” the nuclear arsenal and called for new plans to boost the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials, North Korean media reported.
Experts say photographs showing advanced designs of centrifuges and connecting centrifuge halls show that North Korea is making progress in its uranium enrichment program.
“The size of the painted waterfalls and halls also suggest a large capacity, perhaps less than Kim Jong-un’s ‘exponential growth’ level, but still with significant growth to be expected,” the Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North said in a report.
It said, “It is possible that these centrifuges were designed and manufactured by North Korea.” Some also say that the place seen in the photo could be Yongbyon.
Some experts say revelations about its secret nuclear power plants could also be used to influence US elections and send a message to the next administration that nuclear disarmament is no longer possible.
