IAEA Says North Korea Built New Uranium Enrichment Facility At Yongbyon

According to the BBC, the International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea has built a new two-storey uranium enrichment facility at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex. The watchdog said the building could house up to 28 centrifuge cascades used to enrich uranium, and reported that Pyongyang has also started operating an expanded annex at another enrichment site. IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said the continued production of weapons-grade material was a matter of serious concern. The agency said its findings were based on satellite imagery, open-source information and photographs in state media, as it has no inspectors in North Korea after being expelled in 2009. The IAEA said it first reported the building in June this year in a report released on 28 August. That report said Kim Jong Un had reportedly visited a newly inaugurated nuclear materials production factory on 3 June, which it identified as the Yongbyon enrichment facility, and praised the country's greatly expanded production capacity. The agency also said there were signs that operations had begun at another enrichment facility in Kangson, near Pyongyang, in January this year. It said an annex had first been built there in 2024. In August, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung proposed talks with North Korea on officially ending the war between the two countries, saying the discussions could also address ways to halt the North's nuclear capabilities. North Korea has not responded to the proposal.