{"id":51337,"date":"2026-04-15T10:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=51337"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T10:36:35","slug":"north-korea-boosting-ability-to-make-nuclear-arms-un-watchdog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=51337","title":{"rendered":"North Korea boosting ability to make nuclear arms: UN watchdog"},"content":{"rendered":"


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North Korea is showing a \u201cvery serious increase\u201d in its ability to produce atomic weapons, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday on a visit to Seoul.<\/p>\n

The diplomatically isolated north is believed to operate multiple facilities for enriching uranium, a key step in making nuclear warheads, South Korea\u2019s spy agency has said.<\/p>\n

They include one at the Yongbyon nuclear site, which Pyongyang purportedly decommissioned<\/a> after talks but later reactivated in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our periodic assessments, we have been able to confirm that there\u2019s a rapid increase in the operations\u201d of the Yongbyon reactor, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told reporters in Seoul.<\/p>\n

The agency also observed a rise in operations at Yongbyon\u2019s reprocessing unit and light-water reactor, as well as the activation of other facilities, Grossi said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAll that points to a very serious increase in the capabilities of (the) Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the area of nuclear weapons production, which is estimated at a few dozen warheads,\u201d he said, using North Korea\u2019s official name.<\/p>\n

North Korea, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, is under rafts of UN sanctions for its banned weapons programmes.<\/p>\n

It has declared that it will never surrender its nuclear weapons, and cut off access to IAEA inspectors in 2009.<\/p>\n

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The agency has noted the construction of a \u201cnew facility similar to the enrichment facility in Yongbyon\u201d, Grossi said.<\/p>\n

It was \u201cnot easy to calculate\u201d any production increases without visiting the site.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cwe consider, looking at external features of the facility, that there will be significant increase in the enrichment capacity of the DPRK\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Russia was assisting North Korea\u2019s nuclear development, Grossi said the IAEA had not seen \u201canything in particular in that regard\u201d.<\/p>\n

North Korea has sent ground troops and artillery shells to support Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, and observers say Pyongyang is receiving military technology assistance from Moscow in return.<\/p>\n