The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, also known as North Korea, has been posing a constant threat to global non-proliferation efforts. Despite UN Security Council sanctions and high-level diplomatic efforts, North Korea continues to advance its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles’ development. The recent expansion of the Kangson Uranium enrichment facility has raised concerns about the increased floor space for centrifuges. This article investigates this expansion, highlighting the potential increase in Uranium enrichment and its impact on the nuclear weapon program.
According to NK Pro news, satellite imagery analysis reveals significant constructional progress at the Kangson nuclear complex, indicating a possible advancement in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. On December 2023, Kim Jung Un, a North Korean leader had called for a qualitative increase in the state’s nuclear weapon stockpile and expansion of enrichment sites. The new expansion of the Kangson site indicates North Korea’s intention to expand its nuclear weapon program; the expansion would increase North Korea’s capacity for highly enriched Uranium by 25%. The development of a new site beside the Uranium enrichment plant will create a space for 1000 additional centrifuges, giving a boost to North Korea’s development of nuclear capabilities.
While this advancement by North Korea may bring new repercussions for regional and global security, the exact purpose of the expansion is still unknown whether it could be used as a space for additional centrifuges to increase the capacity of Uranium enrichment or it might be used for storage purposes.
The exact reason can only be determined through on-site inspection which, under the circumstances, is highly improbable. This development comes amidst heightened tensions following North Korea’s recent tests of intermediate-range ballistic missiles equipped with hypersonic warheads and the start of the annual Freedom Shield joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S.
A new wall, measuring 395 feet in length, has been constructed at the back of the main building of the Kangson Uranium enrichment plant. A satellite image from March 1st, 2024 shows the foundations laid for the new construction and the walls for ten same-size rooms, each measuring eleven meters long and of nine meters wide, located behind the back side of the building.
Another satellite image from March 4 shows eight rooms filled with construction materials and trunks. By March 18, most of the center section of the newly constructed infrastructure was roofed with a blue tarpaulin.
By March 27, additional tarpaulins were added, covering the whole construction. The expansion involves the development of eight separate rooms, each measuring 60 square meters, containing the main gas centrifuges cascades with an output of highly enriched uranium-235, crucial for nuclear weapon development. There is also a rectangular section in the south of the wall, measuring 45 by 4 meters, for storage purposes. This new development is one-fifth of the size of the current main building.
This is not the first time North Korea has expanded its uranium enrichment facilities as similar expansions were carried out in the uranium enrichment plant inside the country’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex in 2013 and 2021, to increase floor space for centrifuges.
According to “The Diplomat”, the Kangson site, located in Chollima-guyok near Pyongyang, is believed to be North Korea’s first covert Uranium enrichment site where it has been enriching Uranium for nuclear weapons since the 2000s and is older than the overt enrichment site of Yongbyon, which Kim Jung Un offered to demolish in 2019 in exchange for relief from sanctions during a meeting with Trump at the Hanoi summit.
According to “The Stimson Center’s” 38 North report, (an authoritative source of policy and technical analysis regarding North Korea’s internal and external affairs) the site is a three-story building, measuring 115 meters in length, 48 meters in width, and 12 meters in height. It is surrounded by a garage at each end, and before the new construction, vehicles used to enter the building.
According to “The Diplomat”, the Kangson site was identified as a Uranium enrichment facility back in 2018 by U.S. intelligence but in 2020, North Korea issued a report suggesting that Kangson is not a Uranium enrichment site, but it is a facility responsible for manufacturing centrifuges, however, the fact remains that centrifuges are used for uranium enrichment and then used as a nuclear fuel. In a nutshell, North Korea’s development of its suspected Uranium enrichment plant near Pyongyang is an alarming development that reinforces its nuclear weapon program.
This development, along with some other ongoing developments such as the recent test of ballistic missiles, calls for the attention of the international community to take firm action against North Korea and restrain its growing nuclear aspirations. The major concern is the spread of nuclear weapons to other state and non-state actors, including terrorist groups.
Additionally, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions could initiate an arms race in the Korean Peninsula, successfully hindering decades of efforts towards arms control. Dealing with a rogue state that possesses nuclear weapons through diplomatic tactics is extremely difficult, as manifested by several administrations of the U.S. attempting to pressure North Korea. It poses a significant threat to regional and global security, emphasizing the urgent need for international cooperation and diplomatic efforts to address and mitigate the risks posed by North Korea’s nuclear activities.
