North Korea expands uranium enrichment at Yongbyon, IAEA raises alarm

North Korea is celebrating its 78th founding anniversary as the country’s nuclear expansion enters a new phase with boosting uranium capacity at a new facility.

According to a report disclosed by the International Atomic Energy Agency on August 28, North Korea has strengthened its nuclear footprint after building a new uranium enrichment facility at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

The report also revealed that the facility could hold up to 28 centrifuge cascades. Additionally, Pyongyang also started working on an expanded annex at its Kangson enrichment site, marking the country’s steady expansion of the nuclear infrastructure at multiple locations.

According to the nuclear watchdog, they found a new two-storey building at Yongbyon which is working as the site’s second uranium facility. However, when compared with June’s state media photographs, no such building ever existed.

Moreover, the satellite imagery also showed the installation of “gas centrifuge cascades on both the upper and lower floors of the main building.”

Operations at a uranium enrichment facility in Kangson, near Pyongyang, reportedly began in January within an annex built in 2024, according to the report.

The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi slammed North Korea’s blatant nuclear expansion, calling it a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

"The ongoing operation of enrichment facilities at Kangson and Yongbyon ​and the reported further ​expansion of the ⁠DPRK’s production of weapons-grade nuclear material is a cause for serious concern,” Grossi said.

The UN nuclear watchdog has not had any presence in the country since 2009.

However, Pyongyang has repeatedly refused to accept the agency’s authority. Last September, the country asserted that North Korea’s status as “nuclear weapon state is irreversible and IAEA has no legal right to interfere in the internal affairs of a nuclear weapons state which ​exists outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty.”