North Korea is likely to have enriched enough uranium to build a ‘double-digit’ number of nukes (Image: Getty)
is likely to have enriched enough uranium to build a “double-digit” number of , Seoul’s spy agency has said.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Pyongyang is also making progress in its efforts to develop more powerful and accurate missiles targeting its southern neighbour.
The closed-door parliamentary briefing by the National Intelligence Service came after North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium earlier this month.
That came as North Korean leader reiterated his goal to “exponentially” increase his stock of nuclear weapons.
Lee Seong-kweun, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing, said the South Korean agency assessed Kim’s disclosure of the facility as likely intended as a statement of defiance toward Washington ahead of the .
Kim Jong-un inspects a secretive nuclear facility (Image: Getty)
Kim’s move is also likely to have been aimed at showing off his military might amid deepening economic struggles in North Korea.
When asked about North Korea’s bomb fuel capacity, the agency said Pyongyang likely has about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of plutonium and an unspecified but considerable amount of weapons-grade uranium.
Lee said that would be enough to build “at least a double-digit number” of weapons.
Park Sun-won, another politician who attended the briefing, said while North Korean state media didn’t say where the uranium enrichment facility is that Kim visited on September 13, but the South Korean agency said it was likely to be a site in Kangson, near Pyongyang.
Along with the North’s main nuclear complex in the town of Yongbyon, the Kangson plant is one of two known sites in North Korea linked to uranium enrichment activities.
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Pyongyang is making progress in its bid to develop more powerful and accurate missiles (Image: Getty)
Some analysts say North Korea likely has other hidden sites for enriching uranium.
Kim’s visit to the uranium enrichment site was followed by a North Korean missile test days later, as the country continues to flaunt its weapons capabilities in the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul.
North Korean state media said the test launches on September 18 involved two types of new missiles — one designed to deliver “super-large” conventional warheads and the other a “strategic” cruise missile, a term which implies it was developed for nuclear strikes.
North Korean media coverage of the tests suggested Pyongyang was improving the capabilities of the weapons, which are designed for delivering precision strikes on South Korean targets, the South Korean spy agency is understood to have told the briefing.
Some analysts speculate that North Korea could try to dial up pressure on Washington by conducting a nuclear test ahead of the US presidential election.
But the South Korean spy agency assessed North Korea could delay such a test until after the election since there are other steps it may want to try first.
Lee said this may involve test-firing a long-range missile targeting the US mainland or launching a military reconnaissance satellite.