Expert: N. Korea nuclear site likely to expand

A US expert says North Korea may expand its uranium enrichment facility in Nyongbyon. He adds that the north might do so to increase the production of weapons-grade nuclear material.

Jeffrey Lewis works at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. On Thursday he published his analysis of new satellite images of the facility.

Lewis noted that construction to expand the facility appears to have begun in an area adjacent to the existing uranium enrichment facility. He says that a picture taken on September 1st shows what looks like an excavator. The expert said another picture from September 14th showed a wall that was built to enclose the area.

He added that panels were removed from the side of the factory building to allow access to the newly enclosed area.

Lewis said similar construction was being done in the past when the space was added at the facility. The space was added to accommodate more centrifuges. He said the new area could be large enough to house an additional 1,000 centrifuges. That would increase the facility’s capacity to produce weapons-grade uranium by up to 25 percent.

The International Atomic Energy Agency raised serious concerns about the north’s nuclear development activities in Nyongbyon in a report released last month.

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