Unification minister points to N. Korea's Kusong as 3rd site hosting uranium enrichment facility

▲ This file photo, taken Nov. 28, 2025, shows Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (C) speaking at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap)

▲ This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 13, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (C) inspecting the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the production base of weapon-grade nuclear materials. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

unification minister-NK uranium

Unification minister points to N. Korea's Kusong as 3rd site hosting uranium enrichment facility

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Friday that North Korea is operating another uranium enrichment facility in the northwestern region of Kusong, along with previously reported ones in Yongbyon and Kangson.

Chung made the remarks at a parliamentary committee session in a rare revelation of information about North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

The government has previously officially identified Yongbyon and Kangson as the main locations hosting the North's uranium enrichment facilities, with Kusong being identified as a site for the first time.

Stressing the need to stop North Korea's advancement in its nuclear programs, the minister disclosed the information citing recent remarks by Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at a meeting of the board of governors of the agency.

According to Chung, Grossi noted that North Korea has been enriching weapons-grade uranium at 90 percent and higher at facilities in Yongbyon, Kangson and Kusong while Iran's uranium enrichment rate is at 60 percent.

Although Chung pointed to the three North Korean locations for Pyongyang's uranium enrichment programs, a statement provided by the IAEA showed that Grossi actually only mentioned Yongbyon and Kangson in his remarks to the IAEA's board of governors.

Chung also estimated that North Korea may have extracted around 100 kilograms of plutonium over the past 30 years, including 16 kg last year, an amount capable of producing some 20 nuclear weapons.

Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, hosts the North's key nuclear complex, while Kangson is some 15 kilometers southwest of the capital.

In September 2024, North Korea publicly disclosed its uranium enrichment facility for the first time without revealing its location. The North's leader called for increasing the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment at that time.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved