North Korea Appears to Have Secured the Largest Nuclear Enrichment Facility at Nyongbyon No. 2... IAEA: "28 Sets Established"

[Financial News] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has estimated that North Korea's new uranium enrichment facility in Nyongbyon has constructed up to 28 sets of centrifuge cascades. This is the largest scale among the existing No. 1 Enrichment Facility in Nyongbyon and the nuclear facilities in the Kangson area. A cascade is a bundle of centrifuges used for nuclear enrichment. It is an enrichment facility that connects multiple centrifuges to gradually increase uranium concentration.
According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 9th, the IAEA included these analysis results in the 'Report on North Korean Safeguards,' which was submitted to the Board of Governors and the 70th General Conference on the 28th of last month and released on the 7th of this month.
However, the IAEA stated that it could not confirm the exact number, performance, and actual operating rate of the centrifuges installed in each cascade.
Earlier, North Korea released photos of a new uranium enrichment facility last June, showing cascade centrifuge systems installed on both the first and second floors of the building. The IAEA identified the building as Nyongby's second uranium enrichment facility by comparing the photos released by North Korea with satellite imagery. It also analyzed that the facility could accommodate up to 28 cascades of the type shown in the photos.
The IAEA also disclosed that it observed indications that the existing No. 1 Uranium Enrichment Facility in Nyongbyon continued to operate during the reporting period, and that there were indications that reprocessing work to separate plutonium from spent nuclear fuel had been completed. The IAEA assessed that North Korea's overall uranium enrichment capacity continues to grow as the expansion of facilities in Nyongbyon and Kangson proceeds simultaneously.
It is reported that the number of cascades installed at North Korea's existing No. 1 Enrichment Facility in Nyongbyon has recently been increased to 12 through expansion. It is estimated that approximately 24 cascades have been installed at the Kangson nuclear facility, which remains shrouded in secrecy. North Korea has claimed to have doubled its enrichment capacity over the past five years.
The IAEA expressed serious concern, stating that North Korea's expansion of enrichment capabilities and further development of its nuclear program constitute a clear violation of relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The issue of North Korean safeguards has been included in the provisional agenda for the 70th IAEA General Conference, to be held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, from the 14th to the 18th.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter