State media reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected an installation producing nuclear material, and called for strengthening the country’s capability in nuclear weapons. This comes as the North Korean government increases pressure on the U.S. after the inauguration of Donald Trump.
Kim’s actions suggest that he is still focused on expanding North Korea’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, even though Trump said he was willing to speak to Kim once again to restart diplomacy.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim visited both the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the Nuclear Material Production Base.
North Korean photos from Kim’s trip last September indicate that the facility was likely a uranium enrichment plant. This was the first time North Korea had disclosed a uranium enrichment facility, since showing one to American scholars visiting in 2010.
Kim, during his latest visit to the United States, praised scientists and workers for their “remarkable successes” in nuclear weapons production. He also stressed the importance of “achieving epochal success in exceeding the plan of producing weapons-grade nucleic materials and strengthening the nuclear shield for the country.”
North Korea announced Sunday that it had tested a cruise missile system, its third weapons display in this year. It also promised “the strongest” response to the U.S. and South Korean military exercises targeting the North.
