SHOWING OFF

Going Nuclear: North Korea Releases First Ever Photos of Uranium Facility

North Korean state media said that Kim Jong Un told the facility to increase production.

The first ever photos of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility—used to create the country’s stock of nuclear warheads—were released on Thursday in a provocative move from the hermitic dictatorship. The images from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) show state leader Kim Jong Un conferring with military officials amid rows of centrifuges.

KCNA added that Kim has called for the facility—in an “undisclosed location”—to increase its output, a move quickly condemned by South Korea. Leif Eric-Easley, a professor at Seoul’s Ewah University, told the BBC that North Korea highlighted the facility to “boast of its nuclear development and signal that its weapons program is irreversible.” He added, “The Kim regime may also be flaunting that it still enjoys diplomatic and economic support from Russia and China.” Other photos recently released by KNCA show Kim posing with members of his country’s military at an army training base, as well as watching shirtless training drills and a rocket launch.