North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, which can accommodate up to 28 centrifuge cascades. The country has also started operating an extension to the existing enrichment facility in Kangson, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
In a report dated August 28, the IAEA said the findings indicate a continued expansion of North Korea's nuclear infrastructure at several locations. The agency used satellite imagery and open-source materials, including photographs published by North Korean state media.
The IAEA has not had inspectors in North Korea since 2009.
The agency has identified a new two-story building in Yongbyon as the second uranium enrichment facility at the complex.
The IAEA has compared state media photos showing a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June with satellite images taken during the building's construction.
According to the agency, photos from the visit show cascades of gas centrifuges installed on both the upper and lower floors of the main building.
According to the IAEA, North Korea's development of its nuclear program violates UN Security Council resolutions.
„The continued operation of enrichment facilities in "Kangsong and Yongbyon, as well as the reported further expansion of weapons-grade nuclear material by the DPRK, are a matter of serious concern," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Pyongyang rejects the agency's authority. North Korea's mission to the United Nations in Vienna said last September that the country's status as a nuclear-weapon state had become irreversible.
According to the North Korean mission, the IAEA has no legal basis to interfere in the internal affairs of a nuclear-weapon state that exists outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty.