IAEA discovers new uranium enrichment facility in North Korea

North Korea has built a second uranium enrichment facility at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon and is simultaneously expanding the capacity of another center in Kangson near Pyongyang. The new facility in Yongbyon can accommodate up to 28 cascades of gas centrifuges.

This is stated in the IAEA's report on the application of safeguards in the DPRK, which was submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors and the 70th General Conference on August 28 and released on September 7.

The IAEA identified a new two-story building in Yongbyon as the second uranium enrichment facility after comparing satellite imagery with photographs that North Korea released after Kim Jong Un's visit to the enterprise in June. In these photographs, centrifuge cascades are visible on both the first and second floors.

According to the agency's assessment, the building's area allows for the placement of up to 28 cascades of this type. A cascade consists of a group of interconnected centrifuges that sequentially increase the concentration of uranium-235. Increasing the number of cascades makes it possible to process larger volumes of uranium in parallel.

However, the IAEA could not determine the exact number of centrifuges in each cascade, their productivity, and the actual level of loading. Therefore, the agency does not estimate how much highly enriched uranium the new complex is capable of producing and to how many nuclear warheads such quantity of material could correspond.

Construction of the new facility in Yongbyon began in December 2024, and external works were completed in May 2025. Later, power supply systems, emergency generators, and cooling equipment appeared at the site. In early 2026, the IAEA observed signs of operation of one of the cooling system elements.

In parallel, Pyongyang expanded another uranium enrichment center in Kangson. An extension to the main building there was erected in 2024, and since January 2026, the IAEA has been recording signs of its operation.

The agency also believes that the first uranium enrichment facility in Yongbyon continued to operate during the reporting period. Thus, North Korea gains the ability to simultaneously increase uranium enrichment at several sites.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the operation of the facilities in Yongbyon and Kangson, along with the further expansion of production of materials for nuclear weapons, raises "serious concern". According to his data, the 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon is likely continuing its seventh cycle of nuclear fuel irradiation, and the light-water reactor, after a hiatus, has been operational again since the end of April 2026.

The IAEA has not had inspectors in North Korea since 2009, so it monitors the development of its nuclear program through satellite images, open sources, and materials published by the DPRK itself. The agency emphasizes that the further development of the North Korean nuclear program violates relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Based on materials from: Seoul Economic Daily, MBC, ChosunBiz