North Korea (DPRK) has revealed some details about a nuclear materials production plant.

Local media released photos of Kim Jong-un inspecting uranium enrichment sites. For the first time, the media showed images of centrifuges used to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.

Enriched uranium is essential for both civilian nuclear energy production and military nuclear weapons.

The photos depict Kim Jong-un walking among long rows of metal centrifuges. The report does not specify when the visit occurred or the location of the facility.

The centrifuges depicted in the photographs appear to be smaller than those reportedly previously used in the DPRK.

Lee Sang-kyu, a nuclear engineering expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, suggested that North Korea could have developed its own centrifuges.

The DPRK uses a cascade system in which a large number of centrifuges are interconnected to produce highly enriched uranium.

Since the location of the plant was not specified, it remains unclear whether the photos were taken at a facility already known to international observers or whether they are photos from a new facility. It is possible that the DPRK has several uranium enrichment facilities.

It is believed that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program began in the 1950s. In 2005, North Korea declared that it had nuclear weapons, and in 2012, in its new constitution, it proclaimed itself a nuclear power.

In 2013, the DPRK adopted a law on nuclear policy, which stipulated that North Korea could use nuclear weapons to repel an attack by a hostile nuclear power. In September 2022, the DPRK government approved a law that allows for a preemptive nuclear strike.

As previously reported, in May, North Korea launched a modernized ballistic missile during a missile test.