![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/44224d6154d743a601caeed31610ddba.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nKim Jong Un said on Wednesday that North Korea had \u201cmore than doubled\u201d its weapons-grade nuclear material in five years and vowed to build up his nuclear forces \u201cat an exponential rate,\u201d state media reported.<\/p>\n
Images released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency showed the North Korean leader and senior officials visiting a new nuclear enrichment site at an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
Pyongyang\u2019s desire to grow its stockpile of weapons and the platforms that launch them come amid a severe downturn in relations with the U.S.-allied government in Seoul, which it no longer recognizes as a partner for the eventual reunification of the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n
One partially pixelated photograph appeared to show Kim reviewing the design of a nuclear warhead, at a meeting where he doubled down on the need for a stronger nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n
What North Korea Learned From Iran War<\/p>\n
North Korea has at least 60 nuclear warheads, according to publicly available estimates, a fraction of the Russian and U.S. inventories, which both exceed 5,000.<\/p>\n
The regime appears to be taking lessons from the fate of nonnuclear allies\u2014including Venezuela and Iran, both of which have failed to deter military coercion and attack by the United States.<\/p>\n
For Kim, the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites last June and this year\u2019s ongoing war between Washington and Tehran have likely further demonstrated the value of a nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A photograph released on June 4 by North Korea\u2019s state-run Korean Central News Agency is said to show leader Kim Jong Un holding a meeting the previous day on the country\u2019s nuclear posture as part of a visit to a new nuclear enrichment facility at an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotential threats and unpredictable long-term crises further highlight the urgency and responsibility of the historic mission to bolster up both in quality and quantity and in a sustained and accelerated way<\/a> the nuclear war deterrent,\u201d KCNA quoted Kim as saying.<\/p>\n \u201cVery clear is the stand taken by our Party and government\u2026in implementing the strategy to deter a war and fight a war<\/a>, and thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Military Power Beyond Nuclear Weapons<\/p>\n North Korea has the world\u2019s second-largest standing army at 1.1 million soldiers, smaller than India\u2019s 1.24 million but bigger than China\u2019s 950,000, according to an annual assessment released last week by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.<\/p>\n North Korea\u2019s buildup of conventional and nuclear arms is driving U.S. and regional responses in the Pacific, including in the acquisition of long-range strike capabilities and advancements in hypersonic weaponry<\/a> and missile defense systems.<\/p>\n Hypersonics were on Kim\u2019s wish list<\/a> of sophisticated weaponry announced in 2021, along with nuclear submarines. He likely wants hypersonic missiles for \u201cstrategic and prestige reasons,\u201d Daniel Salisbury, an arms control expert, wrote in the IISS report.<\/p>\n Salisbury said: \u201cNorth Korea, the region\u2019s youngest nuclear state, which public estimates from outside the U.S. intelligence community suggest has produced material for up to 90 warheads and likely assembled 50, also continues to grow its arsenal, with much ambiguity remaining over the scale of its ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n North Korea\u2019s New Nuclear Enrichment Site<\/p>\n The existence of a new North Korean plant to produce highly enriched uranium was first disclosed by the U.N.\u2019s nuclear watchdog one year ago.<\/p>\n On June 9, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described the construction of a new facility in Yongbyon, the center of North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons research and one of three cities with known enrichment sites, along with Kangson and Kusong.<\/p>\n The IAEA did not provide imagery of the new plant, but researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California said the following day that it matched one they had been monitoring in Yongbyon.<\/p>\n \u201cAs North Korea has expanded its production of enriched uranium by building new facilities, North Korea has packed more centrifuges into a much smaller floorspace,\u201d Jeffrey Lewis and Sam Lair of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at MIIS wrote at the time.<\/p>\n A photograph released on June 4 by North Korea\u2019s state-run Korean Central News Agency is said to show leader Kim Jong Un visiting a new nuclear enrichment facility at an undisclosed location the previous day.<\/p>\n Lewis said on X on Wednesday that the KCNA pictures appeared to show a plant with two levels.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think its 28 cascades or about 4,600 machines which, with the new annexes constructed at Kangson and the older Yongbyon location, would double HEU production,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n What Happens Next<\/p>\n On the same day as the facility tour, Kim also chaired \u201can important consultative meeting for bolstering up the nuclear forces,\u201d according to KCNA.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have confirmed the order of priority for implementing the ambitious future plan designed to beef up our state\u2019s nuclear forces at an exponential rate, as well as a requisite guarantee for the purpose,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n He called it \u201ca historic event that has set up an epochal milestone in rapidly upgrading our nuclear capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House said President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping \u201cconfirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea\u201d in their Beijing summit<\/a> last month. However, China\u2019s readout of the talks did not go that far.<\/p>\n Trump may be seeking a new round of talks with Kim, but North Korea\u2019s supreme leader appears less interested in arms control talks than in growing strategic ties<\/a> to Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n Pyongyang said last week that the denuclearization of North Korea \u201cwill never happen forever.\u201d<\/p>\n A photograph released on June 4 by North Korea\u2019s state-run Korean Central News Agency is said to show leader Kim Jong Un visiting a new nuclear enrichment facility at an undisclosed location the previous day.<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ccb64bde179fefe570e5b0a1ddb0e7d5.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0c6c426fd5d5074c8ecddfd3e8f37727.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n