North Korea may sell nuclear bomb-making materials to rogue states, experts warn

North Korea’s uranium production already surpasses what it needs for its own security and could fuel illicit arms programmes worldwide

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Kim Jong-un inspects the production of weapons-grade nuclear material at North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Institute. “That’s a lot of material,” analysts said. “Those are a lot of weapons.” Photo: KCNA/via EPA-EFE

Published: 3:11pm, 18 Sep 2024Updated: 3:12pm, 18 Sep 2024

New details about North Korea’s nuclear bomb-building activity have stoked fears that Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un could supply nations pursuing illicit weapons programmes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency started its annual general conference in Vienna on Monday, days after Pyongyang revealed images of a factory where uranium isotopes can be separated to fuel nuclear weapons.

The facility’s scale suggests North Korea could be enriching material beyond what it needs for its own security.

“We are concerned that material could go elsewhere,” US Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk said in an interview.

North Korea’s “deeply troubling” new capacity has been a primary focus of meetings this week in the Austrian capital, he said.

Kim Jong-un holds a scoped rifle during a visit to a military training base this month. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

On September 13, North Korean state media reported a rare visit by Kim to his Nuclear Weapons Institute where centrifuges produce highly-enriched uranium for weapons. Engineers there are under orders to “exponentially increase” the nuclear stockpile, the official Korean Central News Agency said.