North Korea quietly ramps up its nuclear program
Key takeaways
- With Washington's attention elsewhere, North Korea has slowly been building up its nuclear weapons program.
- The plant's unveiling came a week after the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement vowing that the "denuclearization" of North Korea "will never happen."
- This was in response to the foreign ministers of the US, Japan, India and Australia, which comprises the so-called Quad grouping, calling for the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea after a meeting in New Delhi.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
With Washington's attention elsewhere, North Korea has slowly been building up its nuclear weapons program. This week, Kim Jong Un took a publicity tour of a new nuclear fuel facility while promising to build more bombs.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ev Ay Kim declared earlier this year that North Korea's status as a nuclear state is 'completely and absolutely irreversible'Image: KCNA/KNS/AFPAdvertisement On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reminded the world of Pyongyang's nuclear threat, announcing plans to bolster nuclear forces "at an exponential rate," as state media carried footage of Kim visiting what South Korea said was likely a new uranium enrichment plant.
The plant's unveiling came a week after the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement vowing that the "denuclearization" of North Korea "will never happen."