North Korea's Kim calls for 'exponential' nuclear expansion after inspecting new plant

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an “exponential” expansion of the country’s atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory, state media agency KCNA said on Thursday. Kim said production capacity for weapons-grade nuclear material had reached more than double its previous level over the past five years and instructed officials to further increase output to meet long-term strategic goals. During the visit, he was briefed on new production processes incorporating more advanced technology and reviewed current output targets and future plans, KCNA reported. Photographs published by state media showed Kim walking between rows of cylinder-shaped equipment inside the facility, which some analysts said could indicate the location is at the country’s main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. Kim said the expansion was necessary given what he called worsening security threats and long-term confrontation with “the most ferocious enemies” and reaffirmed the country’s policy of increasing its nuclear deterrence. KCNA said a key consultative meeting on bolstering nuclear forces was held the same day, at which Kim outlined guidelines for accelerating both the qualitative and quantitative expansion of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The country has set out the sequence and safeguards for executing an “ambitious future plan designed to beef up our states nuclear forces at an exponential rate,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. This is a “historic event that has set up an epochal milestone in rapidly upgrading our nuclear capabilities,” he added. Potential Xi visit to Pyongyang The nuclear facility North Korea unveiled on Thursday was a uranium-enrichment site, an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a briefing in Seoul. Analysts said Kim’s visit appeared aimed at reinforcing North Korea’s negotiating position ahead of potential diplomatic engagement while justifying an acceleration of its nuclear build-up. Chad OCarroll, founder