Overview
- IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, speaking in Seoul on Wednesday, warned of a very troubling rise in North Korea’s capacity and estimated the arsenal at several dozen warheads.
- The agency reported faster operations at Yongbyon’s 5‑megawatt reactor, the fuel reprocessing unit and a light‑water reactor, and it flagged construction of a new uranium‑enrichment plant that CSIS satellite imagery in April indicated was complete.
- South Korea’s intelligence service said the North is enriching uranium at multiple sites, a step that would allow a sharp increase in warhead production.
- Grossi said the agency has seen no evidence that Russian technology is being used in North Korea’s nuclear program.
- Grossi invited South Korea to work with the IAEA on safeguards for its planned nuclear‑propelled submarines, and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun pledged full transparency and the highest safeguards.