IAEA members raise ‘concern’ over North Korea’s nuclear expansion

Members of the UN nuclear watchdog expressed growing concern on Thursday in Vienna over North Korea's increased atomic activity and nuclear expansion. The concerns follow a report released ahead of the agency's conference by IAEA head Rafael Grossi.

According to the IAEA report, the agency has identified an additional uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon. Pyongyang had purportedly decommissioned the site following past talks before reactivating it in 2021.

Because North Korea expelled UN inspectors in 2009, the UN nuclear watchdog has since relied on satellite imagery and open-source intelligence to monitor the country's ongoing nuclear programme.