North Korea has announced its intention to expand its nuclear arsenal, escalating regional tensions and drawing international concern over nuclear proliferation and security.

Plans have been announced by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to significantly enhance the country’s nuclear arsenal. While visiting a facility that produces weapon-grade nuclear materials and the Nuclear Weapons Institute, he emphasized their defensive objectives. The intention is to expand exponentially in this direction.

In 2006, Pyongyang announced that it had triumphantly tested its first version of a nuclear deterrent. Nowadays, North Korea is believed to own about 50 atomic warheads.

According to the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim personally familiarized himself with the production process at a nuclear facility and even went as far as visiting the control center of an uranium enrichment plant on Friday. The media outlet reported that this visit left him feeling “energized”.

Kim emphasized that the nuclear industry of their country must not get satisfied with its accomplishments. He highlighted the importance of increasing the count of centrifuges to significantly amplify their production rate of nuclear weapons in a new advancement.

He mentioned the “nuclear threats against North Korea carried out by vassal forces led by US imperialists” which have become increasingly blatant and surpassed acceptable limits.

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North Korea has publicly disclosed information regarding its uranium enrichment facility for the first time, as reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

The possibility that the North Korean leader may have inspected Kangson’s “second uranium enrichment plant” was pondered by the media outlet.

The KCNA reported that on Wednesday, Kim inspected the “training base of the special operation forces of the Korean People’s Army.” During his address to military personnel at the facility, he urged them to prepare themselves for war.

During his speech on Tuesday commemorating the 76th anniversary of North Korea’s establishment, Kim prioritized enhancing Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities. He also referred to the nation as a “responsible state” in terms of possessing nuclear weapons.

Pyongyang has carried out several missile tests recently, as it perceives joint military exercises performed by the US with South Korea and Japan in the region as a practice for an attack against North Korea.

North Korea announced in July that they had successfully conducted a test of their latest tactical ballistic missile, the Hwasongpho-11Da-4.5. This new weapon is purportedly capable of transporting a super-sized warhead weighing 4.5 tons and has the potential to strike targets at distances up to approximately 300 miles (500km).