The Korea Times close
National
  • Politics
  • Diplomacy
  • Defense
  • Labor & Environment
  • Law & Crime
  • Health & Welfare
  • Embassy
  • Seoul & Provinces
  • Education
  • Foreign Communities
  • Obituaries
  • Multicultural Youth Award
Biz & Tech
  • Auto
  • IT
  • Game
  • Manufacturing
  • Retail & Food
  • Energy
  • Construction
  • Airlines
Finance
  • Policies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Banks
  • Non-banks
  • Economic Essay Contest
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
Lifestyle
  • Arts
  • Books
  • Travel & Cuisine
  • Trend
  • Fashion
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Entertainment
  • K-pop
  • K-dramas & Shows
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Performances
  • Asia Model Festival
Sports
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Baseball
  • Other Sports
World
  • Asia Pacific
  • Americas
  • Europe & Africa
  • SCMP
Video
  • On the Spot
  • Feature
  • News
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
Community
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • Site Map
  • E-paper
  • Subscribe
  • Register
  • LogIn
search close
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • Site Map
  • E-paper
  • Subscribe
  • Register
  • LogIn
search close
North Korea
Sun, January 17, 2021 | 00:14
'Kangson' considered one of secret nuke facilities in NK
Posted : 2019-03-01 17:52
Updated : 2019-03-02 09:40
Mail
Print Preview
Font Size Up
Font Size Down
This handout satellite image taken on Feb. 21 and released to AFP by Pleiades, Cnes 2019, Distribution Airbus DS on Feb. 28 shows the 5 MWe reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center showing no signs of activity. / AFP-Yonhap
This handout satellite image taken on Feb. 21 and released to AFP by Pleiades, Cnes 2019, Distribution Airbus DS on Feb. 28 shows the 5 MWe reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center showing no signs of activity. / AFP-Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Speculation is circulating over North Korea's secret nuclear facilities U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned amid rumors that one of the areas is a uranium enrichment facility called Kangson located near Pyongyang.

After failing to reach an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump held a press conference and said the U.S. told the North that it had found some hidden nuclear facilities, including a uranium enrichment plant, which likely surprised Kim.

"We had to have more than that because there are other things that you haven't talked about, that you haven't written about, that we found. And we have to have ― that was done a long time ago, but the people didn't know about," Trump said few hours after the summit was abruptly canceled without notice.

"And we brought many, many points up that I think they were surprised that we knew."

It appears that Trump asked the North to give up more than it was prepared to, including hidden facilities such as Kangson, adding these its Yongbyon facility if it wanted sanctions to be lifted. This was one of the main reasons for both sides to fail to narrow their differences during the summit.

"There are also timing and sequencing issues that were associated with that as well, which we didn't quite get across the finish line as well. But remember, too, even that facility, even the Yongbyon facility and all of its scope ― which is important, for sure ― still leaves missiles, still leaves warheads and weapons systems. So there's a lot of other elements that we just couldn't get to," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added during the press conference.

It is widely believed that there are several other nuclear sites while Yongbyon is the only facility that North Korea has declared.

In 2018, open-source research identified a probable nuclear facility near Kangson. In the middle of June, last year, many U.S. news outlets went all-out to report the existence of the uranium processing site, citing U.S. intelligence agency's reports made since 2010. On Jan. 22, Japan's Asahi Shimbun also reported that a former senior officer at the South Korean presidential office who has dealt with North Korean nuclear issues and North-U.S. relations, told the media that when he was at the office, the U.S. authorities considered there were about 300 nuclear facilities in North Korea. According to the officer, the North has up to 10 uranium enrichment facilities, most of them underground near Pyongyang.

When asked what the facility that Trump mentioned was, Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Dongguk University answered during a radio interview Friday, "We can think of two. One is an ICBM related facility, not the Yongbyon site. The other is a facility for highly enriched uranium (HEU)."

Woo Jung-yeop, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute in Seoul was quoted as saying to the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, Thursday that the "uranium-related facility was easily hidden."

"Considering the fact that the North was surprised by Trump's revelation, we can reasonably assume that there are many nuclear facilities across the country apart from Kangson."


Emailjwpark@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter









 
WooriBank
 
  • Korea extends current social distancing level for 2 weeks, eases restrictions on cafes, gyms
  • New virus cases in 500s for 5th day as gov't announces eased restrictions
  • Uniqlo makes rebound after closing unprofitable stores
  • Bangladeshi embassy opens 2021 with series of events
  • Establishing laws not panacea for solving social issues
  • Deepfake technology in music welcomed, with caution
  • Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden's inauguration
  • Tenbagger companies' resurgence in stock markets
  • Pompeo pushes new claim of China covering up COVID origin
  • End of Merkel era begins as German CDU picks new party leader
  • Ex-BIGBANG member Seungri indicted for mobilizing gang members to threaten people Ex-BIGBANG member Seungri indicted for mobilizing gang members to threaten people
  • BLACKPINK's Jennie gets 600 million YouTube views with debut single 'Solo' BLACKPINK's Jennie gets 600 million YouTube views with debut single 'Solo'
  • Film 'Minari' to hit local theaters in March Film 'Minari' to hit local theaters in March
  • K-pop star IU to drop new single 'Celebrity' this month K-pop star IU to drop new single 'Celebrity' this month
  • iKON's Bobby to make solo comeback iKON's Bobby to make solo comeback
DARKROOM
  • Second Trump impeachment [PHOTOS]

    Second Trump impeachment [PHOTOS]

  • Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol

    Pro-Trump rioters breach the US Capitol

  • Our children deserve better (Part 2)

    Our children deserve better (Part 2)

  • Migrants hard hit by COVID-19: UN migration agency

    Migrants hard hit by COVID-19: UN migration agency

  • Happy New Year 2021

    Happy New Year 2021

WooriBank
  • About Korea Times
  • CEO Message
  • Times History
  • Content Sales
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Location
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Mobile Service
  • RSS Service
  • Ombudsman
  • hankookilbo
  • Dongwha Group
  • Code of Ethics
Copyright