South Korea says the North has 4 uranium enrichment facilities to build nuclear weapons

A top South Korean official said Thursday that North Korea is operating a total of four uranium enrichment facilities, adding to outside assessments that it has multiple covert atomic plants along with the widely known site near the capital of Pyongyang.

SEOUL, South Korea — A top South Korean official said Thursday that North Korea is operating a total of four uranium enrichment facilities, adding to outside assessments that it has multiple covert atomic plants along with the widely known site near the capital of Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a rapid expansion of his country’s nuclear weapons program and recently said he would never make the arms a negotiating point in response to overtures by President Donald Trump.

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said uranium enrichment centrifuges at the four facilities — which would include the known site at Yongbyon, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang — are running every day and stressed the urgency of stopping the North’s nuclear program.

Chung did not elaborate on the location of the other, undeclared nuclear sites. He spoke about the North with local reporters, according to his ministry.

Chung cited an assessment that the North possesses about 4,400 pounds of highly enriched uranium. He first said that was based on intelligence, but the ministry later clarified that it was attributed to civilian experts.