South Korea said yesterday it suspects the North has been secretly enriching uranium at more locations besides its main nuclear site — which could mean it has more material for building nuclear bombs.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said he could not confirm a media report that Pyongyang had three to four plants to enrich uranium, but he suspected there were facilities in the North in addition to the Yongbyon nuclear complex.
“It is a report based on what is still intelligence and let me just say that we have been following this issue for some time,” he told a press briefing.
The prospect of more plants capable of producing materials that could be used in a nuclear weapons program raises the risk that North Korea expands its nuclear plans as it seeks to wrest concessions and aid from restarting disarmament talks.
Last month, North Korea shelled an island close to a disputed maritime boundary with the South, killing four people and prompting the US to send an aircraft carrier to join military drills with South Korea in a show of strength.
“Our policies have failed,” said Hajime Izumi of Shizuoka Prefectural University in Japan. “The situation has caught fire and we are watching it burn.”
US nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, who visited Yongbyon last month, had already raised concerns that the North had alternative sites for uranium enrichment.
Amid the rising tensions, South Korea’s army chief resigned yesterday over a controversial property investment.
The departure of General Hwang Eui-don is a further blow to the South’s military, widely criticized for a perceived feeble response to the North’s bombardment, which triggered international alarm.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a meeting on Monday with his visiting North Korean counterpart Pak Ui-chun, expressed “deep concern” about the North Korea’s new nuclear capability, Moscow’s foreign -ministry said.
Hwang stepped down following media reports that he had profited unfairly from the property deal, a claim he denies, but he judged it inappropriate to stay in his post at a time when he must lead reform of the army, a defense ministry spokesman told reporters.
Russia has put its forces on alert in the country’s far east because of the increased in tensions, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s top military commander as saying yesterday.
“Without a doubt, we have taken measures to increase the combat-readiness of our forces,” Interfax quoted military General Staff chief Nikolai Makarov as saying.
He said the military was “continuing to monitor” the situation.
Russia shares a short border with North Korea and has expressed concern over its nuclear and missile tests.
On Monday, Lavrov told Pak that Pyongyang’s deadly shelling of a South Korean island last month deserved condemnation, but also suggested joint South Korean-US military exercises had added to tension.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu (姜瑜) told reporters that the senior Chinese envoy to North Korea, Dai Bingguo (戴秉國), had agreed in talks in Pyongyang that nuclear negotiations needed to resume.
“Both agreed that all sides should exercise calm and restraint, and maintain a responsible attitude to prevent tensions from escalating, playing a positive role in preserving the peace and stability of the peninsula,” Jiang said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source