"North Korea's Possibility of Extracting Uranium from Fertilizer Plant... Nuclear Weapon Material"

US Think Tank "Uranium Extraction Possible from Phosphoric Acid"
Kim Jong-un Visits Fertilizer Plant in First Public Appearance of the Year

North Korea's Propaganda Poster Urging the Rapid Construction of a Fertilizer Plant

The U.S. private think tank James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) has revealed that North Korea may be extracting uranium, a raw material for nuclear weapons, from a phosphoric acid fertilizer plant, according to a report by Voice of America (VOA) on the 8th (local time).

On the 6th, CNS released a report titled "Dual Use in North Korea: Uranium Extraction from Phosphoric Acid Fertilizer Plants," claiming that "North Korea can extract uranium ore (U3O8), also known as Yellow Cake, from phosphoric acid, an intermediate product in the phosphoric acid fertilizer production process." Yellow Cake is a raw material that can be used to produce highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

CNS explained that the process of extracting uranium during fertilizer production is relatively simple and does not require significant costs. Additionally, operations within fertilizer plants are difficult to detect via satellite imagery, making it easier to conceal uranium extraction activities.

The report pointed out that "(North Korea's activities) may be due to the need to increase agricultural production through phosphoric acid fertilizer production, but there could be several other factors, including the possibility of extracting uranium during the fertilizer production process."

The fertilizer plants are analyzed to be used as dual-purpose means to achieve both the apparent goal of increasing agricultural output and the strategic goal of producing nuclear weapon materials. CNS estimated that there are eight facilities related to phosphoric acid fertilizer production in North Korea.

On January 7, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, visited the Suncheon Fertilizer Factory in Suncheon City, South Pyongan Province, as his first local guidance schedule of the new year.

Margaret Kroeh, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said in an interview with VOA, "There are historical cases that show uranium extraction through phosphoric acid can be done very quietly and inconspicuously, and North Korea has the infrastructure to carry out this process."

Since the era of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has emphasized the importance of phosphoric acid fertilizer plants and the chemical fertilizer industry as a whole.

The first official visit by Kim Jong-un this year was to a fertilizer plant. On January 7th, North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency reported, "Comrade Kim Jong-un provided on-site guidance at the construction site of the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Plant."

Previously, North Korea has operated facilities such as the Namheung Youth Chemical Complex in South Pyongan Province, the Sunchon Lime Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant, and the Haeju Phosphoric Acid Fertilizer Plant in South Hwanghae Province to increase agricultural production and alleviate chronic food shortages.

Researcher Kroeh pointed out, "Even assuming that only a few plants in North Korea extract uranium and that the uranium extraction rate from phosphoric acid is quite low, the amount of uranium ore North Korea can produce is by no means insignificant."

Construction site of Suncheon Fertilizer Plant, which Chairman Kim Jong-un visited for on-site guidance in January this year

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