President Lee: "Kusong Nuclear Facility Already Known... Wrong to Claim Minister Chung Leaked Classified Information"

by Song Seungseop

Published 20 Apr.2026 21:37(KST)

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the briefing on public institutions and related agencies held at the Blue House State Guesthouse on the 17th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

President Lee Jae-myung refuted Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young's mention of Kusong in North Pyongan Province as the third location of North Korea's nuclear facilities, stating, "Any claims and actions that presuppose Minister Chung leaked ‘classified information provided by the United States’ are wrong."

On this day, President Lee wrote on his X (formerly Twitter), "It is a clear fact that, even before Minister Chung's remarks about the 'Kusong nuclear facility,' the existence of a nuclear facility in Kusong was already widely known around the world through various academic papers and media reports." He added, "I will make sure to look into why such absurd things are happening in detail."

Previously, on the 6th of last month, Minister Chung mentioned Kusong as the location of North Korea's uranium enrichment facility during a session at the National Assembly. So far, the sites officially confirmed by the government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are Yongbyon and Kangson. It is known that the United States protested Minister Chung’s remarks and partially restricted the sharing of satellite information on North Korea.

However, Minister Chung maintains that Kusong was already mentioned in the past by U.S. think tanks and domestic media reports. On this day, at the Seoul Government Complex, Minister Chung said, "I also mentioned Kusong during my confirmation hearing on July 14 last year. Back then, there was no response, but now, nine months later, suddenly raising this issue makes me question their motives. It is perplexing."