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U.S. and South Korean officials discussed strengthening atomic deterrence and readiness against North Korea’s increasing weapons programme connected Thursday (June 11, 2026), South Korea’s Defence Ministry said, at talks successful Seoul nether their Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG).
The gathering follows increasing interest that North Korea is expanding its capableness to nutrient weapons-grade atomic material, aft authorities media showed person Kim Jong Un inspecting a recently operating nuclear-material accumulation plant and calling for an “exponential” enlargement of the country’s atomic forces.
The sixth gathering of the radical was co-chaired by Kim Hong-cheol, Seoul’s Defence Policy Chief, and Robert Soofer, a elder U.S. Defence Official handling nuclear deterrence and weapons of wide demolition policy. Officials from Defence, Foreign Ministry and quality agencies besides attended.
The Ministry said the 2 sides reviewed advancement crossed the consultative group’s work, from accusation sharing and situation procedures to associated drills and messaging, and explored ways to further bolster allied nuclear deterrence and readiness.
Last week, North Korea released images of Mr. Kim visiting a recently launched nuclear-material accumulation facility and said helium had reviewed plans to grow the country’s atomic forces, successful what analysts saw arsenic a sign of Pyongyang’s intent to summation fissile-material output.
Hong Min, a elder researcher astatine the Korea Institute for National Unification, said North Korea’s output of weapons-grade atomic worldly and its quality to mass-produce warheads could beryllium higher than antecedently thought. That would beryllium imaginable if respective enrichment sites go afloat operational, including Kangson, a caller installation astatine Yongbyon, and a imaginable tract successful Kusong, helium said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that North Korea’s uranium-enrichment capableness could emergence by astir 75% erstwhile the caller Yongbyon installation reaches afloat production, citing investigation by Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC), a London-based arms-control verification nonprofit.
The installation was estimated to incorporate much than 9,000 centrifuges susceptible of producing astir 160 kg (353 lb) of highly enriched uranium a year, connected apical of an estimated erstwhile yearly capableness of astir 215 kg, the study said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping besides visited Pyongyang this week, his archetypal travel determination successful 7 years. Chinese and North Korean readouts emphasised stronger political, economic and taste cooperation, but made nary notation of denuclearisation.
The NCG was launched aft the 2023 Washington Declaration, a U.S.-South Korean pact that included giving South Korea much penetration into U.S. atomic readying implicit immoderate struggle with North Korea.
The talks travel arsenic Seoul is pursuing a transportation of wartime operational power from Washington, a process that has raised questions implicit how the allies would coordinate atomic readying and accepted forces.
