Washington must press Pyongyang to reveal the existence of secret nuclear sites, including the second uranium enrichment facility known as Kangsong, in any nuclear disarmament deal, said a former United Nations nuclear inspector.
The United States must “make sure [North Korean officials] include these additional sites upfront into the deal,” said David Albright, a former United Nations nuclear inspector and current nuclear proliferation analyst at the Institute for Science and International Security. ((ACT 6))
Albright made his comments as another expert said North Korea's increased nuclear activities since the summit in June have raised concerns whether it has violated the agreement made with the U.S. to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
Before U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headed to Pyongyang on Thursday to discuss denuclearization details, reports of North Korea's secret nuclear sites and upgrades to the Yongbyon nuclear site surfaced. The reports fueled speculation about the real intentions of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un regarding denuclearization, despite what was said to U.S. President Donald Trump during last month's summit in Singapore.
NBC and The Washington Post reported last week that U.S. officials believe, based on the latest intelligence assessments, that North Korea has been making preparations to deceive Washington about how many weapons it has in its possession and that the Kim regime has been increasing its production of enriched uranium for nuclear weapons at several secret sites since the summit.
Aside from the Yongbyon facility, which is the only nuclear site the North acknowledges, Pyongyang also operated Kangsong, a secret underground facility that is believed to have the capability to enrich twice the amount of uraniumuranium than Yongbyon.
一位前联合国核检查员说，美国必须向朝鲜施压，要它在任何去核协议中披露包括其刚善（Kangsong）铀浓缩基地在内的所有秘密核设施。
前联合国核检查员、目前在科学与国际安全研究所担任核扩散分析员的奥尔布赖特说，美国在签署协议之前必须确保朝鲜官员完全披露这些核设施。
与此同时，另外一位专家说，自从6月美朝峰会以来朝鲜核活动的增加令人担心朝鲜是否已经违反了与美国达成的朝鲜半岛去核化协议。
美国国务卿蓬佩奥将前往平壤讨论去核进程细节前，媒体报道说，朝鲜还有秘密核设施，并对宁边核设施进行了改善，引发人们质疑金正恩的真实动机，尽管他上个月在新加坡与美国总统川普会见时做出了去核承诺。
美国全国广播公司（NBC）和华盛顿邮报上星期报道，根据最新的情报评估，美国官员认为朝鲜准备在它目前拥有核武器数量上欺骗美国，金正恩政权自从美朝峰会以来在若干秘密核设施增加浓缩铀的生产。朝鲜只承认它有宁边核设施，但是据报道，平壤还有刚善秘密地下核设施，浓缩铀的能力是宁边核设施的两倍。