Overview

• South Korea’s unification minister said North Korea is presumed to hold up to 2,000 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and to be running centrifuges at four locations, including Yongbyon.
• Officials later clarified the 2,000-kilogram figure was drawn from civilian expert assessments rather than newly disclosed intelligence.
• Based on IAEA benchmarks of roughly 42 kilograms of HEU per warhead, the reported stockpile could support production of dozens of nuclear devices if accurate.
• President Lee Jae Myung said Pyongyang is in the final stage of developing ICBM re-entry capability, noting it has not yet succeeded but appears close.
• Kim Jong-un convened a meeting on nuclear materials and weapons production and reaffirmed nuclear forces as an invariable security cornerstone, while signaling talks with Washington only if denuclearization demands are dropped.