Overview

• Unification Minister Jeong Dong-yeong said North Korea is estimated to possess up to about two tonnes of highly enriched uranium at 90% or higher, citing a 2023 Federation of American Scientists analysis.
• He characterized the estimated stockpile as sufficient to produce a “vast” number of nuclear weapons.
• Jeong said centrifuges used for uranium enrichment are currently operating at four locations in North Korea.
• He argued sanctions cannot halt the nuclear program and proposed a U.S.–North Korea summit as a route to address it, noting President Donald Trump has shown interest in meeting Kim Jong Un.
• His remarks follow North Korean state media reporting on Sept. 21 that Kim told the Supreme People's Assembly that “denuclearization is absolutely impossible.”