For the first time, North Korea displayed images of the centrifuges utilized for producing fuel for its nuclear weapons on Friday, during a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to a uranium enrichment facility.

He emphasized the need for increased production of weapons-grade material to enhance the country’s arsenal. The state media’s coverage of Kim’s visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and a facility dedicated to the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials included the inaugural photographs of the centrifuges, offering a rare glimpse into North Korea’s nuclear program, which is prohibited under various United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The images depicted Kim traversing long rows of metal centrifuges, the apparatus responsible for uranium enrichment. The report did not specify the timing of the visit or the location of the facility.

Kim urged the workforce to increase the production of materials for tactical nuclear weapons, asserting that the nuclear arsenal is essential for addressing threats posed by the United States and its allies. He stated that these weapons are necessary for “self-defense and the capability for a preemptive strike.”

According to the report, Kim remarked that “anti-DPRK nuclear threats” from the “U.S. imperialists-led vassal forces” have surpassed acceptable limits.

In response, South Korea condemned North Korea’s revelation of its uranium enrichment facility, reiterating that it will never accept Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons, as stated by the South’s unification ministry.

It is believed that North Korea operates several uranium enrichment sites. Analysts have noted that commercial satellite imagery has indicated construction activity in recent years at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, including its uranium enrichment plant, suggesting potential expansion.

Uranium, a naturally occurring radioactive element, undergoes various processes to produce nuclear fuel, resulting in a material with a higher concentration of the isotope uranium-235.

On Monday, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi reported that the U.N. nuclear watchdog had detected activities consistent with reactor operations.