US satellite may have uncovered North Korean nuclear site
The location of one of a possible three North Korean nuclear plants may have been discovered, according to US researchers. The underground factory previously used for manufacturing aircraft parts could reportedly have been a vital facility for the development of weapons-grade uranium; it is not certain whether it is still operational. 

Researchers believe they have found the location of Kim Jong un's top secret uranium enrichment plant which is hidden in a mountain near an airbase in northern North Korea.

The facility, which is vital to develop weapons grade uranium is believed to have been developed in an underground factory which was previously used to manufacture aircraft parts.

US experts using commercial satellite technology claim they have found the top secret lab used by North Korean nuclear scientists.

Kim Jong-un has hidden a nuclear weapons facility in a mountain in North Korea near the Chinese border

North Korea first revealed the existence of a gas centrifuge enrichment programme at its Yongbyon in 2010

Kim Jong-un has defied the international community with his continued work on developing nuclear weapons

The report by the Institute for Science and International Security said there has always been doubt about whether North Korea has disclosed all of its nuclear facilities. Confirming their location would be critical to the success of any future agreement to freeze and dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons program, it said.

The site, 27 miles from the nuclear complex at Yongbyon, may have played a key role in development of centrifuges that refine uranium hexafluoride gas into low-enriched and highly enriched uranium, the report said.

David Albright, president of the institute said: 'It is necessary to identify where North Korea enriches uranium and part of that is understanding where it has done it in the past.'

What may once have been the early centrifuge research and development facility is believed to have been inside an aircraft part factory inside a mountain next to Panghyon Air Base.

Experts claim they have located Kim Jong -un's secret uranium enrichment facility near the Chinese border

The facility is hidden under the mountain to protect it from possible air attack and effective surveillance

Report author David Albright said it is vital for the international community to inspect the facility

It was located using commercial satellite imagery, the report said.

It was unclear whether the aircraft part factory was still operational but information from defectors indicates there may be three production-scale centrifuge manufacturing plants operating in the country although their locations have not been confirmed, said Albright.

NORTH KOREA CLAIMS IT HAS NO PLANS TO NUKE LONDON North Korea has attacked Prime Minister Theresa May over her comments that Kim Jong-un's nuclear ambitions pose a threat to the UK. In a statement following the parliamentary debate on the renewal of Trident, a Pyongyang official told the KCNA news agency: 'It is a pity that the UK makes an excuse for the building of [nuclear submarines] by finding fault with the DPRK, thousands [of] kilometres away from it. 'The DPRK does not regard the UK's nuclear weapons as a threat to it. Therefore, the UK has no need to regard the DPRK's nukes as a threat to it.' Advertisement !- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/ru/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->

Tensions have been escalating between North Korea and South Korea, the United States and Japan over Pyongyang's fourth underground nuclear test in January and a series of missile launches.

North Korea's nuclear program is based on highly enriched uranium and plutonium separated from spent reactor fuel rods.

The reclusive government, which for more than a decade denied having a gas centrifuge program, in November 2010 revealed the existence of a production-scale gas centrifuge plant at Yongbyon but insisted it had no other such facilities.

In June 2000 a Japanese newspaper quoted Chinese sources as saying a facility was located inside Mount Chonma, the report said. Information recently obtained from 'knowledgeable government officials' suggested the undeclared facility was associated with an underground aircraft parts factory, it said.

Working with Allsource Analysis, which interprets satellite imagery, the institute determined it most likely was Panghyon Aircraft Plant, which made parts for Soviet-supplied fighters.

The report quoted an unidentified official as saying the site could have held between 200 and 300 centrifuges.

The dictator, pictured, has ordered a number of underground nuclear tests despite international condemnation