▲ 윤석열 정부 용산 대통령실 청사     ©뉴시스

대통령실이 13일 북한의 우라늄 농축시설 공개에 "북한 핵실험 가능성 등을 염두에 두고 한·미 정보 당국이 추적하고 있다"고 밝혔다.

대통령실 관계자는 이날 '북한이 미국 대선에 앞서 핵실험에 나설 것'이란 우려에 "시기는 북한 지도부 결심에 따라 달라질 수 있어 단정적 예단은 제한된다"며 이같이 전했다.

그러면서 "북한의 공개 의도 등을 면밀히 파악하는 중"이라며 "북한 전반 동향을 관찰·분석 중"이라고 덧붙였다.

앞서 북한은 이날 주요매체를 통해 김정은 국무위원장이 핵무기연구소·무기급 핵물질 생산기지를 현지지도 했다며 사진을 공개했으나 구체적 방문 시점·장소에 대해선 언급않았다.

북한 매체들은 김 위원장이 "핵탄생산·현행 핵물질 생산실태를 점검하고 생산을 늘릴 것을 지시했다"고 전한 가운데 핵무기를 기하급수적으로 늘리겠다는 의지를 거듭 밝혀온 북한이 관련 역량 기초 단계인 농축시설을 전면 공개하고 나선 셈이다.

*아래는 위 기사를 '구글 번역'으로 번역한 영문 기사의 [전문]입니다. '구글번역'은 이해도 높이기를 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 합니다.<*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by 'Google Translate'. 'Google Translate' is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.

Presidential Office: "ROK and US intelligence agencies closely monitoring" North Korea's disclosure of uranium enrichment facility

"Keeping in mind the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test, the timing may vary depending on the North Korean leadership's decision, so it is difficult to make any definitive predictions... We are closely monitoring North Korea's intentions to make public, and are observing and analyzing overall trends in North Korea."

-kihong Kim reporter

The Office of the President announced on the 13th that "South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are tracking the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test, etc." regarding the disclosure of North Korea's uranium enrichment facility.

On this day, an official from the Office of the President said, "The timing may vary depending on the decision of the North Korean leadership, so definitive predictions are limited," regarding concerns that "North Korea will conduct a nuclear test before the U.S. presidential election."

He added, "We are closely monitoring North Korea's intentions for disclosure, etc." and "We are observing and analyzing overall trends in North Korea."

Earlier, North Korea released photos through major media outlets on this day, claiming that Chairman Kim Jong-un had inspected a nuclear weapons research institute and weapons-grade nuclear material production site, but did not mention the specific time or location of the visit.

North Korea, which has repeatedly expressed its intention to exponentially increase its nuclear weapons, has begun to fully disclose its enrichment facility, which is the basic stage of its related capabilities, as North Korea reported that Chairman Kim "inspected the status of nuclear bomb production and current nuclear material production and ordered increased production."