North Korea’s showcase of a new, fully operational uranium enrichment facility has underscored the credibility of its push to mass-produce nuclear warheads, while sending a clear message to the U.S. and South Korea about its head start on enrichment.

State media reported that leader Kim Jong Un inspected a “newly commissioned nuclear material production plant” featuring “more sophisticated technologies” on June 3, accompanied by senior officials from the Munitions Industry Department and the Nuclear Weapons Institute.

The site represents the third facility of its kind publicly revealed in the DPRK.

Photographs released