TAIPEI, Taiwan – The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has grown “exponentially,” and urged talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
Since taking office in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “communication” with North Korea and that Washington “may do something” with Pyongyang.
“I have been saying that we need to engage,” said Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.
“You cannot have a country like this which is completely off the charts with its nuclear arsenal,” he said at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. thinktank.
North Korea’s nuclear program, said Grossi, has “spawned exponentially” and it is currently building a third enrichment facility – a crucial part of building nuclear bombs.
The U.N. has imposed sanctions on North Korea aimed at limiting its nuclear weapons development, but these measures have largely failed to stop Pyongyang’s programs. The North may have up to 50 nuclear warheads, according to a 2024 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Grossi challenged the approach that demands Pyongyang “disarm or we don’t talk,” arguing that “things are more complicated … you have to start by talking.”
He praised high-level diplomacy, specifically mentioning Trump’s letters during his first term to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“Presidential diplomacy is important,” the IAEA chief said.
Asked if Beijing and Moscow would encourage renewed IAEA dialogue with North Korea, Grossi said he doesn’t see the two countries as “against” some form of engagement. But he added that he doesn’t see either country pushing it as a priority.
The watchdog’s chief has consistently expressed concern about North Korea’s nuclear advancements.
During his visit to Japan in February, he advocated for renewed engagement with North Korea, suggesting the IAEA should reestablish its presence in the country.
The IAEA’s inspectors were kicked out of North Korea in April 2009, when Pyongyang told the agency it was “immediately ceasing all cooperation” with the U.N. body.
In November, Grossi reported continued development of a reactor at Yongbyon and apparent work on an undeclared centrifuge enrichment facility at the Kangson complex. More recently, in March, he noted indications of a new reprocessing campaign at the Yongbyon reactor.
As official policy, the U.S. has long refused to recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear power, despite its arsenal of nuclear weapons.
However, the Trump administration has veered from the official line, as the president has called North Korea a “nuclear nation” numerous times since taking office.
Most recently, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities.
Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, in which he discussed security challenges facing the United States, including from China, Russia and Iran.
“We live in a world with a nuclear-armed North Korea, with a nuclear-ambitious Iran,” the secretary said in the podcast hosted by The Free Press, according to a transcript provided by the State Department.
The phrase “nuclear power” has sparked concern in South Korea, as it could be interpreted as formal U.S. recognition of North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability – potentially legitimizing Kim’s regime.
Edited by Mike Firn and Stephen Wright.
