Syria's North Korea-built reactor was near completion and designed for nuclear weapons, IAEA chief confirms

A reactor built in Syria with North Korean support under ousted former President Bashar Assad was constructed to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons and had reached near completion before it was destroyed, the UN's nuclear watchdog confirmed Monday.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi briefed reporters in Vienna, Austria, on Monday (local time), presenting findings from last month's visit to the Al-Kibar reactor site in Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor province.

"It is clear that the former Syrian government pursued various clandestine activities," Grossi said. "Given the technical characteristics and structure of the reactor, it was built for the purpose of producing fissile material that could be directly used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons."

Grossi added that the reactor had been nearly complete and that the Assad regime likely carried out a deliberate explosion to prevent any inspection of the facility.

During last month's visit to Syria, the IAEA also inspected a factory that had manufactured nuclear fuel for the reactor, as well as sites where nuclear fuel and uranium-containing materials and waste were stored. In a report following the visit, the agency said it had found approximately 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal.

Grossi expressed gratitude for what he called the courageous decision by Syria's current government to declare the previously undisclosed facilities.

Syria's current government ousted Assad at the end of 2024 after a prolonged civil war, and in July held parliamentary elections. Since then, it has pursued reintegration into the international community — holding a summit with the United States, attending the UN General Assembly and actively cooperating with the IAEA.

Assad ruled Syria with an iron fist from 2000 to 2024, presiding over a civil war that killed between 500,000 and 600,000 people. The conflict, which began in 2011, saw government forces and allied militias kill more than 200,000 civilians. Assad also pursued nuclear weapons development in cooperation with North Korea.

US intelligence agencies believe North Korea helped Syria build a reactor between 2000 and 2007 that closely mirrored the one at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility. Israel destroyed the nearly completed reactor in an airstrike in 2007, and the Assad regime is said to have hidden the remaining radioactive materials and research and development equipment elsewhere.

Syria's nuclear development potential has been a persistent concern for the international community, particularly given the country's volatile position in the Middle East. Among the materials the Assad regime concealed was uranium ore concentrate — a potential ingredient for a "dirty bomb" that terrorist groups could have seized.

Against that backdrop, Syria's new government declared its nuclear facilities to the IAEA and cooperated actively, in line with US demands. Grossi said decisions on how to handle the discovered uranium materials rested with the Syrian government, but stressed: "What is important for us is that we always know where this material is."

The IAEA said in 2011 that it was highly likely a reactor had been under construction at Deir ez-Zor, and based on its own intelligence analysis concluded that the Assad regime had received North Korean support to build it. Grossi said he had not been given a mandate to conduct additional investigations into the reactor's links to North Korea at this time.

Meanwhile, Grossi said Monday that South Korea had notified the IAEA of its intention to begin consultations toward concluding an agreement with the agency for the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines. He also said a new uranium enrichment facility at North Korea's Yongbyon complex may already be operational or on the verge of becoming so.