North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, inspects the country's nuclear weapons research institute as well as a weapons-grade uranium enrichment production facility in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency, Friday. Although the exact location of the facility was not revealed, it is presumed to be situated at either the Yongbyon nuclear complex or the Kangson complex near Pyongyang. Yonhap

On Friday, North Korea publicly announced the existence of its facility for producing highly enriched uranium (HEU), a key component in nuclear weapons.

It was the first time for the North to disclose the existence of its uranium enrichment facility, and analysts believe this was Pyongyang's attempt at pressuring the U.S. into nuclear negotiations, aiming to strengthen its bargaining position in any potential talks with less than two months left until the U.S. presidential election.

Pyongyang's state-run newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) revealed photos of its leader Kim Jong-un touring a room filled with centrifuges at a previously undisclosed uranium enrichment facility. The North's state media reported that this visit was part of Kim's inspection of the country's weapons-grade nuclear material production capabilities.

"When he went around the site, he said that just seeing the facility energizes him," the KCNA reported. "He stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges in order to exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense true to the party's line of building up its nuclear-armed forces."

Although the exact location of the facility was not revealed, it is presumed to be situated at either the Yongbyon nuclear complex or the Kangson complex near Pyongyang.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the country's nuclear weapons research institute as well as a weapons-grade uranium enrichment production facility in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency, Friday. Yonhap

Experts suggest that North Korea's sudden disclosure of its uranium enrichment facility was a planned move ahead of the U.S. presidential election, as the North seeks to increase its leverage in future negotiations with the country.

"North Korea's unveiling of its infrastructure, including key uranium production facilities for nuclear weapons, appears to be intended to send a message to the winner of the U.S. presidential election," Lee Sang-kyu, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), told The Korea Times.

"By revealing these facilities, North Korea seems to be setting the stage for continued strategic provocations while signaling to the U.S. its intent to engage in negotiations on nuclear issues."

There is speculation that Pyongyang may increase the provocations and carry out its seventh nuclear test before the U.S. election.

The South Korean government strongly condemned North Korea's move, emphasizing that the international community will never tolerate the North's nuclear ambitions, which clearly violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"Any nuclear threat or provocation from North Korea will be met with a decisive and strong response from the South Korean government and military, grounded in the robust extended deterrence of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," South Korea's unification ministry stated.

"The North Korean regime must realize once again that there is nothing to gain from nuclear weapons. It should swiftly choose the path of freedom, prosperity and peace for the North Korean people. We urge them to promptly engage in denuclearization talks as proposed by our government."

A senior official from the presidential office said that South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the situation and are carefully analyzing North Korea's intentions regarding this disclosure.