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The UN nuclear watchdog said that North Korea seems to have restarted a nuclear reactor, which is widely believed to have produced plutonium for atomic weapons, which may be a signal that Pyongyang is expanding its nuclear ban.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report on Friday that the 5 megawatt (MW) reactor had been found to be capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium for the first time since the end of 2018.
“[North Korea’s] Nuclear activities continue to cause serious concern. Since the beginning of July 2021, there have been indications that, including the discharge of cooling water, it is consistent with the operating conditions,” the report (PDF) Is talking about the reactor of the Yongbyon Nuclear Power Plant.
The facility is called the “core” of its nuclear program by North Korea and has been the focus of international attention for decades. It is not clear how much weapon-grade plutonium or highly enriched uranium is produced by Yongbyon, and where North Korea stores it.
Since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009, the International Atomic Energy Agency has been unable to reach North Korea. The country then continued to advance its nuclear weapons program and soon resumed nuclear testing. Its last nuclear test was in 2017.
The IAEA now mainly monitors North Korea from a distance through satellite imagery.
‘Expand its arsenal’
Yongbyon is located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Pyongyang. It is the site of the country’s first nuclear reactor and the only known source of plutonium in North Korea’s weapons program.
“[The IAEA report] It seems to indicate that North Korea has resumed production of plutonium for its nuclear weapons program,” said Gary Samer, director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Tell The Wall Street Journal.
“Although North Korea already has a large stockpile of nuclear weapons, it shows that it is expanding its current arsenal.”
At a 2019 summit in Vietnam with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proposed to dismantle Yongbyon in exchange for a series of international sanctions on nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
At the time, Trump stated that he had rejected the deal because Yongbyon was only part of North Korea’s nuclear program and was not enough to make concessions to relax so many sanctions.
The administration of US President Joe Biden said it had contacted the North Korean government to provide talks, but Pyongyang said it has no interest in negotiating if the United States does not change its policy.
“New signs of operation of 5MW (electric) reactors and radiochemical reactors [reprocessing] The laboratory is deeply disturbed,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in the report, which was released without notice.
‘Urgent need for dialogue’
A senior official in the Biden administration told the Wall Street Journal that the United States also found the news disturbing.
“This report emphasizes the urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy so that we can achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” the official said on condition of anonymity. lead As said.
It added that there are also signs of mining and enrichment activities at the uranium mine and factory in Pingshan, and activities at a suspected secret enrichment facility in Kangshun.
Joshua Pollack, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Research, said that it is certain that North Korea intends to use any newly separated plutonium for weapons. He pointed out that in a speech this year, Kim Jong Un listed a long list of advanced weapons under development, including more nuclear bombs.
“North Korea’s appetite for warheads does not seem to be satisfied.”
Earlier this month, Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jung, stated that North Korea would strengthen its “absolute deterrence” in response to the ever-increasing threat from the United States.
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