VIENNA, Austria — The United Nations Atomic Agency said that North Korea appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor used to produce fuels for weapons.
The reactor, measured at 5-megawatt, is believed to have produced plutonium for nuclear weapons production and is at the heart of North Korea’s nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency (International Atomic Energy Agency).
The UN atomic agency said it is “deeply troubled” by indications that North Korea appears to have restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor.
The UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Aug. 30 that the Secretary-General was aware of the reports “and concerned by the latest developments.”
“He calls for the DPRK (North Korea) to refrain from any nuclear weapons-related activities and to resume talks with the other parties concerned,” he said.
“Diplomatic engagement remains the only pathway to sustainable peace and complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
In its annual report, issued before a meeting of its Member States, the UN-convened atomic energy watchdog said the reactor has been discharging cooling water since July, suggesting it is operational.
The report said the duration of that apparent work— from mid-February to early July— suggested an entire batch of spent fuel was handled, in contrast to the shorter time needed for waste treatment or maintenance.
“The new indications of the operation of the 5MW(e) reactor and the Radiochemical (reprocessing) laboratory are deeply troubling and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” states the report.
It said there were indications of mining and concentration activities at a uranium mine and plant at Pyongsan.
North Korea has continued to develop nuclear weapons since International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors were expelled in 2009, holding its last test in 2017.
“Since then, the International Atomic Energy Agency has had no access to North Korea and now monitors North Korea from afar, largely through satellite imagery, to get an idea of how many weapons the regime is capable of producing,” said Dujarric in the press release.
This latest observation was the first sign of operational activity at the Yongbyon reactor since December 2018, months after former US President Donald Trump met North Korea leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, as per the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The agency has called upon North Korea to comply fully with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and to cooperate promptly with the agency in the full and effective implementation of its global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement and to resolve all outstanding issues, especially those that have arisen during the absence of Agency inspectors from the country.
(With inputs from ANI)
Edited by Saptak Datta and Ritaban Misra
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