Following its third test of a nuclear bomb in February 2013, North Korea said it would restart a five-megawatt reactor and other facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear plant, north of Pyongyang. Since then, Western analysts that study satellite images have found various indications of activity at the complex, including the apparent release of hot water from the reactor.
Tuesday’s state media report cited the director of North Korea’s Atomic Energy Institute as confirming that all the facilities at Yongbyon had “started normal operation” in line with the 2013 declaration. The official, who wasn’t named, was also said quoted as saying that scientists were “steadily improving the levels of nuclear weapons with various missions in quality and quantity.”
In addition to the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon, which produces plutonium for bombs, North Korea also has facilities at the site to enrich uranium. It isn’t clear if North Korea has developed any uranium-based bombs, but Western analysts generally believe it has up to around 10 plutonium-based devices. China’s estimates are higher.
Despite North Korea’s assertion that the Yongbyon plant was operating normally, experts say that satellite imagery suggests the reactor hasn’t been running smoothly over the past two years. Problems have included ensuring a constant supply of cooling water, they say. It also isn’t clear if North Korea has a sufficient supply of fuel rods to power the reactor.
The Yongbyon reactor, built in the 1980s with the Soviet Union’s help, is North Korea’s only source of plutonium for its weapons program. It has been shut and restarted repeatedly over the past few decades: typically shut after the latest aid-for-disarmament deal with the U.S. and other countries and eventually restarted to give North Korea new leverage.
The latest report comes a day after North Korea said it was in the final phase of developing a new satellite, fueling speculation it would launch a long-range rocket in a move that many outside nations would see as a covert missile test. Some North Korea watchers anticipate the nation will stage its sixth long-range rocket launch around the Oct. 10 anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.
North Korea is widely believed to be seeking the ability to deliver a nuclear bomb with an intercontinental ballistic missile. While it isn’t clear how far along it is in that quest, Pyongyang frequently boasts it can threaten the U.S. mainland with nuclear attack.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, said at a daily media briefing Tuesday that Beijing hoped North Korea would refrain from actions that would raise tensions on the Korean peninsula, adding that North Korea as a sovereign nation had the right to the peaceful use of outer space.
On Monday, a U.S. State Department spokesman said any new rocket launch by North Korea would be considered a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions barring tests of ballistic missile technology