Again on the march. North Korea seems to have relaunched its plutonium-producing reactor in the Yongbyon nuclear complex, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is concerned.
“Since early July, there have been signs, including the spillage of cooling water, compatible with the operation of the reactor,” said the agency in its annual report.
However, this reactor seems to have been shut down between December 2018 and July 2021. But restarting it would indicate that Pyongyang is continuing its nuclear development program in flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
As a reminder, this nuclear complex was one of the points of contention at the second summit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with US President Donald Trump, which ended in failure in 2019 in Hanoi.
Surveillance from abroad
North Korea had offered to dismantle part of the Yongbyon complex but not its other nuclear production infrastructure, in exchange for a “partial” lifting of economic sanctions. An offer rejected by Washington.
The reclusive regime is under multiple international sanctions for its military programs, including nuclear, banned and which significantly progressed under the reign of Kim Jong Un. In addition, IAEA experts had been expelled from North Korea in 2009 and since the agency monitors North Korea’s activities from overseas.