IAEA suspects North Korea has restarted nuclear reactor

North Korea appears to have resumed operation at its main nuclear reactor that is widely suspected to have produced weapons fuels, the UN atomic watchdog reported, describing the development as “deeply troubling.”

"Since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared in its annual report dated Friday, noting that the 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon nuclear complex had appeared inactive since December 2018.

The report further noted that there were indications “for a period of time” that what is suspected to be a uranium enrichment plant at Yongbyon was not in operation.

“However, since early July 2021, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor,” it said. “The new indications of the operation of the 5MW(e) reactor and the Radiochemical (reprocessing) Laboratory are deeply troubling.”

Back in June, the UN agency said there were indications at Yongbyon of possible reprocessing work to separate plutonium from spent reactor fuel that could be used in nuclear weapons.

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog has had no access to North Korea since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009. The North then pressed ahead with its nuclear weapons program and soon resumed nuclear testing in response to massive joint war games near its territorial waters by the US and rival South Korea. Its last nuclear test was conducted in 2017.

The IAEA currently monitors North Korea mostly through satellite imagery.

The report said there were also indications of mining and concentration activities at a uranium mine and plant at Pyongsan.

The development comes as the largely ceremonial nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington – which began in 2018 during the administration of former US president Donald Trump – remain at a standstill, with the Americans insisting on North Korea’s “denuclearization” and Pyongyang demanding an end to the US-led sanctions as well as the provocative regular war games near its waters.

US-South Korea war games: North Korea warns of ‘serious security crisis’

The North says the joint spring and summer drills are indeed a rehearsal for an invasion in a likely future war.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered to dismantle part of the Yongbyon complex at a second summit with Trump in exchange for sanctions relief, but was turned down by Washington.

The country also suspended its nuclear and missile testing during the diplomatic process in 2018 but said it was abandoning its self-declared moratorium in January 2020.

Pyongyang remains under multiple sets of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, which have experienced rapid progress under Kim.

The IAEA report also comes just weeks after Pyongyang reacted angrily to the resumption of joint US-South Korea military exercises near its territorial waters, vowing of consequences and a “serious security crisis” for Washington and Seoul.

South Korea must “clearly understand how dearly they have to pay” for choosing their alliance with Washington over peace between the two Koreas, said North Korea’s leading politician Kim Yong-chol in an August 11 statement in response to the military drills.

Moreover, the North Korean leader’s sister and an influential figure in the country’s political stage, Kim Yo-jong, also warned Washington and Seoul over the war games, insisting that “a dear price should be paid” by the two allies for their “self-destructive behavior.”

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk