North Korean nuclear reactor working again, UN agency fears

THE United Nations atomic watchdog has detected “deeply troubling” signs that North Korea has restarted a nuclear reactor that is widely believed to have produced plutonium for nuclear weapons.

The annual report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has revealed that, for the first time in about three years, operations had resumed at the five megawatt reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex. “Since early July 2021, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor,” it said.

“The continuation of the DPRK’S nuclear programme is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable,” the agency said, referring to North Korea by its formal name.

The IAEA said there had been no indications of operational activity at the reactor since early December 2018, a few months after Donald Trump, the former US president, met Kim Jong-un for the first time in Singapore.

The UN report, which is based in part on satellite imagery, comes amid stuttering efforts by the international community to restart peace talks with Pyongyang, and following a furious outburst by the North Korean regime over joint Us-south Korea military drills earlier this month. The report reflects an urgent need for dialogue, and the United States is seeking to address the issue with Pyongyang, a senior US administration official said yesterday.

“This report underscores the urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy so we can achieve the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula,” the official said. “We continue to seek dialogue with the DPRK so we can address this reported activity and the full range of issues related to denuclearisation.”

More plutonium could help North Korea make smaller nuclear weapons to fit on its ballistic missiles, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security.

“The bottom line is North Korea wants to improve the number and quality of its nuclear weapons,” he added.

Yesterday, the UK’S own carrier strike group, led by new aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth also began a series of engagements with the South Korean navy in Korean waters.

The Yongbyon complex, an ageing facility about 60 miles north of the capital, Pyongyang, previously played a pivotal role in the reclusive country’s nuclear weapons programme as a source of fissile material. It churned out roughly enough plutonium each year for one atomic bomb.

The IAEA has had no access to North Korea since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009 and carried on with its nuclear programme. The country’s last nuclear test was in 2017.

Two years later, North Korea offered to close parts of the Yongbyon complex in exchange for sanctions relief at a February summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, between Donald Trump and Kim.

The summit collapsed after Mr Trump said Kim was asking for too many concessions while offering too little in return. The diplomatic détente between Washington and its allies and Pyongyang has since struggled to get back off the ground.