A new nuclear reactor in North Korea appears to be operational, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday, as Pyongyang steps up threats to use nuclear weapons against the United States and its allies.
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The Yongbyon complex, located about 100 km north of Pyongyang, already houses the country's first nuclear reactor with an output of five megawatts.
A “strong flow of water” from the cooling system of a light water reactor (LWR) has been observed since mid-October, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
“Recent observations indicate that the released water is hot, consistent with the startup” of a reactor, he noted.
However, such a process takes time and without access to the facility, the IAEA cannot accurately confirm its operational status, Grossi added.
“Like any other nuclear reactor, an LWR can produce plutonium with its spent fuel, which can be separated during reprocessing, so this is a concern,” he further warned.
Since expelling its inspectors from North Korea in 2009, the IAEA has limited itself to monitoring nuclear developments in the country using satellite images.
North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. His sixth and last test so far in 2017 was also his strongest.
Observers have been expressing growing concerns for months about the possible preparation of a new North Korean nuclear test.
Earlier this year, leader Kim Jong Un called for an increase in the production of “military nuclear materials” in order to “exponentially” increase the production of nuclear weapons.
North Korea will not hesitate to respond with nuclear weapons if it is itself “provoked” by nuclear weapons, Kim Jong Un threatened this week.
On Monday, his regime conducted a test of the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal, the Hwasong-18, which appears capable of reaching all of American territory.