#plutoniumreactor

[mr-michael-kyle]

North Korea seems to have restarted its Yongbyon reactor, which produces plutonium and was seemingly shut down in December 2018, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in its yearly report on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities that “since early July, there have been indications, including the discharge of cooling water, consistent with the operation of the reactor.” There also seems to be proof {that a} lab close to Yongbyon is being used to separate plutonium from spent fuel previously removed from the reactor, the Journal reports. This is “deeply troubling,” the watchdog agency stated in its report, and in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The agency hasn’t had inspectors inside North Korea since 2009, once they had been expelled from the country. The Biden administration has stated it is ready to speak with North Korea about its nuclear program, and a senior U.S. official informed the Journal the report “underscores the urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy so we are able to achieve the entire denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

It has been estimated by experts that North Korea might have anywhere from 20 to 60 nuclear weapons utilizing plutonium and highly enriched uranium, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in January said he wanted to modernize the country’s nuclear technology. In 2019, North Korea stated it would shutter the Yongbyon reactor and additional facilities if the US provided sanctions relief, however the offer was rejected by then-President Donald Trump, who stated it did not go far enough.

Robert Einhorn, a former State Department official, informed the Journal that “resumed operations at the reactor and reprocessing facility may be an indication” that the North Korean leader “sees little prospect of a nuclear deal.”