North Korea restarting its Yongbyon nuclear reactor

North Korea has restarted its Yongbyon nuclear reactor as per the report of the UN atomic agency’s report. Plutonium is in use for nuclear weapons. It gets produced in a complex reactor. Pyongyang in 2009 expelled The International Atomic Energy Agency. But it relies on satellite imagery to carry forward its assessments.

The watchdog said that the nuclear reactor was discharging cooling water when in July, it started suggesting that it is operational. Yongbyon is a nuclear complex that works with a 5-megawatt reactor. It is the heart of the nuclear program of North Korea.  This is the first sign of the operational activities in this reactor. It stopped its operations in December 2018 after Donald Trump met Kim-Jong Un in Singapore.

Since then, Yongbyon has been monitoring from afar. Experts are trying to make up an idea about the capability of the nuclear reactor for the production of weapons.  The IAEA also came up with more details about the radiochemical laboratory at this same complex. It is reprocessing the nuclear fuel. The agency revealed the operation of the lab in June. The latest report is saying that the laboratory is now operating for five months. It suggests that it has already handled the full batch for the spent amount of fuel.

IAEA has said that the development at this reactor and in the laboratory was quite troubling. It is marking a clear violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council. The foreign ministry of South Korea also told Yonhap that the government is monitoring the nuclear and missile activities of North Korea along with its close- cooperation with the US.

North Korea went on continuing with the development of nuclear weapons as IAEA inspectors got expelled. Kim Jong-un has also put the Yongbyon nuclear complex at the center of his negotiation along with former US President Donald Trump. The 5-megawatt reactor at the site was the main source for its weapon-grade plutonium for Pyongyang.

The deal is about to dismantle it in return for the relief for sanctions which Donald Trump rejected previously.  It has led to the breakdown of the talks between these two leaders in Hanoi.

In January, the North Korean president made his pledge to develop his nuclear arsenal. He also promised that he would make his scientists work on miniaturized warheads and develop tactical weapons.

There are few signs up to now that North Korea has worked on these projects.  The regime has focused on the worsening economic state and the shortage of food. Something has changed. It is quite difficult for the experts to get a clear picture of what is going on at Yongbyon from those satellite images. But they have spotted the renewed activity of which is “deeply regrettable.” This can emerge as a headache for President Joe Biden.

Credits: BBC