North Korean Nuclear Reactor Under Construction
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on the 4th of September that satellite images show that North Korea has reactivated its nuclear reactor in Yeong-Byeon and that it is possibly capable of developing weapons-based plutonium.
In its report, the IAEA stated that their satellite images revealed signs of vapor and cooling water being exhausted from the facility. The reactor is capable of producing around 5 megawatts of energy and could be used to produce plutonium that North Korea could by itself transfer into warheads around the same explosive force as the atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nakasaki in 1945.
The Yeong-Byeon reactor was shut down for several years, and in 2008 the North Korean government had even ordered the destruction of one of the facility’s cooling towers in order to build a more believable atmosphere for the 6 Party Talks. Soon however, North Korea changed its attitude and in 2009, banished a group of inspectors dispatched by the IAEA who came to examine the reactor. In March of 2013, North Korea had in fact already announced the decision to reactive its nuclear reactor in Yeong-Byeon and that the process will take roughly six months.
The IAEA expressed in its report that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons still remains a serious issue. Meanwhile, the North Korean military has begun test-firing its Skud-class ballistic missiles near the Korean maritime border. These rockets are capable of carrying a payload of a single nuclear weapon to any point in South Korea as well as parts of Japan.
