IAEA "북한, 영변 원자로 재가동한 듯"...정부 "한미 긴밀 공조 하에 북한 핵·미사일 활동 지속 감시
North Korea appears to have resumed operations at a plutonium-producting reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex.
That's according to the IAEA.
Experts say the North is looking for leverage over the United States.
Kim Dami reports.
North Korea appears to have restarted operations at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor that produces plutonium, a key material used in the production of nuclear bombs.
Based on a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency, there have been indications since early last month, including the discharge of cooling water, which is consistent with the operation of a reactor.
The Yongbyon reactor appeared to have been inactive from December 2018 until the beginning of July this year.
Experts say this could be the North looking to reverify the facility's usefulness as a negotiating card before talks potentially resume with Washington.
What North Korea wants to see is its fundamental condition for the resumption of dialogue, which was the suspension of the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. The exercise is over, but the North is urging the U.S. to take corresponding measures."
The report added that signs the reactor is now being operated coincide with indications that Pyeongyang is also using a nearby lab to separate plutonium from spent fuel rods previously removed from the reactor.
The IAEA called the latest developments (quote)"deeply troubling," and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions on the North.
The U.S. on Sunday stressed the urgent need for dialogue and diplomacy so that complete denuclearization can be achieved on the Korean Peninsula.
Seoul's unification ministry noted Monday that nothing has been confirmed yet, but said the North's activities are being watched closely.
"South Korean government is continuously monitoring the North's nuclear activities in close cooperation with the U.S."
However, the regime's move - if confirmed - would create yet another foreign policy headache for the Biden administration, on top of its widely-criticized handling of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the deadlock on restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The Yongbyon reactor has been regarded as the crown jewel of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Constructed in 1979, it supplied the plutonium and research facilities needed for the North to test its first atomic bomb in 2006.
Kim Dami, Arirang News.
#NorthKorea #nuclear #reactor
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2021-08-30, 17:00 (KST)
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