Satellite images indicate that North Korea has resumed operation of a reactor at its main plutonium production plant that could be used to build nuclear weapons, a think tank has said.

The Washington-based 38 North say that images taken on 22 January reveal a water plume shooting out from the reactor. This, the monitoring project say, could be an indication that the reactor at Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre was again operating.

In addition to this clue the group say that unloaded spent fuel rods, that may have been in contact with nuclear material, were spotted in other images.

The report from 38 North said: "New commercial satellite imagery indicates that operations at the 5 MWe plutonium production reactor located at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center has likely resumed.

"Analysis from January 18 showed signs that Pyongyang was preparing to restart the reactor after spent fuel rods had previously been unloaded for a reprocessing campaign that produced additional plutonium for its nuclear weapons stockpile.

"Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication that the reactor is very likely operating."

Although the think tank, based at the US-Korea Institute at John Hopkins University in Maryland, added it was: "Impossible to estimate at what power level the reactor is running, although it may be considerable".

Nuclear production at Yongbyon was shut down in 2007 as part of a disarmament agreement with the US, but in the years since Kim Jong Un's hermit nation has threatened to reopen production there.

In February 2016 former director of US National Intelligence James Clapper said that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had: "Followed through on its announcement by expanding its Yongbyon enrichment facility and restarting the plutonium production reactor".

Then in September 2016, a report published by Siegfried Hecker, a leading expert on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, who visited Yongbyon in 2010, revealed that the country has ramped up its uranium enrichment facilities. According to Reuters the report said that North Korea will have enough material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of 2016. </s> A U.S. group that monitors North Korean weapons development says the communist country has likely resumed operations at a plutonium reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear facility.

38 North on Friday posted commercial satellite images that it said indicate Pyongyang is preparing to restart the reactor after previously unloading spent fuel rods.

The group said the images show a water plume that it believes is caused by the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication the reactor is very likely operating.

The organization says that without further measurements, it is impossible to estimate at what power level the reactor is running, although 38 North says it could be considerable.

North Korea is believed to be able to reprocess plutonium — used in nuclear warheads.

The Yongbyon nuclear complex, which includes a 5-megawatt reactor and other facilities, was shut down under an agreement reached in 2007 involving North Korea and five other countries: the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. North Korea, however, vowed in 2013 to resume activities at the site, 90 kilometers north of the capital, Pyongyang.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. body, said last year that the Yongbyon reactor had been restarted, either for enrichment or reprocessing.

The reported activities by North Korea are the latest in a series of defiant acts amid numerous United Nations sanctions for the North's atomic and ballistic missile development. </s> North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium production for its nuclear weapons program at its main Nyongbyon reactor complex, commercial satellite imagery released by a think tank showed Friday. Imagery from a previous analysis by the North Korean-watching 38 North website on Jan. 18 showed that Pyongyang had been preparing to restart the reactor after spent fuel rods had been unloaded for reprocessing to produce extra plutonium for its weapons program, the report said.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Japan Times. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New commercial satellite imagery indicates North Korea has resumed operation of a reactor at its main nuclear site used to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is pictured in this January 16, 2017 handout satellite image obtained by Reuters January 27, 2017. Includes material Pleiades CNES 2017 Distribution Airbus DS / Spot Image, all rights reserved. Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North/Handout via REUTERS

Washington’s 38 North North Korea monitoring project said previous analysis from Jan. 18 showed signs that North Korea was preparing to restart the reactor at Yongbyon, having unloaded spent fuel rods for reprocessing to produce additional plutonium for its nuclear weapons stockpile.

“Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication that the reactor is very likely operating,” it said in a report.

It said it was impossible to estimate at what power level the reactor was running, “although it may be considerable.” A 38 North Korea report last week said operations at the reactor had been suspended since late 2015.

North Korea has maintained its nuclear and missile programs in violation of repeated rounds of international sanctions.

News of the apparent reactor restart comes at a time of rising concern about North Korea’s weapons programs, which could present the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump with its first major crisis.

A report by leading U.S.-based nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker published by 38 North last September estimated North Korea had stockpiles of 32 to 54 kg (70 to 119 pounds) of plutonium, enough for 6 to 8 bombs, and had the capacity to produce 6 kg, or approximately one bomb’s worth, per year.

North Korea also produces highly enriched uranium for atomic bombs and would have sufficient fissile material for approximately 20 bombs by the end of last year, and the capacity to produce seven more a year, that report said.

In a New Year speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country was close to test launching an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and state media has said a launch could come at any time.

Trump’s defense secretary plans to visit Japan and South Korea next week and shared concerns about North Korea are expected to top his agenda. </s> North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium reactor -think tank

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - New commercial satellite imagery indicates North Korea has resumed operation of a reactor at its main nuclear site used to produce plutonium for its nuclear weapons program, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

Washington's 38 North North Korea monitoring project said previous analysis from Jan. 18 showed signs that North Korea was preparing to restart the reactor at Yongbyon, having previously unloaded spent fuel rods for reprocessing to produce additional plutonium for its nuclear weapons stockpile.

"Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication that the reactor is very likely operating," it said in a report.

It said it was impossible to estimate at what power level the reactor was running, "although it may be considerable."

North Korea has maintained its nuclear and missile programs in violation of repeated rounds of international sanctions. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by James Dalgleish) </s> North Korea appears to have restarted plutonium production for its nuclear weapons program at its main Nyongbyon reactor complex, commercial satellite imagery released by a think tank showed Friday.

Imagery from a previous analysis by the North Korean-watching 38 North website on Jan. 18 showed that Pyongyang had been preparing to restart the reactor after spent fuel rods had been unloaded for reprocessing to produce extra plutonium for its weapons program, the report said.

“Imagery from January 22 shows a water plume (most probably warm) originating from the cooling water outlet of the reactor, an indication that the reactor is very likely operating,” the report said, noting that most of the river remained frozen except where the warm water mixed.

“Currents carry this mix downstream — visible as a plume of ice-free water.”

However, without being able to measure the water’s temperature rise or flow from the reactor, the report said it was impossible to estimate the power level the reactor was running at — “although it may be considerable.”

According to the earlier report by 38 North, operations at the Nyongbyon complex had been halted since late 2015.

Pyongyang has stoked international concern with its atomic saber-rattling. In a his New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the country had “entered the final stage of preparation for the test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile.”

Experts say that the isolated nation is moving closer to making this claim a reality after conducting an unprecedented spate of missile and nuclear tests over the past year — including its most powerful atomic blast to date.

Earlier this month, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that two new missiles had been loaded onto mobile launchers, citing high-level South Korean officials and South Korean and U.S. military sources,

The missiles were thought to be equipped with new engines that Pyongyang tested last April, Yonhap reported. The North said at the time that the new tech would “guarantee” an eventual nuclear strike on the U.S. mainland.

According to Yonhap, the missiles’ existence appeared to have been intentionally leaked by Pyongyang to send a “strategic message” to the administration of new U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said that a launch by the North of a nuclear weapon capable of hitting U.S. shores “won’t happen,” though he has not given specifics as to how he would halt Pyongyang’s progress toward mastering the technology.

On Wednesday, a senior diplomat in Pyongyang reiterated the North’s claims that it is ready to test-fire an ICBM “at any time, at any place.”

Choe Kang Il, deputy director general for North American affairs at the North’s Foreign Ministry, made the threat in an interview with NBC TV, saying such a move would be “defensive in nature.”

The North has been known to conduct weapons tests around key dates, and some experts believe it could test an ICBM to mark late leader Kim Jong Il’s birthday on Feb. 16.

Friday’s revelation of increased activity at the Nyongbyon plant comes on the heels of an announcement that U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis will visit Japan and South Korea next week. Discussions are expected to focus on bolstering alliances with the two Asian giants amid the North Korean threat.

“The trip will underscore the commitment of the United States to our enduring alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea, and further strengthen U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea security cooperation,” the Pentagon said in a statement. </s> BEIJING -- Research by Chinese geologists suggests that the mountain above North Korea's main nuclear test site has likely collapsed. That collapse has likely rendered the site unsafe for further testing and will require that it be monitored for any leaking radiation.

The findings by the scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China may shed new light on North Korean President Kim Jong Un's announcement that his country was ceasing its testing program ahead of planned summit meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The results also support some of the findings of an earlier study by another group of Chinese researchers that was published last month by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
• None Trump says N. Korea agreed to denuclearize, but that's not the case 



Nuclear explosions release enormous amounts of heat and energy, and the North's largest test in September was believed early on to have rendered the site in northeastern North Korea unstable.

Chinese authorities have said they've detected no radiation risk from samples collected along the border. Calls to those departments were not immediately answered on Thursday.

The data in the latest Chinese study was collected following the most powerful of North Korea's six nuclear device tests on Sept. 3, which is believed to have triggered four earthquakes over the following weeks. The yield of the bomb was estimated at more than 100 kilotons of TNT, at least 10 times stronger than anything the North had tested previously. (The bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons.)

The University of Science and Technology of China paper, authored by Tian Dongdong, Yao Jiawen and Wen Lianxing, said the first of those earthquakes, which occurred 8 ½ minutes after the explosion, was "an onsite collapse toward the nuclear test center," while those that followed were an "earthquake swarm" in similar locations.

"In view of the research finding that the North Korea nuclear test site at Mantapsan has collapsed, it is necessary to continue to monitor any leakage of radioactive materials that may have been caused by the collapse," the authors said in a summary dated Monday and viewed Wednesday on the university's website.

The study is peer-reviewed and has been accepted for publication by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The Chinese study makes sense and is based on well understood research, said Rowena Lohman, a seismologist at Cornell University who wasn't part of the work. She said she believes there's an international effort that monitors these tests for radiation.

A study published last month by the journal, authored by a team led by Liu Junqing at the earthquake bureau in Jilin province along the border with North Korea, found similar results of the Sept. 3 explosion. It described the aftershock that followed seconds later as most likely a "rapid destruction of an explosion-generated cracked rock chimney due to cavity collapse."

North Korea's nuclear tests are of special concern to Beijing, since the test site near the town of Kilju is less than 60 miles from the border with China.

North Korean nuclear tests have caused seismic events in Chinese border towns and cities, forcing evacuations of schools and offices, sparking fears of wind-born radiation and leading to a backlash among some Chinese against their country's unpredictable traditional ally.

Ties between the sides have been deteriorating for years, although Kim made a long-anticipated visit to Beijing last month after China's implementation of United Nations economic sanctions reduced trade between them by as much as 90 percent.

The quakes that followed the September test were not man-made and didn't appear to cause any damage in the area. The region isn't one where earthquakes naturally occur and no quakes were detected after the five smaller nuclear tests North Korea has conducted since 2006.

Kune Yull Suh, a professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, warned last year that further tests could threaten to cause a volcanic eruption at Mount Paektu, which is about 60 miles away.

On Saturday, North Korea announced it will close its nuclear testing facility and suspend nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests - a move welcomed by Trump as "big progress" - and which comes ahead of the planned summit between him and Kim.

However, the North stopped short of suggesting it will give up its nuclear weapons or scale back its production of missiles and their related components. </s> North Korea is preparing to allow international inspectors into its Punggye-ri test site, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a South Korean politician.

Pyongyang has stopped its nuclear and missile tests over the past year during a rapprochement with the United States and South Korea, and it blew up facilities at Punggye-ri in May in the presence of foreign journalists.

However, its refusal to allow international experts to observe the destruction of the site, which has been the staging ground for all six of its nuclear tests, including its most powerful one – reportedly of an H-bomb – last September, drew criticism that its actions were for show and could be reversed.

At a summit between the North and South’s leaders last month, Pyongyang finally agreed to allow foreign inspectors to observe a “permanent dismantlement” of key missile facilities, and to move towards closing its main Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for reciprocal US measures.

News of the apparent latest gesture came from Kim Min-ki, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, who told reporters in Seoul that intelligence officials had observed what they believed to be preparations for possible inspections at Punggye-ri and the Sohae Satellite launching ground. </s> North Korea is preparing to allow international inspectors into its Punggye-ri test site, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a South Korean politician.

Pyongyang has stopped its nuclear and missile tests over the past year during a rapprochement with the United States and South Korea, and it blew up facilities at Punggye-ri in May in the presence of foreign journalists.

However, its refusal to allow international experts to observe the destruction of the site, which has been the staging ground for all six of its nuclear tests, including its most powerful one – reportedly of an H-bomb – last September, drew criticism that its actions were for show and could be reversed.

At a summit between the North and South’s leaders last month, Pyongyang finally agreed to allow foreign inspectors to observe a “permanent dismantlement” of key missile facilities, and to move towards closing its main Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for reciprocal US measures.

News of the apparent latest gesture came from Kim Min-ki, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, who told reporters in Seoul that intelligence officials had observed what they believed to be preparations for possible inspections at Punggye-ri and the Sohae Satellite launching ground.

The South’s National Intelligence Service observed North Koreans “conducting preparation and intelligence activities that seemed to be in preparation for foreign inspectors’ visit,” said Mr Kim, according to Reuters. No major movements were spotted at Yongbyon.

The move to open up Punggye-ri to inspection, if confirmed, would be seen as a confidence-building measure ahead of a proposed second meeting between Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, and Donald Trump, the US president.

The meeting is expected to take place early next year despite concerns in Washington that North Korea is dragging its feet over nuclear disarmament and frustration in Pyongyang that the US has not agreed to ease economic sanctions or an official end to the Korean War of 1950-53.

Washington has repeatedly reminded its regional allies of the need to maintain “maximum pressure” on the North Korean regime to give up its nuclear weapons – a policy that appears to be increasingly at odds with a push from South Korean President Moon Jae-in towards closer economic ties.

The US embassy in Seoul reportedly made the unusual move of contacting major South Korean conglomerates that sent representatives to Pyongyang with President Moon for his September summit with Kim Jong-un.

“The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is known to have directly called key companies to discern the status of the cooperation projects discussed during their visit to the North,” a key official from the presidential Blue House told the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday.

Executives from Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG and SK were among 17 business representatives who accompanied President Moon on his three-day trip.

North Korea is likely to depend on South Korean investment for its future economic development. “It appears that the U.S. government, along with the objective of grasping the situation in regard to North Korea-related projects, is attempting to synchronise the speed between the South and the United States ahead of North-U.S. denuclearisation negotiations,” said the source.

Teleconferences in late September between the US Treasury Department and seven South Korean banks over sanctions enforcement were also viewed as a sign that Washington is nervous that inter-Korean relations appears to be advancing faster than denuclearisation talks.
New satellite imagery released by think tank 38 North indicates North Korea has resumed operations at its Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center in North Pyongan Province.