The UN atomic agency reports that a second reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear site appears to be operating.
The first nuclear reactor in North Korea, with a five-megawatt capacity, is located at Yongbyon, the country’s primary nuclear complex. This reactor has been the only known source of plutonium for the country’s weapons program.
According to indications that warm water is being released from it, the second reactor, a light-water reactor, now also seems to be operating, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated in a statement late on Thursday.
“The discharge of warm water is indicative that the reactor has reached criticality,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
According to experts, criticality in a nuclear reactor’s functioning is the point at which a nuclear chain reaction can sustain itself.
The IAEA has not been allowed entry into North Korea since the country’s inspectors were expelled in 2009.
Since then, the agency’s main method of keeping an eye on the North has been satellite imaging.
“Without access to the facility, the agency cannot confirm its operational status,” Grossi said.
He emphasized that the “construction and operation” of the light-water reactor (LWR) was against the United Nations Security Council resolutions and “deeply regrettable”.
“The LWR, like any nuclear reactor, can produce plutonium in its irradiated fuel, which can be separated during reprocessing, so this is a cause for concern,” Grossi said.
Plutonium, which is a primary material for nuclear weapons, is believed to be extracted through the reprocessing of spent fuel rods produced during the operation of the first nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.
Kim Dong-jin, a researcher at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, confirmed to AFP that warm water discharge would indicate any reactor was operational.
“Warm water discharge is a common occurrence in operating light water reactors,” Kim said.
“During the operation of a power plant, it is necessary to circulate cooling water. As a result, the water is heated.”
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency also reported that the IAEA statement suggested that a “larger light-water reactor” has begun operation at Yongbyon.
North Korea tested its nuclear weapons for the first time in 2006, and again in September 2017 with their most potent test.
North Korea debuted what seemed to be a new, smaller tactical nuclear warhead in March of this year, at the same time that Kim called for increased development of “weapon-grade nuclear materials”.
The nation fired its greatest weapon, the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, using solid fuel on Monday.
Additionally, Kim issued a warning on Thursday via the nation’s official media that Pyongyang will not hold back from launching a nuclear strike if it is “provoked” to do so.
