38 North: "Smoke at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Facility... Purpose of Operation Unclear"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seong Giho] The U.S. North Korea specialist media 38 North reported that signs of operation were detected in some buildings producing nuclear material at the Yongbyon nuclear facility in North Korea.

38 North revealed satellite images taken by a private company on the 10th (local time) on the 12th, reporting this fact. 38 North stated that the purpose of operating the facility is unclear.

It explained that the operation might simply be for processing radioactive waste rather than extracting plutonium used in nuclear weapons.

According to 38 North, the thermal power plant operating at least since the 25th of last month supplies steam to the Radiochemical Laboratory (RCL). The RCL is where used nuclear fuel is reprocessed to extract plutonium, and steam was also seen rising from a small cooling facility located there.

38 North said the purpose of operating the cooling facility is unknown, but capturing such activity is a rare occurrence.

Since the 10th of this month, new signs of activity have also been detected at the Uranium Enrichment Plant (UEP). If uranium is highly enriched, it can be used for nuclear bombs.

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