IAEA: "North Korea Likely Restarted Yongbyon Nuclear Facility in Early July... Signs of Cooling Water Discharge" (Comprehensive Report 2)

WSJ Reports Citing IAEA
After 2 Years and 7 Months of Shutdown
Experts Say "North Korea Has Effectively Started Nuclear Weapon Production"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that North Korea has restarted the reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. If this assessment in the report is accurate, the Yongbyon reactor is estimated to have resumed operation for the first time in about two and a half years since December 2018. As North Korea is analyzed to have effectively begun producing nuclear weapons, the restart of the Yongbyon reactor is expected to pose a new challenge to the diplomatic policy of the Joe Biden administration in the United States.

On the 29th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) cited the IAEA report, stating, "North Korea appears to have restarted the plutonium reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear facility."

The IAEA stated in the report, "This circumstance comes amid signs that North Korea is conducting plutonium extraction from spent fuel rods at a research institute near the reactor."

The IAEA added, "Since early July, there have been several signs such as the release of cooling water from the reactor," evaluating that North Korea has resumed operation of the plutonium reactor at Yongbyon. The IAEA further stated, "This is a direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. It is a new sign regarding the operation of nuclear facilities and a very serious issue."

Plutonium is an essential material for nuclear weapons production. The fact that North Korea has begun extracting and producing it is interpreted as effectively starting nuclear weapons development.

Professor Gary Samore of Brandeis University said, "It appears that North Korea has resumed plutonium production for its nuclear weapons program," adding, "North Korea already possesses a significant number of nuclear weapons but is trying to increase that number."

WSJ quoted an expert saying, "North Korea is estimated to currently possess between at least 20 and up to 60 nuclear weapons."

Previously, at the 2019 Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit, North Korea proposed closing the Yongbyon nuclear facility on the condition of lifting U.S. sanctions. However, then-President Donald Trump rejected the North Korean proposal, considering it insufficient.

Robert Einhorn, a former U.S. State Department official who also participated in nuclear negotiations with North Korea, analyzed, "The restart of the Yongbyon reactor indicates that North Korea views nuclear negotiations with the U.S. pessimistically."

Earlier, the Biden administration announced its intention to actively engage in nuclear negotiations with North Korea, stating it would combine the "top-down" diplomatic approach of the Trump administration with the "patience" strategy of the Obama administration.

Despite these negotiation requests from the U.S. government, North Korea has restarted the reactor without providing a response.

A researcher at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based think tank, said, "Signs of the Yongbyon nuclear facility's restart demonstrate that North Korea's nuclear weapons program cannot be ignored and that the Biden administration must treat this issue as a top priority."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.