North Korea halts nuclear reactor, which will likely extract fuel for bombs: report

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has stopped the nuclear reactor at its main atomic complex, probably to extract plutonium that could be used for weapons by reprocessing spent fuel rods, a South Korean news report said on Thursday. Sur, citing a government source. .

Operation of the 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since late September, based on intelligence assessment by U.S. and South Korean authorities, the report said.

“South Korea and the US believe this could be a sign that reprocessing work is underway to obtain weapons-grade plutonium,” the Donga Ilbo newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

The reprocessing of spent fuel rods extracted from a nuclear reactor is a step prior to the extraction of plutonium. The Yongbyon nuclear complex is North Korea’s main source of plutonium, which it has likely used to build nuclear weapons.

North Korea has also operated uranium enrichment facilities, which is a separate source of material that could be used for nuclear weapons.

“The possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea has not been ruled out,” Donga Ilbo quoted a senior government official as saying, without elaborating on what analysis pointed to the assessment that the move could be related to a nuclear test. .

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the report.

North Korea has previously halted reactor operation before restarting it and public confirmation of the purpose of such a move, whether for maintenance or fuel extraction, is generally unavailable.

North Korea claims to be a nuclear state, but has kept secret how many nuclear weapons it may have built or deployed. Independent estimates of the North’s plutonium reach 70 kg, which could be enough to build 20 or more weapons.

North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests and there have been concerns since last year that it may be about to conduct another test as part of a program to develop miniaturized nuclear warheads.

North Korea’s parliament adopted A constitutional amendment to its policy on the use of nuclear force was passed last week and leader Kim Jong Un has stepped up calls for the country to increase nuclear weapons production and diversify its nuclear capabilities.

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