Works for the construction of a nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, North Korea, resumed after more than 20 years paralyzed, as reported on Saturday by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
This new reactor will have a plutonium production capacity 10 times larger than the current reactor at Yongbyon Nuclear Power Plantso North Korea’s ability to build nuclear weapons will increase, according to the US network CNN.
Although it has not yet been possible to specify when it will come into operation, This reactor will fulfill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s promise to increase the number of nuclear weapons in North Korea’s hands.
A report published by a Middlebury Institute researcher Jeffrey Lewis estimates that the reactor will be able to produce 55 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium a year once it comes online, which is a huge increase over what the old 5-megawatt reactor could produce.
The current Yongbyon Nuclear Power Plant already has 5 MW class nuclear power and reprocessing facilities. Recently there were signs that these facilities are working, revealing that the construction of a large-scale nuclear reactor that had been inactive for a long time has resumed, according to the DPA agency.
(With information from Europe Press)
Reference-aristeguinoticias.com
