Suspicious Smoke at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Facility... 38 North Suggests Possible Plutonium Extraction Preparation

Yongbyon Nuclear Facility Captured by Satellite

[Asia Economy Reporter Woo Su-yeon] Satellite images showing that North Korea has restarted the Yongbyon nuclear facility have been released.

On the 3rd (local time), the U.S.-based North Korea specialist media '38 North' released satellite images of the Yongbyon nuclear facility complex taken the previous day by the private company Maxar Technologies.

The images show smoke coming out of the chimney of a coal-fired steam power plant supplying steam to the radiochemical laboratory within the complex.

38 North explained that smoke was observed multiple times coming from the power plant chimney between the 25th of last month and the 2nd of this month. They estimated, "This may indicate that preparations are underway for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium needed for North Korea's nuclear weapons."

However, 38 North cautioned against definitive conclusions, suggesting that the power plant might have been operated to manage radioactive waste.

The media noted, "It is noteworthy that there are no other signs indicating that North Korea has started reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, such as unusual activity at the 5MW reactor or the spent fuel storage facility."

Earlier, on the 1st, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated at the first regular board meeting of the year that there were indications some parts of North Korea's nuclear test site remain operational. Regarding the Yongbyon nuclear facility complex, he mentioned that the power plant supplying the radiochemical laboratory appears to be in operation, but there are no signs of enriched uranium production at the centrifuge enrichment facility.