New Delhi: There was movement at North Korea’s nuclear site on Saturday. US reports claim that activity was observed at the main nuclear site Yongbyon on March 3 and 17 following Kim Jong Un’s bomb-fuelling order and that North Korea may conduct nuclear tests soon.
Satellite images showed a high level of activity at North Korea’s main nuclear site after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered increased production of bomb fuel in a bid to expand the country’s nuclear arsenal, a US think tank reported on Saturday. Has been.
The Washington-based 38 North North Korea Monitoring Project reported that photos from March 3 and 17 showed activity at the nuclear site. This indicated that the Experimental Light Water Reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon site is nearing completion and operational status.
The report said satellite images show work on the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon continues and construction has begun on an auxiliary building around the ELWR. In addition, water discharge was detected from the cooling system of that reactor. New construction has also begun around Yongbyon’s uranium enrichment plant, which is expected to expand its capacities.
The report cited the North Korean leader as saying that these developments reflect Kim Jong Un’s recent directive to increase the country’s production of fissile material in a bid to expand the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal. On Tuesday, North Korea unveiled new small nuclear weapons and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal, condemning joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States.
North Korea’s state media said Kim Jong-un has ordered the production of weapons-grade material in a visionary way to rapidly increase the country’s nuclear arsenal. However, it is unclear whether North Korea has developed nuclear weapons entirely small enough to fit on the small weapons it has displayed. But analysts say improving such weapons will be a key goal if it resumes nuclear tests for the first time since 2017.
America and South Korea had warned
South Korea and the US warned as early as 2022 that North Korea could resume nuclear tests at any time. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated in a report last year that North Korea has amassed 20 nuclear warheads and probably has enough material for 45-55 nuclear devices.
