North Korea restores part of nuclear missile test site

TIL Desk/World/Seoul/ North Korea has been restoring part of the Dongchang-ri nuclear missile launch site in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, the National Intelligence Service, South Korea’s chief intelligence agency said on Tuesday.”(The North) appears to be putting back a roof and a door (to a Dongchang-ri facility),” South Korean news agency said.

North Korea had stopped the nuclear reactor, located within the nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, late last year, with no signs of reprocessing activities there anymore. In addition, the underground tunnels of the nuclear test site remained shut and unattended since their destruction in May last year.

The report further noted that the army of South Korea along with the United States has run a “thorough” monitoring system to keep track of the North’s nuclear and missile facilities, including its uranium enrichment sites. “The US information is the same as ours, but we can’t comment on what facilities are located where,” the report said.

The 5-megawatt graphite-moderated reactor is capable of producing spent fuel rods, which if reprocessed can yield five to seven kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium annually. About 6 kg of plutonium is required to build a single bomb.