Construction progress seen on North Korean nuclear reactor
AUG 22, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026276
New York Times : Satellite images have revealed that North Korea is making progress in the construction of a new nuclear reactor at its main nuclear facility in Yongbyon. The most recent images, from 6 August, show that a 21-m dome has been added to the reactor building. According to North Korean leaders, the reactor is a domestically designed light-water reactor. Yongbyon is also the site of a centrifuge enrichment plant, unveiled in 2010, that can be used to convert spent nuclear fuel into weapons-grade plutonium. North Korea is currently believed to have enough plutonium for at least a half-dozen weapons. Based on the rate of construction of the new reactor, it will be several years before it is complete, but analysts believe that the country could resume plutonium production by 2015 or 2016.
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
