North Korea Resumes Work on Weapons-Grade Plutonium Production – Reports
14:12 17.08.2016(updated 14:13 17.08.2016)
North Korea on Wednesday resumed processing nuclear fuel for the production of weapons-grade plutonium at an experimental nuclear reactor in the city of Yongbyon north of capital Pyongyang, Japanese media reported, citing North Korean nuclear authorities.
TOKYO (Sputnik) – According to the media, this is the first time official confirmation is received that the Yongbyon complex is being used for weapons-grade plutonium production since the reactor's re-launch in 2013.
"We have reprocessed spent nuclear fuel rods removed from a graphite-moderated reactor," the Atomic Energy Institute told the Kyodo news agency in the first-ever interview with foreign media.
The Institute also reportedly said that Pyongyang has been engaged in producing highly enriched uranium needed for nuclear weapons, which currently goes "as scheduled."
North Korea is currently under pressure from the international community since its January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February, which resulted in tightening sanctions against Pyongyang in the new UN Security Council resolution in March.
© Sputnik
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