The satellite images were taken in April and May by the American company Maxar. They show that North Korea has resumed construction of a second reactor at the nuclear complex in Yongbyon, after the nuclear power plant was shut down for years. So say experts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who analyzed the photos. The new reactor is about ten times the size of the existing reactor at Yongbyon, which was commissioned in the late 1980s.
An insider tells CNN that US officials are closely monitoring recent activity at the nuclear center. North Korea would not bother to hide the work on the nuclear reactor, according to the insider.
The information about the activities at the nuclear complex follows a series of provocations by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At the end of last month, he threatened that his government could use nuclear weapons “preventively” to defend itself against enemy forces. North Korea is also preparing to conduct a nuclear test at the Punggye-ri nuclear weapons test site, the United States said. Such a test could take place as early as this month. North Korea’s last nuclear test was in 2017.