N Korea ‘restarts nuclear reactor’

US researchers say construction at Yongbyon indicate bid to increase stockpile of fissile material and nuclear weapons.

There are reports that North Korea may have restarted a nuclear reactor capable of producing plutonium for weapons, according to a US research institute which has been studying satellite imagery.

The Yongbyon reactor had been out of operation since 2008, when a cooling tower was destroyed by Pyongyang to comply with an aid-for-disarmament deal with its neighbours and the United States.

Now researchers at John Hopkins University say new construction projects at the site indicate North Korea is trying to increase their stockpile of fissile material and nuclear weapons.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett reports from Seoul.

 

Source: Al Jazeera