North Korea Doing New Work at Nuclear Site
Friday, Oct. 1, 2010 New satellite images indicate that North Korea is building something or digging at the site near a demolished cooling reactor for the plutonium-producing reactor at the nation's Yongbyon nuclear complex, a U.S. organization said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 30).
"There is no indication in the imagery that North Korea is rebuilding its cooling tower," which was destroyed in June 2008 as part of the North Korean denuclearization process that faltered again a few months later, according to Institute for Science and International Security analysts David Albright and Paul Brannan.
"The new excavation activity appears to be more extensive than would be expected for rebuilding the cooling tower," they stated. "But the actual purpose of this excavation activity cannot be determined from the image and bears watching."
The images, collected Wednesday by DigitalGlobe, also show continuing building work on two small structures located next to the cooling tower site. While the purpose of the structures does not appear connected to construction assistance, "it is unclear if the activity seen in this image represents preparation for construction of a new cooling tower or preparation for construction of other buildings or structures for some other purpose," the ISIS report states.
This is the first suggestion of building or digging activity around the site where the tower once stood, Albright and Brannan wrote (Albright/Brannan, Institute for Science and International Security report, Sept. 30).
The Yongbyon nuclear complex produces the plutonium used in North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The country is thought to have enough fissile material to make at least six weapons, Agence France-Presse reported.
The site's 5-megawatt reactor ceased operations in July 2007 as part of an agreement between the North and the other nations in the six-party nuclear talks -- China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Talks were last held in December 2008. Pyongyang announced in spring 2009 it was leaving the nuclear negotiations and would revive its plutonium processing efforts (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com , Oct. 1).
Meanwhile, high-ranking Chinese Communist Party Central Committee member Liu Yunshan today said Beijing was prepared to support the newly appointed leaders of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
A rare political congress in Pyongyang this week saw ruler Kim Jong Il's son and presumed heir and other family members promoted to powerful posts (Xinhua News Agency, Oct. 1).
The promotions are speculated to be part of an effort establish a power transfer process in which Kim Jong Un would gradually take on more regime duties. He would be advised by his aunt and uncle who would act as de facto regents should the ailing Kim Jong Il die before his son is believed ready to assume full authority.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official said Wednesday that "we are carefully watching for the effects that could have on bilateral relations and the North's power structure," the Asahi Shimbun reported (Tetsuya Hakoda, Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 1).
"There is no indication in the imagery that North Korea is rebuilding its cooling tower," which was destroyed in June 2008 as part of the North Korean denuclearization process that faltered again a few months later, according to Institute for Science and International Security analysts David Albright and Paul Brannan.
"The new excavation activity appears to be more extensive than would be expected for rebuilding the cooling tower," they stated. "But the actual purpose of this excavation activity cannot be determined from the image and bears watching."
The images, collected Wednesday by DigitalGlobe, also show continuing building work on two small structures located next to the cooling tower site. While the purpose of the structures does not appear connected to construction assistance, "it is unclear if the activity seen in this image represents preparation for construction of a new cooling tower or preparation for construction of other buildings or structures for some other purpose," the ISIS report states.
This is the first suggestion of building or digging activity around the site where the tower once stood, Albright and Brannan wrote (Albright/Brannan, Institute for Science and International Security report, Sept. 30).
The Yongbyon nuclear complex produces the plutonium used in North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The country is thought to have enough fissile material to make at least six weapons, Agence France-Presse reported.
The site's 5-megawatt reactor ceased operations in July 2007 as part of an agreement between the North and the other nations in the six-party nuclear talks -- China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Talks were last held in December 2008. Pyongyang announced in spring 2009 it was leaving the nuclear negotiations and would revive its plutonium processing efforts (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com , Oct. 1).
Meanwhile, high-ranking Chinese Communist Party Central Committee member Liu Yunshan today said Beijing was prepared to support the newly appointed leaders of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
A rare political congress in Pyongyang this week saw ruler Kim Jong Il's son and presumed heir and other family members promoted to powerful posts (Xinhua News Agency, Oct. 1).
The promotions are speculated to be part of an effort establish a power transfer process in which Kim Jong Un would gradually take on more regime duties. He would be advised by his aunt and uncle who would act as de facto regents should the ailing Kim Jong Il die before his son is believed ready to assume full authority.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official said Wednesday that "we are carefully watching for the effects that could have on bilateral relations and the North's power structure," the Asahi Shimbun reported (Tetsuya Hakoda, Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 1).
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