The reactor at Yongbyon – which was the source for plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme – was closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.
Armageddon Scenarios
North Korea ‘to restart Yongbyon nuclear reactor’
North Korea says it will restart all facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a reactor mothballed in 2007.
In a statement, it said the move would bolster North Korea’s nuclear forces “in quality and quantity”.
The move is the latest in a series of measures by Pyongyang in the wake of its third nuclear test in February.
It has been angered by the resultant UN sanctions and joint US-South Korea annual military drills.
In recent weeks the communist state has issued a series of threats against both South Korean and US targets, to which the US has responded with high-profile movements of advanced aircraft and warships around the Korean peninsula.
A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said that if true, the North Korean move would be “highly regrettable”.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei called for restraint from all sides to resolve the “complex and sensitive” situation.
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