Satellite images from a U.S. website indicate “significant activity” may be taking place at a North Korean laboratory where weapons-grade plutonium is separated from nuclear reactor waste.
“The plumes suggest that the operators of the reprocessing facility are heating their buildings, perhaps indicating that some significant activity is being undertaken, or will be in the near future,” satellite imagery specialists William Mugford and Joseph Bermudez told 38 North.
North Korea announced in 2013 that it would restart its nuclear facilities. The news was met by warnings from U.S. and other leaders.
Since late February, the site said the exhaust plumes at the Yongbyon facility have been turned on two or three times. North Korea has conducted multiple missiles tests since the start of the year.
The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly warned leader Kim Jong-un and strapped sanctions on the country, but the communist government so far has not backed down.
