IAEA Secretary-General "Putting All-out Force on Nuclear Program"

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretary-General Rafael Grossey said on the 20th (local time) that North Korea is "doing its best" on its nuclear program.

"Work on plutonium separation, uranium enrichment and other activities in North Korea is proceeding at full speed," Reuters reported at the 65th IAEA General Assembly held on the same day.

On the 13th, Secretary-General Grocy pointed out at the IAEA board of directors that "there are signs of restarting the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, which is a serious problem," and also revealed signs of restarting the uranium enrichment plant.

It also mentioned signs of continuous activities at nuclear facilities located in North Korea's Gangseon area. "It is very regrettable that North Korea's continued nuclear program is a clear violation of the UN Security Council resolutions," Grocery said.

Regarding the 5MW reactor in North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility, the IAEA said in a report published last month, "There have been circumstances consistent with the operation of the reactor, including cooling water discharge, since early July 2021.

The 5MW reactor is a key facility related to North Korea's nuclear weapons production, and reprocessing spent fuel rods after operation extracts plutonium, a raw material for nuclear weapons.

In addition, the IAEA said that from mid-February to early July this year, the radiochemical research institute, a waste fuel rod reprocessing facility near the 5MW reactor, was operated.

However, IAEA inspectors have not had direct access to North Korean nuclear facilities since they were deported in April 2009. For this reason, the IAEA is strengthening its intelligence collection and expanding its image collection and analysis of high-resolution commercial satellites to monitor North Korea's nuclear program.

Date: 2021-09-22

Reporter: 서화목