A report shows North Korea appears to have begun testing a nuclear reactor as recently as late February – as the country’s foreign minister arrived in Sweden to prepare for Kim Jong-un’s historic meeting with Donald Trump.
South Korean officials began preparations on Friday for a summit next month with North Korea that is aimed at reducing tensions on the peninsula.
Although North Korea’s state media has yet to comment on the pending summits with Moon and Trump, its foreign minister Ri Yong Ho is visiting Sweden for talks with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom.
Ri’s trip prompted speculation it could lay the groundwork for the summit in Sweden between Trump and Kim Jong-un.
However, the report by intelligence analysts at Jane’s by IHS Markit said satellite imagery from February 25 showed emissions of non-condensable gases from a stack at the North’s experimental light water reactor (ELWR) at the Yongbyon Atomic Energy Research Center, suggesting preliminary testing had likely begun.
A report shows North Korea appears to have begun testing a nuclear reactor as recently as late February. Pictured, satellite images from December 2016 showing signs of activity
The reactor could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, but North Korea is believed to already have enough fissile material for multiple nuclear bombs, according to Joshua Pollack, a senior research associate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
North Korea completed construction of the Yongbyon ELWR in 2013.
It was optimised for civilian electricity production, and although it is not yet operational, it could start running with ‘little warning’ later in 2018 or 2019, the Jane’s report said.
The experimental reactor is likely too small to provide much in the way of electricity, but is part of a long-running effort to develop a light-water reactor after a deal by an international consortium, including the United States, to provide two such nuclear power reactors in the 1990s fell apart, Pollack said.
In early January 2018, there were no vehicles or troops at the Mirim Parade training facility
By January 6, the northeast parking area of the central training area is full of trucks and there are small formations of towed artillery and air defense vehicles
Work continues on submersible test stand barge seen at Nampo Navy Shipyard in North Korea on January 6
‘It’s their way of saying, ‘see, since you won’t give us what you promised, we’ll do it ourselves,’ Pollack said.
‘They haven’t made any agreements lately with the U.S., so the work goes on.’
An official at the South’s defence ministry said authorities were aware of the Jane’s report, which follows a similar one released on the 38 North website earlier this month that said a nearby reactor had also continued to show signs of operation.
The isolated state has maintained it will continue developing its nuclear programme but later added it was open to abandoning the programme if the security of its regime was guaranteed, according to South Korea.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho leaves the Swedish goverment building Rosenbad in central Stockholm after meeting with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom
The foreign minister’s trip prompted speculation it could lay the groundwork for the summit in Sweden between Trump and Kim Jong-un (pictured)
On Friday, North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong Ho held talks in Stockholm with Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven amid reports the country could play a role in setting up a proposed summit between Kim and Trump.
‘They had a meeting. We will not disclose what they talked about,’ Lofven’s spokesman Jonatan Holst told AFP.
However, Lofven on Thursday said Sweden was ‘ready to’ play a role if asked.
Ri arrived in the Swedish capital on Thursday evening with Choe Kang Il, deputy director general of the foreign ministry’s North America section.
Ri held talks late Thursday and early Friday with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom, discussions which according to Swedish officials were to focus on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and a possible Trump-Kim summit.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho (right) and his delegation arrive at the North Korean embassy in Stockholm on Thursday
Media reports have speculated that Sweden could either help set up a proposed summit, or be a potential location if a tete-a-tete were to be confirmed.
Sweden’s foreign ministry has refused to comment on that possibility, saying only that the talks would ‘focus on Sweden’s consular responsibilities as a protecting power for the United States, Canada and Australia.’
Some Swedish and foreign media have said Ri will stay in the Scandinavian country until Sunday for other talks, though Swedish officials would not confirm those reports.
Sweden has longstanding ties with North Korea. Its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang, which opened in 1975, was the first Western embassy established in the country.
The embassy also represents US, Canadian and Australian diplomatic interests in North Korea, with Sweden playing a key role in liaising diplomatic talks.
North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Yong-ho, at center facing, and his delegation arrive at Arlanda airport outside Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday March 18, 2018
Meanwhile, South Korean officials were set to convene their first meeting at the presidential Blue House to prepare for a summit between President Moon Jae-in and the North Korean leader late next month.
Headed by Moon’s chief of staff Im Jong-seok, former prominent democracy activist, the team will hammer out plans for the summit, including when to contact the North and what will be discussed between Kim and Moon.
After months of tension and warmongering over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, Trump agreed to a summit proposal relayed by South Korean envoys who met Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.
Trump and Kim are expected to meet sometime in May although a location has not been set yet.
The push for these summits came after the North Korean leader said in a New Year’s address that he wanted to improve relations with the South following a year of heightened tensions brought on by the North’s nuclear and missile tests.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and his delegation arrive at Arlanda airport outside Stockholm, Sweden, March 15, 2018