North Korea making 'rapid' upgrades to nuclear research site

But links to Trump-Kim denuclearisation agreement not clear, claim analysts

North Korea has made improvements to a nuclear research facility “at a rapid pace”, analysts have claimed after reviewing satellite images on the site.

The development of infrastructure at the Yongbyon site included modifications to the cooling system of its plutonium production reactor, researchers at expert website 38 North, which provides up to date research on the secretive communist state.

An engineering office building and a smaller non-industrial building outside the site’s experimental light water reactor are also now complete, 38 North said. But there was no evidence existed to suggest that reactor was up and running, it said.

Discerning whether the plutonium reactor was operational “is particularly difficult at this time”, the analysts said.

Although “no visible steam is being vented from the generator building that would confirm that the reactor is operating”, they added that could not be ruled out because the images were low-resolution images.

Atmospheric conditions could also prevent it from being visible.

The analysis comes two weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with Donald Trump and the pair signed a pact pledging their commitment to denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

A similar goal was contained in April’s Panmunjom Declaration, signed by Mr Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in.

It may add to the pressure on Mr Trump, who has claimed the North is already engaged in “total denuclearisation”.

However US defence secretary, James Mattis, was later forced to admit that he was “not aware” that Pyongyang was taking action to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

Critics have said the vague commitments to denuclearisation – the definition of which is a matter of some dispute between the sides – in Mr Trump’s agreement with Mr Kim do not go far enough.

However, 38 North warned against drawing conclusions about Pyongyang’s intentions from the satellite images, which were created on June 21.

The analysts wrote: “Continued work at the Yongbyon facility should not be seen as having any relationship to North Korea’s pledge to denuclearise. The North’s nuclear cadre can be expected to proceed with business as usual until specific orders are issued from Pyongyang.”

Nonetheless, the site’s managing editor Jenny Town said the infrastructure improvement “underscores [the] reason why an actual deal is necessary, not just a statement of lofty goals”.

Elsewhere at Yongbyon, a radiochemical laboratory site “seems active”, 38 North said, while staining from water vapour on the roof of a uranium enrichment plant indicated “continued operations”.