No Sign Korea Enriching Uranium At Yongbyon Nuclear Site - IAEA

No Sign Korea Enriching Uranium at Yongbyon Nuclear Site - IAEA

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2021) UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Monday there was no sign that North Korea was enriching uranium at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, although there were indications of activity at the suspected Kangson site, just outside of Pyongyang.

"At present there are no indications of the production of enriched uranium at the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at Yongbyon; there are ongoing indications of activity at the Kangson location," Grossi told the International Atomic Energy Agency's board.

The agency has not observed any activity at Yongbyon's 5-megawatt reactor, which is believed to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

There have also been indications recently of operation of a steam plant that serves a radiochemical laboratory, Grossi added.

The reclusive state expelled IAEA inspectors in 2009 and blew off a nuclear bomb at an underground test site in 2017 in what remains its largest nuclear test to date. The United Nations has imposed several rounds of sanctions on the North in a bid to force it to halt nuclear and ballistic missile research.