Key North Korean nuclear reactor shut down for months: IAEA
(VOVWORLD) - The nuclear reactor that is believed to have supplied much of the plutonium for North Korea’s nuclear weapons appears to have been shut down for the past three months, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Monday.
The reactor is part of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex, the possible dismantling of which was a central issue in talks between US President Donald Trump and DPRK Chairman Kim Jong Un in Hanoi last week.
The IAEA has not had access to North Korea since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009, and it now monitors North Korea’s nuclear activities mainly through satellite imagery. The IAEA said it is ready to play a verification role in North Korea once a political agreement is reached on its nuclear activities.