(VOVworld) – North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute, which runs the country's Yongbyon nuclear facilities, said on Wednesday that it has resumed plutonium production and has no plan to stop conducting nuclear tests so long as it remains under threat from the US.
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A view of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facilities (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)
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According to the institute, North Korea has reprocessed used nuclear fuel rods, which were removed from a graphite-moderated reactor, to produce plutonium. Pyongyang has also been producing highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear arms and power production “as scheduled”, the institute added, without giving any details about the amount of plutonium or enriched uranium North Korea had produced.
Plutonium is the primary material used for nuclear bomb production. Reproducing plutonium could help increase the production of nuclear weapons in North Korea, although the country is facing United Nations sanctions for carrying out ballistic missile tests and provoking many countries, including the US and South Korea.
The same day, North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the US for sending more nuclear bombers to Guam. According to a statement by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea’s armed forces will not just stand by and watch nuclear threats from the US but is ready to protect its national sovereignty and security by with nuclear weapons.