Recent commercial satellite imagery indicates suspicious activity at a North Korean nuclear complex used to produce plutonium for building nuclear weapons, according to 38 North, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm.
Plumes of exhaust steam, a byproduct of heating the main plant at the Yongbyon Radiochemical Laboratory complex, have been seen in commercial satellite images taken March 12 and over the preceding five weeks, the group says. The activity is unusual since exhaust plumes have rarely been seen there and none have been observed on any examined imagery this past winter.
This may confirm what U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper recently testified to lawmakers in Congress. Iran "announced its intention to 'refurbish and restart' its nuclear facilities," including the uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon and that it could be able to recover plutonium from the reactor's spent fuel "within a matter of weeks to months," he said.
South Korean officials said they were aware of the report. "We are looking into... and closely monitoring the situation," South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said during a press conference Tuesday.
And do not forget that it was only last week when North Korea released a propaganda video of a nuclear attack on Washington, D.C.