Satellite images show high activity at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear site

WASHINGTON - Satellite images show a high level of activity at North Korea's main nuclear site, a US think tank reported on Saturday April 1 after the North Korean leader ordered an increase in production of bomb fuel to expand the country's nuclear arsenal.

The 38 North North Korea monitoring project said the activity it had spotted, based on images from Mar 3 and Mar 17, could indicate that an Experimental Light Water Reactor ELWR at the Yongbyon site was nearing completion and transition to operational status.

The images showed that a 5 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon continued to operate and that construction had begun on a support building around the ELWR.

In addition to that, water discharges had been detected from the cooling system. New construction had begun around the Yongbyon's uranium enrichment plant, likely to expand its capabilities.

The report added that these developments seem to be a result of Kim Jong Un's recent directive to increase the country's fissile material production to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal.