Satellite Imagery Shows that North Korea Has Restarted Plutonium Production

While North Korea is claiming they are willing to denuclearize they are on the other hand busy making more enriched plutonium for nuclear weapons:

38 North said the 5-megawatt reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex shows signs of operation, including steam vapor plumes from the generator hall and nearby river ice melt.

The monitoring website also spotted a new military tent camp established last month on the complex, more personnel and two large open-bed trucks.

The website, which is run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, examined commercial satellite images from Feb. 17 and Feb. 25.

38 North’s analysts noted that no cooling water discharges have been observed as would be expected under normal operations but said that was likely because the North Koreans had hidden them by extending a discharge pipe into the river.

“If the reactor is operating again, as the evidence suggests, it means North Korea has resumed production of plutonium presumably for its nuclear weapons program,” said the analysis by experts Frank Pabian, Joseph Bermudez Jr. and Jack Liu.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but I believe this news is all part of North Korea’s pressure campaign against the United States to get the Trump administration to agree to a “freeze deal”.  As part of the deal the Kim regime can agree to suspend plutonium production in return for sanctions busting concessions.